Stanley Kubrick directing *Barry Lyndon,* 1975.

Director’s Cut

In the 1970s, Stanley Kubrick fought to block the publication of The Magic Eye, a book lightly critical of his films. Now, it’s finally getting published

By Dalya Alberge

Stanley Kubrick, the relentless perfectionist who directed some of cinema’s greatest classics, was so sensitive to criticism that, in 1970, he threatened legal action to block publication of a book which dared to discuss flaws in his films.

The director of Spartacus and 2001: A Space Odyssey warned the book’s author and publisher that he would fight “tooth and nail” and “use every legal means at his disposal” to prevent its publication – and he did.