Stanley Kubrick (July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999), an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer. Kubrick was noted for the scrupulous care with which he chose his subjects, his slow method of working, the variety of genres he worked in, his technical perfectionism, and his reclusiveness about his films and personal life. Stanley Kubrick's films, many of which were adapted from literary sources, are characterized by technical brilliance, inventive cinematic storytelling and meticulous attention to detail. A recurring theme in his films is man's inhumanity to man. While often viewed as expressing an ironic pessimism Among Kubrick's best known movies are the Cold War satire Dr. Strangelove, the landmark science fiction film 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, whose graphic portrayal of violence caused a controversy when it was first released, and Spartacus.