45. Collaborated with A Crew of Future Technical Greats
From Production designer Ken Adam (Dr No, Goldfinger), to cinematographer Gilbert Taylor (A Hard Day's Night and later, Star Wars and The Omen), Visual Effects Superior Douglas Trumbull (Blade Runner, Silent Running, Close Encounters) and Editor Ray Lovejoy (Aliens, Batman) Kubrick's crew of collaborators would, thanks to their involvement with the great man, later become some of the true technical greats of cinema.
46. Tapped Into the Zeitgeist Effortlessly
From cold war paranoia, to sixties liberation and seventies cynicism Kubrick seemed to tap into the spirit of the times effortlessly.
47. Was Universally Respected
Despite his prickly, impersonal, demanding and difficult reputation people often ended up respecting the great man; Jack Nicholson proclaimed aptly "Stan is the man!" and even after her infamous off screen torment with the director, Shelley Duvall would later praise the experience as a positive one that made her smarter.
48. Completed His First Film at 25
His first actual feature, the little seen Fear and Desire, was completed at this impossibly young age. He equals Orson Welles in this respect - though admittingly Citizen Kane is a greater debut feature! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKZhzpBl5g4
49. Never Won An Oscar
Some of the best director's never did, including Hitchcock, D.W Griffith, Orson Welles, King Vidor and Akira Kurosawa amongst others. Kubrick joins this unique batch of talents snubbed by the Academy, which after this weekend could well end up including David Fincher.
50. Had the Longest Time Span Jump Cut in Cinematic History
There's a few millions years between the cut of a bone hurtling through the sky and the space satellite orbiting earth in 2001: A Space Odyssey! The sheer audacity of this successful transition has to be applauded.