Stanley Kubrick has often been accused of being a cold, mannered filmmaker. His celebrated cinematic mastery and notorious perfectionism have resulted in beautifully composed but emotionally distant movies, with protagonists who aren't so much people as puppets in Kubrick's psychological dramas. 

These are fair criticisms, but one should immediately note that they are usually only applied to Kubrick's later movies. Kubrick's signature "coldness" -- marked by long shots, long takes, and slower editing -- didn't really begin until he made "2001: A Space Odyssey" in 1968, and that film wasn't so much about a single character as it was about the whole of humanity. Others familiar with his work on "The Shining" have noted how strangely inhuman all the characters feel. Prior to 1968, however, Kubrick was a wholly personable (if not a cynical) filmmaker, and his early films -- including "Fear and Desire," "Killer's Kiss," "The Killing," "Paths of Glory,...