Christiane Kubrick
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| Christiane Kubrick | |
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| Born | Christiane Susanne Harlan May 10, 1932 Brunswick, Germany |
| Spouse(s) | Werner Bruhns (1952-1957) Stanley Kubrick (1958-1999) |
Christiane Kubrick (née Harlan) (born May 10, 1932) is a German actress, dancer, painter and singer, the daughter of two opera singers Fritz Moritz and Ingeborg (de Freitas) Harlan.
Christiane Harlan was born in Germany in 1932 into a theatrical family. She was trained as an actress but became better known as an artist. Success in her earlier career as an actress led to her being cast in the film Paths of Glory by Stanley Kubrick, credited as Susanne Christian.[1][2]
In the final scene of Paths of Glory, Christiane plays a prisoner of war forced to sing to a rowdy, disillusioned tavern-full of French soldiers. Her rendition of the German folk song (in German) Ein treuer Husar (The Faithful Hussar) slowly wins the hearts of the men who stop their shameless carousing and one-by-one, begin to hum and sing along, many of them shedding tears of sadness and remorse. [3]
She and Kubrick married in 1958 shortly after filming was completed and the marriage lasted until Kubrick's death in 1999 and they parented two daughters (Anya and Vivian). Her eldest daughter, Katherina, was the only child of her first marriage to Werner Bruhns (1928-1977). [4]
The Kubrick family moved to England in the 1960s where Christiane continued to paint and exhibit. She became highly accomplished and avidly collected artist with a passion for floral settings and still-lifes. Her works were featured in two Kubrick films:
- A Clockwork Orange, where a large floral oil painting adorns the living room of "Home", the abode of reclusive writer Frank Alexander (Patrick Magee) and his wife (Adrienne Corri) during the famous "Singin' in the Rain" scene. [5]
- Eyes Wide Shut, Christiane's vivid paintings adorn nearly every wall of Dr. and Mrs. Hartford's (Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman) NY city apartment. Her paintings are also featured in various rooms of Ziegler's (Sydney Pollack) NYC mansion (billiard room and upstairs bathroom). [6]
She took a full part in Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures, a documentary directed by her brother, [Jan Harlan], following Kubrick's death. [7]
Christiane continues to live in England, where she and her daughter Katharina hold regular painting courses at their home in Hertfordshire. [8][9]
She and her brother Jan Harlan are very active in preservation, exhibit production and publishing related to her husband's life work, including the recent Taschen mega-book "The Stanley Kubrick Archives" and the currently touring major museum exhibit. [10]
In March of 2001, Christiane travelled to the Vatican in Rome to screen a newly edited version of her late husband's 1968 film, 2001: A Space Odyssey. The film was shown at the Vatican on Thursday evening, March 1 under the aegis of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications. In 1996, that Council listed the original Kubrick film among the most important films of the 20th century. The Vatican screening was also attended by Archbishop John Foley, the president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications.
[edit] Trivia
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Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
- Christiane is a niece of the controversial German filmmaker Veit Harlan (Jud Süß).
- Christiane's brother Jan Harlan was executive producer for all of Stanley Kubrick's films from Barry Lyndon (1975) onwards.
