A Good Eulogy Example

An example of an excellent eulogy is the one Edward Champion delivered for legendary filmmaker Stanley Kubrick. Kubrick was renowned for filmmaking and his ability to jump from genre to genre and consistently deliver critically acclaimed films. Throughout his eulogy, Champion discusses how Kubrick inspired him and the lessons he learned from studying Kubrick’s films.

The eulogy itself is quite lengthy. Click here to read the full version of Stanley Kubrick’s eulogy.

We have collected a few different excerpts from the eulogy to help demonstrate how to write a good eulogy.

“Uncompromising. Meticulous. Control freak. Reclusive. These were all words that were attached to Stanley Kubrick throughout his life. But they were also words that described a man who changed the rules of filmmaking. Kubrick merged the artistic film with the commercial, melding his stark independent vision with the coffers of Hollywood in a way that no other filmmaking genius — not even Welles — has managed to accomplish and may never succeed at doing again.

Kubrick was talented, and was not like any of the other Hollywood filmmakers of his era. The eulogy kicks things off by stating how others in Hollywood would describe Kubrick. It then dives into how even though this is what Hollywood labeled him, Kubrick’s success and impact on the film industry was unlike anything that has ever been seen.

This first passage of the eulogy does a great job in showing how impactful Kubrick was during his life. Kubrick took filmmaking to another level and this excerpt celebrates the success he had during his career. Although Hollywood may have seen Kubrick differently, Champion drives home the point that Kubrick was a genius and gives him the credit he deserves.     
                               
The death of Kubrick came as a shock to me. His legacy — the twelve films that he created (including the forthcoming Eyes Wide Shut) — impacted me personally and made me see film in a completely different way. 

I soon found myself renting every Kubrick film I could get my hands on, and became captivated with every frame, every character, and every painstakingly crafted allegorical touch that Kubrick embellished his films with.

I soon found myself experimenting with a video camera, hoping to recapture the visual poignancy of 2001’s bone being tossed up into the air and becoming a spaceship, trying to reproduce the visual beauty of Barry Lyndon’s candlelit imagery. 

In this second passage, Champion begins to discuss the personal impact Kubrick had on his life. When you are delivering a eulogy, it’s important to remember that it’s not just about summarizing a person’s life. Champion uses this part of the eulogy to discuss how Kubrick influenced him and changed the way he created and looked at films. He adds an element of personalization to the eulogy and uses anecdotes from his own life to describe how Kubrick’s work was so impactful.                                                                                   

To be fair, Kubrick was frequently tough on his actors. In A Clockwork Orange, he kept Malcolm McDowell’s eyes open to that horrible metal device for nearly twelve hours straight. He shot a relentless number of takes for nearly every shot, 47 takes for a simple shot of Scatman Crothers crossing the street in The Shining. He took years upon years to create a film just to get it right. But his talent was so enormous, so all-encompassing, so vast, so true to the film form, that somehow all the horror stories seemed justified.

In this final passage, Champion describes who Kubrick was as a person. As mentioned earlier in the eulogy, Kubrick was known to be intense and tough. Champion goes on to use examples from throughout Kubrick’s career to show just how difficult of a director he was. In doing so though, Champion is able to spin this into an anecdote to show how truly dedicated Kubrick was to his craft. Yes, he was difficult. Yes, he was tough. But by doing so, he created some of Hollywood’s greatest films. His dedication to getting the shot absolutely perfect seems justified when you look at the final product.

This passage is a good example of discussing a person’s character. Everyone in Hollywood had a certain perception of Kubrick. Champion uses this passage to say this is what you believe, but this is why he was like that.
Share by: