LONDON (AP) -- Stanley Kubrick, the director of "2001: A Space Odyssey" and "A Clockwork Orange," whose films often puzzled and shocked audiences only to end up as classics, died Sunday at his home in England, his family said. He was 70.
Police were summoned to Kubrick's rural home north of London on Sunday afternoon, said authorities in Hertfordshire, where he was certified dead. "There are no suspicious circumstances," police said.Kubrick's family announced his death and said there would be no further comment.
Kubrick's films included "Spartacus" in 1960, "Lolita" in 1962, "Dr. Strangelove," in 1964, "2001" in 1968 and "A Clockwork Orange" in 1971.
He also made "Barry Lyndon," released in 1975, "The Shining" in 1980 and "Full Metal Jacket" in 1987.
Malcolm McDowell, who starred in "A Clockwork Orange," issued a statement through his publicist calling Kubrick "a heavyweight of my life."
"He was the last great director of that era. He was the big daddy," said McDowell.
Kubrick's latest film, "Eyes Wide Shut," is still slated for release on July 16, Warner Bros. said Sunday. Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman star in the story of jealousy and obsession, which Kubrick made in great secrecy.
"He was like family to us and we are in shock and devastated," Cruise and Kidman said in a statement released by their publicist.
Director Steven Spielberg issued a statement describing Kubrick as a "grand master of filmmaking."
"He created more than just movies. He gave us complete environmental experiences," Spielberg said.
Kubrick was born July 26, 1928, in New York.
At 17, he was hired as a staff photographer by Look magazine, which had been impressed by a picture Kubrick had snapped on the day President Franklin D. Roosevelt died.
In 1951, he sold a 16-minute documentary about a boxer, "Day of the Fight," to the RKO film studio.
Kubrick was married three times, first in 1948 to Toba Metz, then after divorcing he married Ruth Sobotka in 1954. Their marriage ended three years later, and in 1958, he wedded Suzanne Harlan, with whom he had three daughters.