Eric Brighteyes The Unrealized Project of Stanley Kubrick

Written by Henry Rider Haggard and first published in 1890, The Saga of Eric Brighteyes is a Viking-era romance novel inspired by the Norse sagas that tells of the adventures of its eponymous hero in 10th century Iceland. Beloved by two women, the light and dark half-sisters Gudruda the Gentle and Swanhild the Witch, Eric undergoes trials and adventures to escape the wrath of his enemy Ospakar Blacktooth. Haggard, a pioneer of the Lost World story genre, was also the chief inspiration for J.R.R. Tolkien (The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion).According to the Stanley Kubrick Archive Oral History Project Web Video Series, Kubrick's eldest daughter Katharina mentions the book as one "...he was particularly interested in" and "...had he lived, I'm sure he would have done it." Frequently cited as one of the greatest and most influential directors in cinematic history, his films (Dr. Strangelove, 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange) were mostly adaptations of novels or short stories, covering a wide range of genres.This screenplay adaptation expands on the characters and events in the original story, and also includes illustrations by Lancelot Speed from the 1905 seventh impression edition published by Longmans, Green & Company in London.