The months of September and October were a period full of culture and art for Türkiye and especially for the iconic city of Istanbul as the streets were crowded and people rushed from museum to museum. Beyoğlu, which is one of the most tourist-attracting parts of Istanbul and impresses every visitor with its historical texture, offered a unique experience to the visitors within the scope of the great cultural regalement in every corner of the streets with its cultural road project initiated by Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

There was no doubt that each event was quite encompassing, dazzling, and valuable, there was a particular exhibition that was hosted at the Istanbul Cinema Museum as part of the "Beyoğlu Cultural Road Festival," which was simply groundbreaking. Of course, I'm referring to the "Stanley Kubrick exhibition."

I must highlight that Ministry of Culture and Tourism has worked a miracle in that regard. It is the most comprehensive exhibition ever made about the cinematography genius Stanley Kubrick and it is hosted in Istanbul as local and foreign tourists had a chance to witness this unique experience. Especially for someone like me, who has watched almost all productions of Kubrick, it was a beyond-words experience to see the actual props used in his movies.

On a building with a facade layout with Neoclassical features and inside with unique ceiling decorations, plaster reliefs, marble replaces and parquet flooring, Istanbul's Museum of Cinema on the Atlas Passage, will take you on a journey back to 150 years before.

The grandeur stairs will also lead you to a video installation that reflects the fact that the movement phenomenon in the cinema has become a tool that transforms us today and carries us to the future, from its beginning with films in an analog way, with artistic work. It makes a reference to technology that makes sense when people enter the equation.

Offering a chronological overview of all the works of 20th-century director Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999), the exhibition displays an in-depth look at the artist's cinema career and extraordinary world of cinematography, unfurling many unpublished documents, objects, screenplays, cameras, lenses, and original costumes.

It should be noted that at the opening of the exhibition, Kubrick's daughter Katharina Kubrick also attended with Jan Harlan, the producer of the Stanley Kubrick films, experiencing hallmark moments at the 22nd stop of the exhibition, Istanbul.

On the third floor of the museum, the exhibition starts with the artist's portrait through the process of filmmaking from storyteller to director to editor and his projects such as Artificial Intelligence, Napoleon, and Wartime Lies, which other directors never shot. Also, as you pass between the first few rooms, you will see the director's chair, which he used as he created cinematography masterpieces.

Then you will see specific corners designed thematically for each of his masterpieces and well-known movies. One of them is "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb," a black humorous political satire that tells the story of Cold War paranoia when the world was accidentally dragged into a nuclear war as a result of a chain of mistakes that a series of important people fell into. If you have watched the movie, you will remember the iconic war room, which is a model that Sir Ken Adam designed. Yet the mise en scene was so powerful in the movie that even former U.S. president Ronald Reagan thought it was a real room in the Pentagon. The museum is displaying the model as well as it was fascinating to see how small it was yet so effective.

'Clockwork Orange' (1971)

Themed in sections by film, as you look around the exhibition, you will delve into the world of sadistic gang leader Alex (Malcolm McDowell), seeing his actual costume designed for the movie amid the tunes of Beethoven as the film employs the music as a motif. You will also see Kubrick's clapper board with the inscription "For my mom and dad."

'Full Metal Jacket' (1987)

As my favorite Kubrick movie, it highlights the dehumanizing effects of the Vietnam War in the most striking way and the exhibition employs video sections from the movie especially when the gunnery Sergeant Hartman who engaged in brutal methods to train marines, bullies the privates saying "I am Gunnery Sergeant Hartman! Your Senior Drill instructor! From now on, you will speak only when spoken to," as it echoes in the corridor of the exhibition, enhancing the movie's overwhelming effect.

You will see the actual props and some photographs taken during the shooting of the movie. It is a section that makes the blood run cold.

'The Shining' (1980)

As you walk by, you will step into your worst nightmare through the carpet that has the hexagonal retro design as seen in "The Shining’s" Overlook Hotel. Visitors even may get to chance to take a picture with the iconic ghost twins, the murdered Grady daughters. The museum also displays the terrifying dresses of the girls.

You'll also discover objects and film props such as Jack's typewriter with the "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" typewritten paper as Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) chases after his family to harm them, he snatches the famous axe and tries to kill his wife, who is hiding in the bathroom.

'Eyes Wide Shut' (1999)

Adapted from the psychoanalyst and writer Arthur Schnitzler's Dream (Traumnovelle, 1926), Eyes Wide Shut is one of the most speculated movies. Unfortunately, Kubrick passed away four days after delivering the movie. Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman star as a married couple entangled in an intricate web of lies, the couple catches themselves between reality and illusion, unfurling an eerie marriage.

The exhibition displays the masks used in the movie as Dr. Bill Harford (Tom Cruise) finds himself in an elitist cult that wears spooky masks in their meetings. I also saw the mask atelier in Venice that made the masks for Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, as their signatures were on the shop's display window.

'2001: A Space Odyssey' (1968)

The fourth floor of the museum is left for the experience area inspired by the original design of Kubrick's masterpiece with the original devices, clothing, and models that are used in the shooting of the movie that takes on a poetic meditation on technology and humanity adapted from a story by the revered Arthur C. Clarke.

The exhibition will be on display until March 1. It is a rare encounter that Kubrick lovers should unquestionably not miss.