I guess you all know that Stanley Kubrick is my favourite director of all time. That’s the reason why I wanted to start this thread. I still can remember watching „2001: A Space Odyssey“ for the first time at the age of 15. It wasn’t the first Kubrick film I watched, but it was the one that started my obsession with this genius. It’s still my favourite movie ever. Here’s my ranking of his films: 2001: A Space Odyssey A Clockwork Orange Dr. Strangelove Barry Lyndon The Shining Paths Of Glory Full Metal Jacket Lolita Eyes Wide Shut Spartacus The Killing Killer‘s Kiss Fear And Desire I have to add that this ranking can change every day between #4 and #10. Moreover I want to add that this book is amazing and really shows why he became such an incredible director: Now I want to know your thoughts: What do you think about Stanley Kubrick? When did you watch the first movie by him and which film was that? What are your favourites by him? I’m really looking forward to your posts
I'm pretty sure I saw Spartacus first when I was a child. Naturally, I loved it. Gladiators! next up was Dr. Strangelove, always a subversive favorite. It wasn't until later that I caught up with his older material. I think his Lolita is the one that gets short shrift, it's one of his best.
Some of his movies are among my personal favorites. I go back and forth on The Shining, but at least it’s a well made movie with unforgettable performances and images. I was intrigued to learn recently that Harvey Keitel was fired from the part that Sydney Pollack played in Eyes Wide Shut after he told Kubrick they’d done enough takes of a particular scene. Keitel felt disrespected for his judgment of whether he’d given the best he could. I had interesting experiences the last time I saw Lolita and Clockwork Orange. I was completely immersed in Lolita and saw Humbert more as a victim and Quilty his tormenter and the villain of the piece. Brilliant performances by all including Shelley Winters. Clockwork Orange, OTOH, has not aged well at all. I was shocked at how cheap and cheesy the future was imagined, not in the sense that vandals had overrun the city but that everything simply looked crummy. Horrible sets and effects. My recollection is that Burgess didn’t like the adaptation and no wonder, most of the language he invented for the book is gone which was its strength. In its place a simple idea about the implications of conditioning behavior. I’m fully aware that most people, the OP included, disagree which is fine with me. My favorites in no particular order 2001 Barry Lyndon Paths of Glory Dr Strangelove The Killing Lolita.
I think Kubrick‘s „crummy“ vision of the future in „A Clockwork Orange“ still functions so well because the story is set to the happen in 1983, a year that’s already over 40 years in the past.
my top 6 in order 2001 Paths of glory Dr Strangelove The shinning Barry Lydon eyes wide shut Eyes wide shut is underrated IMHO
Dr. Strangelove, 2001 A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange and Full Metal Jacket are masterpieces. I like the Shining but prefer the novel. I need to see Eyes Wide Shut again to really give an opinion on it, I am hoping for a 4K UHD for my next watch. Barry Lyndon is great for insomnia. Lolita I don't really care for, the novel is one of the greatest things ever. Spartacus is OK, I guess, I need to watch it again, also. Haven't seen the others.
1983 has nothing to do with how cheaply made and visually impoverished the film is. All the more surprising because it’s Kubrick, after all. Christ, it came out early 70’s, I remember seeing it when I was an undergrad. So only about 10 years into the future. No excuse then for even trying to make it look ‘futuristic’. And look how poorly it anticipates that near future in retrospect. Not to get this post or thread censored but it’s funny when you think about it…truly a MAGA vision of our cities, even then.
^ most directors would give their 1st born to have a movie look as "visually impoverished" as that one
2001: a space odyssey Dr. Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb Spartacus Eyes Wide Shut Full Metal Jacket The Shining Lolita
Out of the movies of his I've seen (seen most) I would say The Shining and Eyes Wide Shut are my least favorite. The rest I enjoy but they are not what I would call emotional roller coasters. I did finally get to watch The Killing a few months ago and enjoyed it.
I can’t possibly rank them too many simply outstanding films that suit various moods Dr Strangelove Paths of Glory 2001 Barry Lyndon Shining Clockwork Orange killing all just great, great films
Here's a very elementary question for Kubrickians -- IIRC, Kubrick re-edited his films for the TV format, anticipating that broadcasts and video would be how most people would see his films. Now that people have the ability to re-create the original aspect ratios at home, are people watching the "correct" original versions?
I prefer the cinematic versions that were released on (4K) Blu-Ray, but I also got the „Stanley Kubrick Collection“ on DVD from the early 2000s to have the TV versions. You need both versions if you are a die-hard Kubrick fan, especially for „Barry Lyndon“ BTW: This documentary is absolutely sensational
I haven’t seen „A.I.“ yet. How would you rate this film by Steven Spielberg in comparison to Stanley Kubrick‘s movies?
it's very much Kubrick type material, the first and last act or so is very Spielberg. Kubrick's ideas for the film were less sentimental and of course darker.
Funny enough, that’s what Steven Spielberg said about the movie: „And what's really funny about that is, all the parts of A.I. that people assume were Stanley's were mine. And all the parts of A.I. that people accuse me of sweetening and softening and sentimentalizing were all Stanley's. The teddy bear was Stanley's. The whole last 20 minutes of the movie was completely Stanley's. The whole first 35, 40 minutes of the film—all the stuff in the house—was word for word, from Stanley's screenplay. This was Stanley's vision.“
My friend Ian Watson spent a year writing "A.I." with Kubrick in the early 90s and he always insists that Kubrick would have loved the film and it was remarkably faithful to Kubrick's vision for the project.
