+6
1. Stanley Kubrick
Anyone that has known me around here for some time knew this was coming.
Stanley Kubrick was not a particularly good student in school. However, he soon showed abilities in other fields: chess and photography. Those are two of the most defining features of his filmography: rationality and visual perfection.
Kubrick's career can be divided in 2 parts. He made his first 5 movies while he was living in USA. From this period, I'd only highlight Paths of Glory, one of the most powerful anti-war movies ever made.
After some artistic problems in Spartacus (1960) he moved to UK and this is when the genius comes out. From Lolita (1964) till Eyes Wide Shut (1999), he created 8 tremendous masterpieces that changed cinema history forever, including 2001: A Space Odissey (to many the best Sci-Fi ever made), A Clockwork Orange (the most traumatizing movie experience of my life) and Dr. Strangelove (a dark comedy about the Cold War that will never cease to make me laugh).
Many people call his movies "cold" or "emotionless"... I couldn't disagree more! To me, Kubrick was a man that believed in the worst of humanity and all his work reflects some kind of human perversion.
Adding to that an obsession with perfection and a super intelligence and the result is not a fun movie to watch but definitely a powerful one. I can say 2001: A Space Odissey and A Clockwork Orange are among the most mind changing experiences I have ever had, movie related or not. I can also say I cried on 6 of his movies and not because the stories were sad, only because I couldn't handle the intensity.
To me, he is the single most brilliant mind that ever looked through a camera and I can't possibly imagining me liking more any director than I like him.
How I rate his movies:
Fear and Desire (1953)
Killer's Kiss (1955)
The Killing (1956) -
Paths of Glory (1957)
Spartacus (1960)
Lolita (1962) -
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
2001: A Space Odissey (1968) +
A Clockwork Orange (1971) +
Barry Lyndon (1975)
The Shining (1980)
Full Metal Jacket (1987) +
Eyes Wide Shut (1999) +
Last edited by neiba; 07-23-15 at 08:18 PM.