Let us rank Kubrick once again.

I'm on the last Kubrick's film I need to see before I've seen them all: Barry Lyndon. I wanted the 3-hour British period drama to be saved for last. So since I'm on the verge of Kubrick completion, I think it's time to revive this concept since it's been five years since the last Rank Kubrick thread and opinions may change.

So let's recap:

1. Fear and Desire (1953): A war drama that Kubrick himself hated the same way Chalire Puth hated his debut album.
2. Killer's Kiss (1955): A crime movie about a boxer in love. Only 67 minutes.
3. The Killing (1956): A heist noir that really kickstarted Kubrick's career as a major director.
4. Paths of Glory (1957): A war movie about a court martial, one that the critics still gaga over to this day.
5. Spartacus (1960): A Roman peplum starring Kirk Douglas in one of his defining roles.
6. Lolita (1962): A controversial psychological comedy based on a controversial novel.
7. Dr. Strangelove (1964): The classic war comedy featuring Peter Sellers as like 60 people.
8. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1966): Duuuuuuuuun, duuuuuuuun, dun-duuuuuuun, DA-DUUUUUUUUUN! Boom Bam Boom Bam-
9. A Clockwork Orange (1971): Kubrick: "I can do sexual movies now? START FILMING!"
10. Barry Lynon (1975): A 3-hour British period piece which may not be the most popular Kubrick film, but is one of the most beloved.
11. The Shining (1980): Arguably the most beloved horror movie on Earth, ironically hated by both director Kubrick and author Stephen King.
12. Full Metal Jacket (1987): THIS IS MY RIFLE, THIS IS MY GUN!
13. Eyes Wide Shut (1999): Died six days after editing the final cut of this mysterious and twisty erotic thriller. As my sister said, "Woo! Goin' out with a bang!"

Here is my current ranking...

1) 2001: A Space Odyssey
2) Full Metal Jacket
3) Eyes Wide Shut
4) Paths of Glory
5) Dr. Strangelove
6) A Clockwork Orange
7) Barry Lyndon
8) Lolita
9) The Shining
10) The Killing
11) Killer's Kiss
12) Spartacus
13) Fear and Desire

Lolita is the one I'm always unsure of how to rank. Sometimes I put it higher, sometimes lower. I also should probably rewatch Spartacus. It's the only one I haven't seen in 20-25 years and I barely remember it.

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Also, for the sake of discussion, last year I did an episode of my podcast on Kubrick, and I had film scholar Nathan Abrams as a guest. He has written a couple of books on Kubrick and it was a blast to have him talk about the man.

The Movie Loot 43: The Kubrick Loot (with Nathan Abrams)

So if @Yoda allows the self-promotion, there it is.

Eyes Wide Shut is one of my fave movies. Ever. A masterpiece IMO.

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I’m here only on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays. That’s why I’m here now.

My current ranking:

2001
The Shining
A Clockwork Orange
Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
The Killing
Spartacus
Lolita
Eyes Wide Shut
Full Metal Jacket
Barry Lyndon
Paths of Glory

I have only seen a hand full

A Clockwork Orange
Spartacus
2001
The Shining
Full Metal Jacket
Eyes Wide Shut

I have just a couple more to go… so maybe I better get on that. I also just rewatched The Shining last night, confirming that it’s my least favorite post-Studio System Kubrick, actually kind of unimpressive as a horror movie and is riddled with so many missed narrative opportunities (still a really good movie, but I never got some quarters’ obsession with it as the “best” horror movie of all time).

1. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
2. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
3. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
4. Full Metal Jacket (1987)
5. Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
6. Paths of Glory (1957)
7. The Killing (1956)
8. Barry Lyndon (1975)
9. The Shining (1980)
10. Spartacus (1960)

I'm gonna do mine in reverse order.

13. Fear and Desire - 42. Boring war movie with boring characters.
12. Killer's Kiss - 66. OK noir movie.
11. The Killing - 85. Finally, a real plot an some good twists.
10. Eyes Wide Shut - 90. Beautifully shot and incredibly artistic in both theme and delivery. But why isn't there a lot of Kidman in the second and third acts?
9. Spartacus - 91. Fantastic war movie with some of the best action scenes of the 60's. But other than the slow pace, who went back in time and gave the Romans a pea whistle?
8. Paths of Glory - 95. A tad slow-paced, but perfectly told as a story.
7. The Shining - 95. A lot of build up with a big bang.
6. Lolita - 95. If it had the lessened restriction and the deeper side of Humbert as told by Jeremy Irons, this would've been a perfect movie.
5. Dr. Strangelove - 96. Peter Sellers. Need I say more?
4. 2001 - 96. The only problem I have is that so much of humanity is sapped from thr human characters that the scenes involving humans are often boring as crud.
3. A Clockwork Orange - 97. The third act is a LITTLE hokey but it still works.
2. Barry Lyndon - 98. An almost perfectly crafted story with a fantastic ending.
1. Full Metal Jacket - 100. Contrary to popular opinion, I thought the second half was just as good as the first.

They are all great and there is only slight deviations in quality between most of them


2001
The Shining
Paths of Glory
Clockwork Orange
Lolita
Barry Lyndon
The Killing
Eyes Wide Shut
Full Metal Jacket
Dr Strangelove
Spartacus
Killers Kiss


Killers Kiss is the only one I'd give less than a 4.5. Most are 5/5

Top tier
2001
Barry Lyndon

Next Tier
Full Metal Jacket
Dr Strangelove
The Shining
Eyes Wide Shut
Paths of Glory

Next Tier
A Clockwork Orange
Lolita

Next Tier
The Killing

The Tier that I don't care for
Spartacus
Killer's Kiss

The Tier that is unintentionally funny
Fear & Desire

The Tier that I turned off a couple of minutes in that one time I attempted to watch it because I realized I wasn't interested in the subject material:
The Seafarers

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Anything in those top 4 tiers can fluctuate by about 1 tier given my frame of mind at any given moment. Well, The Killing can only fluctuate up. 2001 can't fluctuate at all for me.