Best Stanley Kubrick Film

Registered User

01-09-24

With Kubrick, I would like to think all of his movies were so good there could be no wrong answer to this question.

But it turns out there are twelve wrong answers to this question.

Thief

Master of None

01-09-24

I'd be remiss if I didn't take the opportunity to pimp out an episode I did on Kubrick a couple of years ago. I had author Nathan Abrams, who has written a couple of books on Kubrick.

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

We talked a lot about the man, his films, and closed out the episode with our Top 5 films from him. For some reason, it is my most listened episode by a huge margin.

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Last edited by Thief; 01-09-24 at 10:09 AM.

Brody At Amity

That's some bad hat, Harry.

01-09-24

Originally Posted by Darth Pazuzu

Have you seen Mike Flanagan's Doctor Sleep from 2019. It's the movie version of Stephen King's own literary sequel to his novel The Shining. Given King's own deeply-held reservations about Kubrick's film, what impresses me most deeply about Doctor Sleep is that Flanagan somehow managed to make a film which serves two different masters. On one hand, it's a great adaptation of King's own follow-up novel, but on the other, it makes a very effective sequel to Kubrick's film. Flanagan pulls off a very difficult balancing act, combining a respect for King's storytelling and sense of characterization with an equal respect for Kubrick's stylistic and aesthetic sensibility, respecting King's story while at the same time plugging directly into the iconography of Kubrick. (Granted, Flanagan isn't Kubrick and certainly doesn't have the master's sense of depth and thematic layering, but that's certainly no crime. One can be a tenth the filmmaker that Kubrick was and still be very talented.)

Yes. And I was impressed by it (this was my review at the time). You're very right about that balancing act Flanagan finds. I was particularly impressed with Michael Fimognari's work as DP. That sequence when Rose the Hat drifting across the night sky looks incredible. It's more faithful to the novel than The Shining but perhaps King's work lent itself better to the screen this time around.,

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Last edited by Brody At Amity; 01-09-24 at 01:03 PM.

Brody At Amity

That's some bad hat, Harry.

01-09-24

Originally Posted by Mesmerized

Those are my top movies as well with The Shining at #1.

Allaby

Guy who likes movies

01-09-24

My 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
Killer's Kiss
Fear and Desire

crumbsroom

Registered User

01-09-24

I'm sure I've made a vain attempt at this a few times over the years, so might as well approach failure yet again.

2001
The Shining (although I think nostalgia is keeping this one so high afloat all these years)
Paths of Glory
Clockwork Orange
Lolita (consistently his most underrated)
Barry Lyndon
Dr Strangelove
The Killing
Eyes Wide Shut
Full Metal Jacket
Spartacus
Killer's Kiss

It's arguable that I would give all of these, with the exception of Killers Kiss, and possibly Spartacus, a 5/5. At least they all are in theory, even if they might not all be created exactly equal.

Last edited by crumbsroom; 01-09-24 at 07:29 PM.

mlaturno

Registered User

01-09-24

I actually think Barry Lyndon and Eyes Wide Shut are probably my two favs. Haven't watched either A Clockwork Orange or Paths to Glory in probably a decade, so tough to say where they should go. Have not watched Killer's Kiss, The Killing or Spartacus.

2001 is/was a masterpiece, but I think it shows its age a bit. I can appreciate it for what it was, but I think you need some of that context for it to have that sort of impact.

I ****ing hate his take on Lolita lmao, which is saying something considering it may be my favorite novel. I definitely saw it as glorifying their romance in a way that felt antithetical to the book.

SpelingError

AKA Popcorn Reviews

01-09-24

Originally Posted by crumbsroom

I'm sure I've made a vain attempt at this a few times over the years, so might as well approach failure yet again.

2001
The Shining (although I think nostalgia is keeping this one so high afloat all these years)
Paths of Glory
Clockwork Orange
Lolita (consistently his most underrated)
Barry Lyndon
Dr Strangelove
The Killing
Full Metal Jacket
Spartacus
Killer's Kiss

It's arguable that I would give all of these, with the exception of Killers Kiss, and possibly Spartacus, a 5/5. At least they all are in theory, even if they might not all be created exactly equal.

Where would Eyes Wide Shut be?

SpelingError

AKA Popcorn Reviews

01-09-24

2001: A Space Odyssey
Paths of Glory
A Clockwork Orange
Eyes Wide Shut
Barry Lyndon
The Killing
Full Metal Jacket
The Shining
Dr. Strangelove
Lolita
Spartacus
Killer's Kiss

SpelingError

AKA Popcorn Reviews

01-09-24

Though Spielberg ended up directing it, how do you guys feel about A.I. Artificial Intelligence?

mlaturno

Registered User

01-09-24

Barry Lyndon
Eyes Wide Shut
2001: A Space Odyssey
Dr. Strangelove
Full Metal Jacket
The Shining
Lolita

Allaby

Guy who likes movies

01-09-24

Originally Posted by SpelingError

Though Spielberg ended up directing it, how do you guys feel about A.I. Artificial Intelligence?

I thought A.I. was good, but not great. I rated it a 7/10. If I were to rank it with Kubrick's filmography, it would be 3rd from the bottom.

John W Constantine

Alias: John Utah

01-09-24

Paths of Glory was the only Kubrick to make my personal T100 recently. That probably wouldn't change if I updated it now.

Allaby

Guy who likes movies

01-09-24

There's 6 Kubrick films in my top 200.

crumbsroom

Registered User

01-09-24

Originally Posted by SpelingError

Where would Eyes Wide Shut be?

Maybe between Full Metal Jacket and The Killing

crumbsroom

Registered User

01-09-24

Originally Posted by SpelingError

Though Spielberg ended up directing it, how do you guys feel about A.I. Artificial Intelligence?

First half great, second half not so great, ending...decent

Citizen Rules

Noir Time

01-09-24

Originally Posted by SpelingError

Though Spielberg ended up directing it, how do you guys feel about A.I. Artificial Intelligence?

I kinda threw-up abit when the cute, fuzzy talking bear appeared...Though I was interested up until that point.

stillmellow

Basic Non-B

01-09-24

Originally Posted by crumbsroom

First half great, second half not so great, ending...decent

I thought the ending was a complete mess. I would've liked to have seen Kubrick's version.

Thief

Master of None

01-09-24

Originally Posted by SpelingError

Though Spielberg ended up directing it, how do you guys feel about A.I. Artificial Intelligence?

It's been a good while since I saw it, but I remember liking it a lot. I need to revisit, though, to talk about it properly.

stillmellow