Stanley Kubrick Movies

by Brian Pierce • Sep 19th, 2008 at 1:55 pm • 6 comments

I am highly resistant to writing about politics at the moment (and probably will be until the debates start up), and I lack the knowledge to write competently about the financial craziness that’s been going on, so I thought I’d do another edition of what I did a couple days ago when I listed my ranking of Coen brothers movies. I’ll try to make a little mini-series out of this with different directors, and hopefully it will provide a sense of levity as things get more intense the closer we get to Election Day. Today, I’m tackling the films of my all-time favorite director, Stanley Kubrick. From best to worst:

  1. Dr. Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
  2. Paths of Glory
  3. The Shining
  4. 2001: A Space Odyssey
  5. Full Metal Jacket
  6. A Clockwork Orange
  7. Eyes Wide Shut
  8. Lolita
  9. Spartacus

Excluded from the list because I haven’t seen them: The Killing, Barry Lyndon, and several of his very early films. This is a tough list to make for a couple reasons. First, Kubrick’s movies are very different from one another, making them difficult to compare. Second, his movies can be very polarizing, 2001 being probably the best example of that, where one person might think it’s the greatest movie ever and another will walk away hating it.

One thing I always marvel at when I think about Kubrick is that a single director somehow made my all-time favorite comedy (Dr. Strangelove), horror movie (The Shining), science fiction movie (2001), and war movie (Paths of Glory). Paths of Glory, by the way, is not as widely seen as many of his other movies, but people really ought to watch it. It’s powerful and courageous in a way very few movies are. A lot of Kubrick’s work strikes me as a series of attempts to cut through various absurdities, and where Dr. Strangelove manages that feat with hilarious satire, Paths of Glory manages it with deadly seriousness. That he’s able to communicate in such different ways is a testament to his range, and that he’s able to communicate so powerfully at all is a testament to his enormous talent.

Also, if there are readers out there who are big fans of Kubrick, I’d recommend the documentary Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures.

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There Are 6 Responses So Far. »

  1. Comment by JayBandit on 19 September 2008 at 5:57 pm:

    Seven-six-two millimeter. Full. Metal. Jacket.

    One of the best lines in all of movies…and my favorite Kubrick film.

    I also thoroughly enjoyed AI, but that was directed after he died (Spielberg)…but still his movie.

  2. Comment by Jackson Hill on 21 July 2010 at 12:48 am:

    i always collect the greatest movies from all decades including the 60’s. i love to watch movies.:~:

  3. Comment by Nathaniel Wood on 6 September 2010 at 4:54 am:

    you could say that War of The Worlds is one of the greatest movies of all times:~;

  4. Comment by Shower Caddy ` on 11 October 2010 at 8:19 pm:

    in my opinion, the greatest movie would be Somewhere In Time -~”

  5. Comment by Share Quotes : on 23 October 2010 at 11:17 am:

    there are many greatest movies that i can think of by James Bond and Star Wars should be on the top of my list~’;

  6. Comment by Liposuction and Its Side Effects %0B on 13 December 2010 at 3:26 pm:

    i am a movie addict and i watch a lot of movie in just one night, the greatest movie for me is Somewhere In Tome “-~

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