Please post your opinion on :

-Spartacus

-Lolita

-Dr.Strangelove

-2001 : A Space Odyssey

-A Clockwork Orange

-Barry Lyndon

-The Shining

-Full Metal Jacket

-Eyes wide shut

Extra question : is there anyone old enough to tell us how it was when the movies came out?
If you remember the big commotion that was always around his movies?

Are you sure he did "Spartugas"

One of those directors who's praised for all of his work. I hope to see all of it. I'm gonna avoid posting my favorite numbers.

Dr. Strangelove - (Kubrick;1964;UK) - ****
After a crazy general launches a nuclear attack on Russia during the Cold War, a room of political officials, the Russians, and an ex-Nazi scientist try to stop it.
An excellent satire on the Cold War. Peter Sellers is great in his three roles, memorable for them all, especially Dr. Strangelove himself. George C. Scott is always comical with his facial expressions and gum chewing. "BLASTOFF!" The movie is always fun to watch with it's great cast and humor. It also has one of the greatest theatrical trailers ever.

A Clockwork Orange - (Kubrick;1971;UK) - ****
A violent rapist/trouble maker is put through an experiment that makes him an ideal citizen, at the expense of his free will and comfort.
The best thing about this film is the way Kubrick shows us a future world. The colors, music, odd clothes, and the milk bar. This is far from a forgettable film. The cast is great, some Kubrick regulars are in it as well as the leading actor Malcolm McDowell in a superb performance.

Spartacus - (Kubrick;1960;USA) - ***1/2
A slave leads a violent revolt against the Roman empire.
A classic epic and the best gladiator film. Kirk Douglas and Laurence Olivier create two memorable characters. The battle scenes are great, with actual extras, no CGI. Kubrick disowned this I believe but either way it's still a great film from him.

The Shining - (Kubrick;1980;UK) - ***1/2
A man goes insane in a hotel he is caretaking for, or is it haunted?
A great horror movie that actually does it's job when it comes to scaring people. There are many creepy moments as well as memorable ones, such as the dialogue between Jack Nicholson and the bartender. The biggest problem is Shelly Duvall's horrible acting. I'm sure most of us have seen this and it is a great movie with a good cast (minus Duvall) that includes Jack Nicholson, Scatman Crothers, and Philip Stone.

I've never really been a fan of Stanley Kubrick. I like some of his movies and I give him credit in brining some of the images that he did to the screen, but overall, I don't see him as a "great" director. However, I do own The Shining and it is a very good and creepy movie. I need to buy A Clockwork Orange, which is a great movie and probably my favorite of his. Full Metal Jacket was good, but I only liked the first hour of the movie. Once basic training was over and the Vietnam war picked up, I kinda lost interest. Finally, the only things I liked about Eyes Wide Shut was the Nicole Kidman nudity, plus the other hot chicks in the movie, and Tom Cruise's character. Overall, not a very good movie, but some good points in it.

Just recently I discovered that Stanley Kubrick is probably my favorite director. I cherish his movies and I dearly wish that he was still alive to make more.

Spartacus- 8.5/10

A great epic story filled with great special effects and unique characters. Very different from most of Kubricks films, but great nonetheless.


Dr. Strangeglove- 10/10

An extremely controversial yet perfect political satire. Sellers is terrefic all three times, and his supporting cast is great as well. This is hands down my favorite comedy movie ever.


2001: A Space Oddesey- 10/10

A spectacular film filled with ground breaking visual effects and one of the best non human characters ever.


A Clockwork Orange- 10/10

Extremely dark and controversial. This movie pushes its R rating to the limits but what it lacks in subtelety, it makes up for in genius. This is Kubrick's finest hour.


Full Metal Jacket- 9.5/10

The vivid scenes and artistic representation of this film are what set it apart from most other war films. Kubrick attempts to portray the average soldier's entire journey through the Vietnam war, and he nails it, in what I feel is the best Vietnam movie ever made.


Ultimately, the reason I feel so highly of Kubrick is because of the versatility of his imagination and vision. Kubrick has directed some of the best movies in the genres of Drama, Romance, Horror, War, Sci/Fi, and Comedy. His ability to create beautiful and sometimes dark films that bring new meaning to the word "Edgy" are what ranks him amongst the greatest directors of all time.

Lolita **
1962, Kubrick, GB
A professor marries his landowner to be near her 14-year-old daughter, with whom he is in love.
Lengthy and at times lacking in purpose and passion; nevertheless, it is totally absorbing thanks to some delightful acting and directing.

Dr Strangelove; or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb ****
1963, Kubrick, GB[/b]
When a mad US general launches a nuclear attack on Russia, and the President is informed of an inevitable retaliation which will end all life on Earth, all concerned decide to sit back and wait.
Both timely and timeless; as applicable today as it was at the height of the Cold War, masterfully done by everybody in front of the camera and behind it.

2001: A Space Odyssey ****
1968, Kubrick, GB
From primitive apes to scientists in the future, mankind struggles with its tools.
Mesmerising in its visuals, its point is obscured and its ending bewildering; its final impression is of an artist out of control of his own thoughts, and his final product is as beautiful as it is incorehent.

A Clockwork Orange ***
1971, Kubrick, GB
A young thug is brainwashed by the Government and released to find the public more violent that before his arrest for murder.
Terrific and terrifying, this verges many times on both farce and horror, with brilliant directorial touches throughout.

Barry Lyndon **
1975, Kubrick, GB
The rise and fall of an 18th century Irish nobleman.
For a tale of its sort, characterisation is oddly kept at a bare minimum, and plays second fiddle to the visual brilliance of the director; all art and no substance.

Shining, The **
1980, Kubrick, GB
An off-season caretaker at a remote hotel has a mental breakdown, and decides to kill his wife and son.
Especially brilliant in its lavish presentation, yet as a ghost story it falls short on many levels, not least of all the ultimate absence of any explanation for the many manic happenings.

Full Metal Jacket ***
1987, Kubrick, GB
US marines undergo harsh training before landing in Vietnam.
A brutal take on US involvement in 'Nam, going to great lengths in avoiding characterisation and emotional depth; instead lies an unrelenting barrage on the senses throughout.

Eyes Wide Shut ***
1999, Kubrick, GB
A happily married doctor is shocked when his wife confesses of a one night stand, and goes on a sexually driven rampage through New York.
Interesting psychosexual drama, cold, distant and at times deeply chilling; Kubrick's last film is a haunting fantasy of sexual jealousy and insecurites within a seemingly happy marriage, and also a worthy final chapter in one of the masters of film's career.

One of the most technically consistent directors of all time. A true wizard behind the camera, and a vital innovator in the history of cinema as an art form. No director has produced such a varied body of work and still been regarded as an auteur filmmaker.

I don't think anybody can discard him than anything below "great", especially when their reasons lack conviction.

If you want to appreciate him even more, check out Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures (1999).

Mick

Fully agreed. I think I saw some of Life and Pictures, is it the one Tom Cruise narrates?

I'm interested in seeing John Malkovich in the film Colour Me Kubrick.

Yeah, Cruise narrates it. Nicholson, Kidman, Duvall (of the Shelley variety), Cruise, Allen (Woody), Spielberg and others giving nice interviews too.

Kubrick was apparently a master at chess.

Mick

Well I think most movie buffs would agree that Kubrick's "Great" films that are regarded as such across the board is his work from 1964 to 1971 in DR. STRANGELOVE, 2001, and A CLOCKWORK ORANGE.

As for Capo's low grade for THE SHINING(one of the best horror films of the 1980's, if not the king itself) over the ghost story not being explained.........really, that actually works into the movie's strength.

Any such unexplained "hanger" would really cripple a movie if it was helmed by a not-so-crafted director....but this is Kubrick, so of course he makes it work. Besides, I really hate films that have a real opaque mystery that is easily resolved in the last 20 minutes. Really, it especially kicks one for the win with that ending shot....one that totally wants to have its way with your head in a back alley without condoms.

Then again Capo, which edit of the movie did you see? There is the 145 minute and 115 minute cuts that are floating out there.

As for BARRY LYNDON, its not my cup of tea, but its still a damn tastey beverage. Sure I wished that Kubrick had done his dream epic of NAPOLEON but I'm sure glad that Stan Boy didn't bother adapting VANITY FAIR has he had initially planned(urgh!). However, it quite influenced Sir Ridley Scott on his directorial film debut in THE DUELISTS apparently in terms of shots, etc.

Really, all of Kubrick's movies are either Really Great or Really Good. FULL METAL JACKET is the 2nd best film about the American stage of the Vietnam War and really the most underrated. While I do believe that APOCALYPSE NOW is still King of that sub-war film genre, FMJ has proven its worthyness over time.

Really, the only Kubrick movie that while it was good, I just honestly didn't care for. LOLITA has great acting and direction, but meh.

I do wish that FEAR & DESIRE(Kubrick's first film) will get released on DVD at somepoint. Sure I bet the movie is a mess(as those that have seen it that agree on, even the director himself), its still an early project that displays how a Great director progressed onto his legacy. Anyway, its like DEMENTIA 13, the not-so-good directorial debut for BB.Net Director God in Francis Ford Coppola. While it was pure Corman-exploitation cheese, its still intriging to see the work of a man before he would churn out the GODFATHER films, THE CONVERSATION, APOCALYPSE NOW, etc.

I was around for the debut of all those films . The two that had the greatest impact were:
"Dr. Strangelove:" It came out at the peak period of nuclear fears, around the same time as "Fail Safe," the serious version of the same theme, a great, great Lumet film that's harrowing, shocking and really scary. People lined up for hours to see this comic version of an unthinkable theme. Kubrick got a lot of criticism for his flip way of handling it--and just as much praise for "thinking the unthinkable." I think he would have gotten more criticism than praise if the film hadn't been supported by those great performances from Sellers and Scott.
It is impossible to understate the impact of "Clockwork Orange." This was probably viewed as Kubrick's "big social statement" in an era in which violence and anarchy were rising everywhere in the Western world. The explicit violence and sex pushed at the edge of film in 1971. Younger people were particularly moved by the film.You couldn't pick up an issue of "Rolling Stone" without reading about "Orange."
For this viewer's money, "Paths of Glory" was Kubrick's best. I was turned off by the glacial pace of "2001" and "Eyes Wide Shut." Kubrick got plenty of credit for "The Killing," but it pales before the all-time best heist film, "Asphalt Jungle."

-Spartacus: Liked it a lot, but not as good as "The Ten Commandments" or "Ben Hur" as far as epics with casts of thousands go.

-Lolita: Liked it a lot, also

-Dr.Strangelove: I love Strangelove. One of my all-time faves

-2001 : A Space Odyssey: OK, but not my cup of tea

-A Clockwork Orange: Didn't care for it

-Barry Lyndon: Didn't see it

-The Shining: Liked it a lot

-Full Metal Jacket: Liked it a lot

-Eyes wide shut: Fair

And, to add those which Turnbull added to the list:

-Paths of Glory: Possibly my all-time favorite after the GF Trilogy. I've probably watched it 20-30 times.

-The Killing: Turnbull can correct me if I'm wrong here, but I suspect that as Kubrick's second directorial offering (following a film called "Killer's Kiss", which I've basically barely heard and not seen), it was considered nothing more than a low budget "B" movie at the time. But it's excellent for what it is, it stars Sterling (Capt. McCluskey & General Jack D. Ripper) Hayden, and had a neat surprise ending.

is there anyone old enough to tell us how it was when the movies came out?
If you remember the big commotion that was always around his movies?

I remember "Lolita" being considered extremely risque for it's time, and "Barry Lyndon" getting absolutely horrible reviews. "2001" and "Clockwork" were all the rage when they came out.

I never heard of that one. I always thought "Killer's Kiss" was his first.

Turnbull, have you seen Rififi? I haven't (nor Asphalt Jungle, for that matter), but it supposedly has a great heist scene in it.

Rocket Ronnie, I agree my statment regarding a lack of explanation in The Shining seems a contradiction when I say in the same sentence that Don't Look Now (1973) is one of the best films ever made.

But The Shining was much more of a drug to feed Kubrick's technical fetish than a horror story. Nicholson's over-the-top performance, not to mention crass Duvall, didn't do much in the way of genuine frights. Though the directing makes for some nice "He's behind you [or us]" moments.

Mick

"The Shining" is one of my favorite movies, one of the scariest! I have also seen "Eyes Wide Shut," which I didn't particularly like, I just thought it was bizarre.

"Rififi" is the quintessential French heist film (major genre there). Very fine all around, with a very Gaullic spin at the end.

-2001 : A Space Odyssey

Kubrick's best.
There are so many ppl who hate this movie because its too slow,but thats waht helps to creat the atmosphere.
I have seen this movie "Kubrick life in pictures"-interesting fact that he counted the number of "Exits" -movie 'critics' who walked out in the middle of the movie's first screening.More than half I believe.
A few weeks later,they call the movie a masterpiece

-Full Metal Jacket

"Sir"

-"Sir what?Are you about to call me an asshole?"



What a movie-the part when Pile is killing the captain is so intense.Definitely the best scene in the movie.
And when hes facing Joker,and theres a silence and you hear the sound of the Iron-did you notice that?-amazing!

Lolita, The Shining and Full metal jacket are my Kubrick favs. In my opinion, the most oustanding thing about Kubrick is that he made such good movies in any genre. It possibly proves his geniality and skillness. Nevertheless, I was much disappointed by his last movie, Eyes wide shut. Nauseating. The issue was interesting and well elaborated, but all those lousy sex scenes were not necessary at all. Not that I mind sex scenes, but those were disgusting.

Missed Lolita.

The only one I would not say was brilliant was Eyes wide shut.