Kubrick's Masterpiece?

[Mike 03]

Today I was looking through the new affordable version of the book Stanley Kubrick Archives and trying to decide what my favorite movie of his was, and it was almost impossible.

Is it BARRY LYNDON?

Is it 2001?

Is it THE SHINING?

Or DR. STRANGELOVE?

If someone put a gun to my head, I would have to pick 2001. But, wow, what a legacy. I would not be ashamed to pick any of his films from STRANGELOVE forward to EYES WIDE SHUT.

Wow I miss that filmmaker.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

1. Hard to pick the best.

But 2001, Clockwork Orange, Dr. Strangelove and Paths of Glory are the top tier of his work, IMO.

[kath]

24. Glad you mentioned "Paths of Glory" - great anti-war movie.

[ghostsofgiants]

2. The Shining and Eyes Wide Shut are my favourites.

I'm inclined to say Eyes Wide Shut because it is one of the most underrated films ever, in my opinion.

[jonnyblitz]

3. damn i liked Eyes Wide Shut, too. many DUers list it as the movie

they hate the most along with "the English Patient(off topic of kubrick)" which i also liked( I liked the book, too)and , for me, the Shining is a classic. I never saw the other version of it.

[RandomThoughts]

5. It revealed some of the truths of certain groups.

So they made sure it got bad reviews. Although I think things like the masks were a metaphor.

The reason there was a mask on the pillow in the end of the movie, my guess, once the main character had seen and done what he did, he would be wearing a mask when he was with his wife. Hiding the truth from her.

[ghostsofgiants]

9. People always complain as well about the coldness between Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman...

They always say there was no chemistry. That was the whole point though, in my opinion. They were a couple whose marriage was not what it should be, and it showed, despite their attempts to put up a united front.

[RandomThoughts]

7. It revealed some of the truths of certain groups.

That hurts the reviews. Although I think things like the masks were a metaphor.

The reason there was a mask on the pillow in the end of the movie, my guess, once the main character had seen and done what he did, he would be wearing a mask when he was with his wife. Hiding the truth from her.

[Danger Mouse]

17. Fail.

[ghostsofgiants]

25. Nope.

[kwassa]

19. "Eyes Wide Shut" is one of the worst movies I've ever seen.

and I like Kubrick, and just watched the documentary on him on the Sundance Channel.

I liked Clockwork Orange, Dr. Strangelove, 2001 Space Odyssey, Lolita, even Barry Lyndon.

[ghostsofgiants]

27. Haha, I knew it'd be a controversial position to take, but I stand by it.

[arcadian]

35. I'll throw my hat in the ring for 'Eyes Wide Shut' too

A lot of people don't "get" it. Or they have it out for Tom Cruise.

[jobycom]

37. I think it may be one of the most over-bashed films.

It wasn't bad. I remember wondering if Kubric had died before he could put the finishing touches on it. It was beautifully shot, and had a good storyline. The transitions between scenes were just flat, though. It never built the tension I expected, and at the end it just sort of wrapped things up and let the curtain fall. I liked the ending--reminded me of "Foucault's Pendelum"--but it seemed to come too easily. More like an outline than a finished film. "Move here, then move here, then we're done."

As with all things in life, it reminds me of a Ron Howard film :P --The Da Vinci Code. It left so much of the drama to the uniqueness of the plot elements that if you were already familiar with the basics of the plot element it had no more drama.

But it was a good film. Doesn't deserve the bashing. I still wouldn't rate it his best, though.

[ghostsofgiants]

39. Oh, you and your Ron Howard.

:P

I've read conflicting reports about the film's status when he died. A lot of people, if memory serves correctly, says he would have worked on it more if he hadn't died.

It's a weird film, so i can see why people might not like it, but I think it's absurd to call it a bad film by any stretch of the imagination, and to me, it just really says Kubrick. Not sure why, and I'm at work so I don't have time to try and articulate it, but when I thikn Kubrick, I can't help but go right to Eyes Wide Shut.

[AlCzervik]

4. Lolita, 2001.

[MrScorpio]

6. For me, Dr Strangelove and Paths of Glory

2001 is up there too

[Iggo]

8. A Clockwork Orange.

I don't know why everyone hates that one, but it's my favorite.

[ghostsofgiants]

10. I think they're just put off by the ultraviolence and other such horrorshow.

[jonnyblitz]

11. that movie always bored the crap outta me for some reason. nt

[gmoney]

34. The ending is anti-climactic

Turning the whole point of the movie into him being used as a political football just strikes me as off... not sure how it SHOULD end though.

The "Singing in the Rain" sequence is what makes the whole movie, really...

[progressoid]

38. I read an interview with Anthony Burgess about the ending he wrote in the book

Most US versions don't have the final chapter of the book (like the movie).

I'll let Wiki tell it:

Omission of the final chapter:
The book is divided into three parts, each containing seven chapters. Burgess has stated that the total of 21 chapters was an intentional nod to the age of 21 being recognised as a milestone in human maturation. The 21st chapter was omitted from the editions published in the United States prior to 1986.<2> In the introduction to the updated American text (these newer editions include the missing 21st chapter), Burgess explains that when he'd first brought the book to an American publisher, he'd been told that U.S. audiences would never go for the final chapter, in which Alex sees the error of his ways and resolves to turn his life around (a slow-ripening but classic moment of metanoia; the moment at which one's protagonist realises that everything he thought he knew, was wrong).

At the American publisher's insistence, Burgess allowed their editors to cut the redeeming final chapter from the U.S. version, so that the tale would end on a note of bleak despair, with young Alex succumbing to his darker nature; an ending which the publisher insisted would be 'more realistic' and appealing to a U.S. audience. The film adaptation, directed by Stanley Kubrick, is based on this "badly flawed" (Burgess' words, ibid.) American edition of the book. Kubrick claimed that he had not read the original version until he had virtually finished the screenplay, but that he certainly had never given any serious consideration to using it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clockwork_Orange,_A

[jonnyblitz]

12. most people i know love that movie. nt

[Iggo]

13. Yeah, but...

...in a conversation about Kubrick movies, all of a sudden it's shite.

[cemaphonic]

15. Since when does everyone hate A Clockwork Orange

It certainly has a better popular and critical following than say, Barry Lyndon.

[Orsino]

14. Strangelove, or Full Metal Jacket. n/t

[edbermac]

16. It's like picking a favorite child.

You just can't do it. Probably the film I've seen the least is Lolita. My current favorite is Full Metal Jacket.

[Danger Mouse]

18. That's an impossible question.

Every single one of his movies was different from all the others.
It's almost impossible to compare them.

[tigereye]

31. good point - I had no idea when we saw the documentary, how eclectic

his work was, how complex overall, and that he started as a photographer. Fascinating man.


Barry Lyndon is beautiful, but all his films are. I would have to say 2001, but Strangelove is wonderfully unique and has held up well.

[Orrex]

20. Dr. Strangelove

The combination of Kubrick, Scott, and Sellers is unbeatable.


And another thing: Sellers' first appearance as Mandrake, emerging from behind a large section of fan-fold paper, is among the best entrances I've ever seen.

[MilesColtrane]

21. Strangelove

Followed closely by 2001,

[NNadir]

22. Strangelove, all the way.

[Robeson]

23. Too many good ones to say which one was the "ultimate" Kubrick...

...I think it's best to take them all in totality.

[TieDyedDad]

26. FULL METAL JACKET

Sorry guys, I work in construction and we quote that one all day..LOL

[S_E_Fudd]

28. 2001 by far....

Barry Lyndon would be second

[progressoid]

29. SPARTICUS!!

Just kidding. Kubrick was directed some of it and said he prefers to forget that one.

I'd go with Dr Strangelove.

Clockwork Orange #2.

[gmoney]

36. Still, it kicks ass...

"I am Spartacus"

Tony Curtis is kind of a joke with his accent, but other than that, it's one of the best "epics" of that sort.

[Fire Walk With Me]

30. Me likey Kubrick.

[Alexander]

32. A.I.

Just kidding.

I'd have to say 2001.

[Xipe Totec]

33. Easier to pick the worst - Eyes Wide Shut n/t