Special Movie Debate: Stanley Kubrick

[Reed Rothchild | 10,082]

[Hammerfestus | 4,211]

Your multipack poll is a single pick poll

[CT | 232]

One of my favorite directors and the first 40 minutes or so of Full Metal Jacket is so good.

[Reed Rothchild | 10,082]

3 hours ago, Hammerfestus said:

Your multipack poll is a single pick poll

Fixed

[nrslam | 501]

Several of my all time favorites here: Strangelove ("You can't fight in here! This is the war room!"), 2001, The Shining, and one of the worst I ever sat thru: Barry Lyndon. Clockwork Orange messed with my head in ways no other movie ever has. Maybe 14 was the wrong age to watch that. On rewatch, it seemed pretty tame.

[Tabonga | 2,533]

1 hour ago, nrslam said:

Several of my all time favorites here: Strangelove ("You can't fight in here! This is the war room!"), 2001, The Shining, and one of the worst I ever sat thru: Barry Lyndon. Clockwork Orange messed with my head in ways no other movie ever has. Maybe 14 was the wrong age to watch that. On rewatch, it seemed pretty tame.

Barry Lyndon is amazing IMHO.  It should bore one to tears but there is so much going on both visually and plot wise that it can grab you if you are paying attention.  I was pretty intrigued with the main character's constant ability to make lemonade from lemons and scam his way to ever better situations.

My favorite bit of narration from the film:

"This heart of Lischen's was like many a neighboring town that had been stormed and occupied many times before Barry came to invest it."

 

After Barry Lyndon my favorite is Clockwork Orange.

 

[Mega Tank | 1,171]

[doner24 | 1,236]

One of my favorite directors, I’ve seen all except for his first movie. Picked A Clockwork Orange as my favorite, but it wasn’t easy as I love a few others just as much. 
 

Barry Lyndon and The Killing are his most underrated works IMO. 

[Sumez | 3,218]

Great director for one of these, but I regret that I haven't watched as many of his as I'd liked. I bought a bluray set with most of his movies a few years ago and hoping to watch them all, but it's very rare to be both in the mood and actually get the time to watch one of them, I rarely get the time to watch movies at all as it is, and to watch one my gf isn't also interested in seeing is nearly never happening XD

I remember seeing Barry Lyndon as a kid and being super fascinated by it, even though I didn't understand it, it's one of my most anticipated rewatches honestly. Eyes Wide Shut I saw in the theatre and didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. Hoping to rewatch that some time too. 

My favourite Kubrick is probably the first half of Full Metal Jacket, but as a complete experience, Clockwork Orange has the win! 

Space Odyssey is a movie is respect in concept a whole lot more than I enjoy actually watching it. Kubrick pretty much pulled a "starship troopers" on Arthur C Clarke before it was cool

[DefaultGen | 5,970]

Barry Lyndon is kind of like an 18th century Forrest Gump but you get a huuuge zoom shot every other scene. I love that movie. The Shining would have to be my favorite though. I love Paths of Glory too.

[sp1nz | 733]

Stanley Kubrick	My Score
[1952] Fear and Desire	59
[1955] Killer's Kiss	54
[1956] The Killing	44
[1957] Paths of Glory	68
[1960] Spartacus	99
[1962] Lolita	59
[1964] Dr. Strangelove	73
[1968] 2001: A Space Odyssey	92
[1971] A Clockwork Orange	79
[1975] Barry Lyndon	77
[1980] The Shining	94
[1987] Full Metal Jacket	96
[1999] Eyes Wide Shut	53
Director Score	73

Very good director after some weaker early movies; love the variety and vision. When I watched Spartacus I had the feeling of "they don't make 'em like this anymore", obviously not many people will pick this as a favorite, as Kubrick wasn't the initial director and didn't have full artistic control, but it's still my favorite historical epic film so far - it just feels larger than life and is beautifully shot, scored, acted and so forth. Shining's bathtub lady has haunted me ever since childhood, Full Metal Jacket and Paths of Glory are brutal with their anti-war message, 2001 is an interesting progression of acts ending in a visual spectacle and equally impressive mindfuckery, Clockwork Orange is a double whammy of deviancy and reformation, and so on.

Edited January 7, 2024 by sp1nz

[JamesRobot | 6,274]

What, no Moon landing?

 

[JamesRobot | 6,274]

I'd give Kubrick a 10 on the Reed scale.  I've seen most of these and am interested in the rest.  

It was a tough call choosing a favorite among Dr. Strangelove, 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, and The Shining.  2001 and The Shining are staples of my two favorite movie genres to be sure.  But I probably come back to Clockwork Orange the most frequently.

As for the "controversy" surrounding the ending, I think Kubrick's is a great juxtaposition in contrast to author Anthony Burgess' original vision and theme, and both ultimately propose the same question: If modified behavior is externally enforced, does it actually change the nature of the subject and instil actual reform?  

According to Kubrick and Burgess respectively (my own interpretation):

Spoiler

Kubrick says, no.  The protagonist Alex immediately returns, reinvigorated, to his indulgent and sinful behavior.  The state cannot force meaningful reform on the unwilling.  The monster is not or cannot be redeemed even by his own hand.  A true monster would never be willing to change.

Burgess' original ending is a little more murky.  Alex comes away from the whole ordeal with a sense of right and wrong.  While he willingly yet selfishly entered the program of behavior modification in exchange for release, he learned morality in the end.  But is his redemption a result of the procedure or merely the natural development of maturity as Alex has undergone his rite of passage into manhood?  Regardless, the monster is/can be redeemed whether by his own volition or by imposed reformation.

 

[Tabonga | 2,533]

2 hours ago, JamesRobot said:

What, no Moon landing?

 

 

[Tulpa | 3,771]

13 hours ago, Sumez said:

Space Odyssey is a movie is respect in concept a whole lot more than I enjoy actually watching it. Kubrick pretty much pulled a "starship troopers" on Arthur C Clarke before it was cool

You need to see 2001 on a BIG screen. Even then, there are spots that drag.

A very underrated Kubrick film is Paths of Glory.

[The Count | 629]

I voted for Full Metal Jacket, but if you haven't seen Paths of Glory, do yourself a favor and watch it. It still resonates today, powerful stuff.

[mbd39 | 2,147]

I've seen everything from Lolita onward. 2001 is his masterpiece and single greatest acccomplishment but A Clockwork Orange is more entertaining so picked that as my favorite.

[final fight cd | 257]

Eyes wide shut is great.  I love movies that don’t explicitly tell you everything, and it so to the watcher to come up with their own theories/ideas/meanings. Plus, Tom cruise is great. 

Edited January 8, 2024 by final fight cd