I'm not calling him "overrated" as a director or whatever -- I think he's got a distinguished style of his own and I suppose I can;t argue that he was innovative/influential. Plus, I'll admit to having only seen three of his films so far: "A Clockwork Orange", "The Shining", and "2001: A Space Odyssey", so my opinion may not hold a whole lot of weight.

But they all left the same impression on me: Technically well-made with a few great/memorable scenes, but unbearably slow-paced in parts and not having truly floored me in any way by the time they were finished. In particular, I read the book "A Clockwork Orange" prior to seeing the movie and I thought it was a masterpiece. Then I watched the movie and thought to myself, "WTF is this Monty Python bullshit? " It felt more like an over-the-top parody/comedic version of the story complete with random nudity and sex everywhere than it did the great story I read beforehand. It was very funny and had a couple of great scenes nevertheless, but the book was a far superior creation, as far as I'm concerned.

Kubrick doesn't do a whole lot for me, either.

Films like Full Metal Jacket and Dr Strangelove are genius.
I also felt that Clockwork Orange was over-rated,I could appreciate the idea but never really enjoyed it.

Strangelove is a masterpiece, IMO. (As is Spartacus.) But I can pretty much take or leave the rest.

I didn't like Clockwork Orange.

I liked 2001, and I liked The Shining.


I like how Kubric uses the silence between action scenes. It reminds me of how Ridley Scott does it--though Ridley can make a film still feel like it's moving along when he does that. Kubric, on the other hand sometimes has me wondering where it's all going

Of course, I saw my first Kubric film after I saw David Lynch's Erasurehead (which I hated) and it's impossible to enjoy cinematic masterpieces after having to sit through that nonsense.

Dr. Strangelove is brilliant (owing as much to Peter Sellers as Kubrick, though, imo). I love The Shining, too, because I think the pacing of that film is so well done and so nicely builds the story (although Shelly Duval is awful, just awful in it). But 2001 is really, really hard for me to sit still through, as are a lot of his films.

Efan said:

I've never made it through 2001.

Genesia said:

Me either. I'm so glad to hear you say it too!

pretty much the funniest scene in movie history.

No, you aren't the only one. My all-time fave is "Lolita." I just love it. I love the book, too. I find the movie so entertaining. Peter Sellers. Love him!

"Dr. Strangelove" is a close second. Peter Sellers, again.

"The Shining" I have to take as an original idea - I can't try to compare it to the book or it seems to fail. Shelly Duvall as Windy??? But I do like some of the visuals (the twins in the hallway, the shot of Jack lying in the snow, etc).

I hated, hated, hated "Eyes Wide Shut," and I didn't care for "A.I." at all (which was just as much a Kubrick film as it was a Speilberg one).

I used to like "A Clockwork Orange" a lot (enough to buy the VHS for a hefty sum, back in the day), but I think that was me thinking I was cool because I understood it when in reality, I most certainly didn't understand it, and now that I'm older and (I hope) wiser, I **think** I understand it, but I don't really care for it (??).

And I honestly don't get "2001." I can appreciate the creepiness of HAL and Dave and all that, but I don't appreciate it enough to want to watch again. My initial viewing was probably my last (whereas I can watch "Dr. Strangelove" or "Lolita" over and over).

The Shining is like a fairytale nightmare slow motion fever dream where insanity promises violence around the corner even in bright sunlight... all with the mood of being in a huge echoing opera hall... alone.

I love this movie! I saw it as kid and felt like even a shot with someone just preparing a meal was intensely interesting to me and full of mood and dread.

I own the soundtrack on vinyl! It's quite rare.

I was disappointed by Full Metal Jacket when I saw it in the theatre. The first half was like The Shining light (diet). The second half had little passion or energy for me.

oh yeah... Paths of Glory and Lolita are good too! Kubrick movies are often like scientific meditations with a bit of Monty Python vibe like you said in Clockwork Orange (or the bathroom conversation in The Shining with the spilled "advocad")

Meh.

Has anyone seen "Barry Lyndon"? I haven't...

All Stanley Kubrick movies have a bathroom scene. Honest.

I love Kubrick, though I admit that overacting and a snail's pace are pretty standard of his stuff.

Kubrick had a photographic eye like no other, and he packed frame after frame with trademark shots and cool symbolic archetypes, settings, props, signage, colors, lighting... Watching his stuff is almost like some Jungian amusement park ride. And repeated viewings usually bear fruit.

The only one of his films I haven't been able to endure in one sitting has been Barry Lyndon. (Yep, I saw it, jillybean.) It was visually amazing -- lots of authentic period dress, nearly all natural lighting, a hot younger Ryan O'Neal and beautiful Irish settings (something impressive in itself, since Kubrick almost never left England) -- but I thought it was mind-numbingly boring... and it was a painful three hours long! I had to watch it over 2 or 3 nights. I might enjoy it now in my boring old age.
[Edited 7/9/09 10:33am]

I can't say that Kubricks movie blow me away, but I do like most of them. I find they have great story lines and are well thought out. His choice of actors in each movie is fantastic too. He always seemed to know exactly who was right for a particular role. I think he was one of the best directors ever!

This is a disappointing thread

I am actually really anxious to watch most of his films, but you all are making me a bit apprehensive!

The only one I've seen completely (so far) is Eyes Wide Shut and I must admit that I really like it

I've only seen bits of Spartacus and Lolita on TCM, but I enjoyed the parts I saw and I must see them in entirety

Once I realized that Kubrick's movies all have a theme of the exploration of man's vilnerabilities, fetishes, and other "weaknesses", I started to enjoy them more. It started when I noticed that most of my male friends somewhat enjoyed his movies, but pretty much all of the females "didn't get" the appeal.

I haven't loved them all, but there is a dreamy quality, not so obvious as Lynch, that I really like about some of his stuff all the way through Eyes Wide Shut

I still haven't seen them all, though. I'm not really into war stuff at the moment.

On a related note, I recently read 2001, and found it interesting to learn that the novel was actually written specifically for the movie.

A great book, too.

I loved Spartacus, but other than that not much else. Haven't seen them all but don't have any real desire to either.

There was a recent thread about the most boring movies ever. I voted 2001 in that, the most mind numbingly boring piece of cinema I've ever witnessed. I sat through it to the end, just because most people I knew said it was amazing. I kept thinking, 'surely something will happen soon.' Kept thinking it, then it ended. How did he ever make it last nearly 2 and a half hours? There must have been at least 2 hours of wasted time in that movie. Perhaps he was a genius at wasting time, or maybe I just needed to be high or tripping?