I saw Full Metal Jacket this past weekend. That movie just disturbs me. That being said, I think it's an amazing piece of work. The entire basic training scene as well the characters are classic. Does anyone have a favorite Stanley Kubrick film?

it's a wonderful half of a movie!

Did he do Clockwork Orange?

I'm reading that now. Haven't seen the movie. What's it like?

2the9s said:

fucked up. but great.

Kubrick was a mad genuis. I loved the first half of "Full Metal Jacket" but the second half in comparison.

I think "Eyes Wide Shut" and "A Clockwork Orange" are my two favorite Kubrick films. "Lolita" was great too--although I actually prefer Adrian Lyne's remake.

AaronMaximus said:

I agree! The second half was good but seemed like a different movie altogether.

NovaAngel said:

Love Pyle and loved The Joker. One of my favs is Eyes Wide Shut though..I know its been widely panned but there's many reasons why I lob it. His Dr. Strangelove is hilarious to me and still ever so timely today. I have only recently begun to appreciate The Shining.

rdhull said:

the only thing I don't like about EWS is that it has a very good build-up, but it really kind of goes nowhere. the best thing about it for me is the mood it sets, specifically by the lighting contrasts from scene to scene, or even room to room.

rdhull said:

Oh God The Shining! I forgot that was directed by him. That's one of my all time favorite films. The scenes in that one were great as well. The twin girls in the hallway freak me out everytime.

AaronMaximus said:

bingo g money..it sets a mood for me and the lighting is simply beautiful and u can tell it was oainstakingly set up to be the way it is...however the build up and denoument may be not up to what one would expect but it all makes sense...I wouldn't believe anything over the top else...and yes I agre the scren play may have lacked in that dep[artment yet I stilll get this breath of release..my opinion only.

NovaAngel said:

For me it isn't even the feature players that much..like in EWS it's this "mood" he created..with minimilism.

Didn't he also do 2001 A Space Odyssey or am I getting mixed up?

rdhull said:

on second thought, i agree that the the plot and direction of it makes sense. it's very different for a film. generally there's a build-up and a big payoff, which is what usually keeps your interest. few movies stray from that, and EWS is a good example of why. i totally dig that it makes sense, and is probably how it would play out in a real life. there are no neat wrapped-up endings in life with a big bow on top and the credits cued. in that regard, it succeeds. as a movie with a beginning, a middle, and an end, it fails. but i think that's the point.

AaronMaximus said:


bingo again! that was what I was trying to say..it seems like a real life ending etc or how it would play out in real life etc.

Raspberry said:

yes..another masterpiece...Daisy, daisy..give me your answer true...-Hal

I agree with those that say Full Metal Jacket is a great half film because I dont think the second half hits the mark like the first half.

A Clockwork Orange is one strange old film and unlike anything else I've ever seen. I liked it though.

My favourite film of Kubricks is Dr Stranglove though. That is comic genius!

bkw said:

I never mentiond CO because Ive never sat through the whole thing (ducks and hides). It is odd how he uses standards like Singing In The Rain and Daisy Daisy (in 2001) in harsh moments though

bkw said:

"Gentlemen--u cant fight in here! this is the war room!"

woops..I meant Bicycle Built For Two--I was callin it Daisy Daisy

rdhull said:

"You'll have to answer to Mr Coca Cola for that"

Kubrick is one of my five favorite directors. And while I like Full Metal Jacket (especially Matthew Modine's being in it ), I don't think it's one of his stronger efforts.

For me, the greatest flaw was not so much the odd continuity between acts (he also did this, but more poetically, in 2001), but it's over-the-top acting. While melodrama is a bit of a Kubrick tradmark and a hold-over from his Hollywood studio system days, in FMJ the performances are so thick and contrived that they come off almost more as stage performances to me. The overall message of the movie and its disturbing images, though, still are effective.

My favorite Kubrick works are 2001, The Shining and (the admittedly flawed) Eyes Wide Shut. (I know I'm being hypocritical with the latter two with regard to thick acting, but I think it works better in these two than in FMJ). Also, I think what gives these films extra "oomph" is being able to watch them over and over again and finding layers of hidden subtext, narrative code and even some bloopers! (Although with a director as exacting as Kubrick, one has to wonder if he did some of the sillier stuff on purpose.)

It would have been awesome, too, to see what Kubrick would have done with A.I.: Artificial Intelligence, Napoleon and The Aryan Papers.

Almost all Kubrick films could be described as "disturbing and wonderful". That's why he's my favorite.

Dr Strangelove
FMJ
2001
The Shining
Clockwork Orange

...


'Eyes Wide Shut' was a sad excuse for a swan song.

FMJ is classic. The only reason the second half seems low is because the first half is so good.

"Get the FUCK DOWN off of my OBSATCLE!"

"Private Joker is stupid and ignorant, but he's got guts, and guts is enough"

The Sarge is one of my favorite cinematic characters ever.Shit, hebuilt a whole career out of it.

herb4 said:

Yeah, but imagine what it might have been like if he had carte blanche from day one to do what he really wanted... and had lived through editing.

Still, though, some of his projects left undone would have been better bids of farewell.

dr strangelove i think is my fave... one of the best dark comedies i have ever seen. george c. scott and peter sellers are amazing in it

man i miss the both of them

i think kubrick was a genius filmmaker, but a very flawed genius. his endings really leave something to be desired, and i despise the way he insited on shooting many of them in very low screen ratio, as his cinematography would really have benefited a lot more from a wider ratio.

the shining... well, i will be crucifed for this, but i hate it. i read the book, and frankly the adaptation sucks. nicholson is incredible in it, though. i love shelley long, but she was severly miscast.

cborgman said:

Diane from Cheers was in The Shining!!?

You mean Shelley Duvall!



is not equal to


[This message was edited Mon Oct 6 18:04:30 PDT 2003 by Lammastide]

eyes wide shut... i actually hold this as one of his better films. it is deeply flawed, and the american edit really cuts the impact down a LOT, but it has some tremendous pieces of relationship nihilism in it. my favorite moment is when she asks how i look, and he says "you look beautiful" in a very automated way without so much as looking at her. in that moment, you see the relationship of the characters, and his boredom with life defined by so little. perfect...

i hated it the first time i saw it as it goes nowhere, but the more i see it the more i like it.

i can't believe no one has brought up barry lyndon

Lammastide said:

thank god shelley long was not in it... i freaking hate her except as carol brady

cborgman said:

Mine too. Clockwork Orange is prolly my second fave. . .and I actually love Eyes Wide Shut.

Haven't seen a Kubrick film that I didn't like, though.