The Good, the Bad & the Badass: Stanley Kubrick

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Last week, we took a look at the career of director Christopher Nolan, whose latest film, INTERSTELLAR, clearly was inspired by one of this week's subject's most famous films…

Stanley Kubrick. Fifteen years after his death, the man has pretty much become a deity among movie makers and fans. His films only increase in popularity over time (thanks in large part to the fact that Warner Home Video keeps re-releasing them in new special editions) and are frequently discussed and dissected by other directors, fans, and conspiracy theorists alike (see ROOM 237). At his height, Kubrick was seen as a creator of unimpeachable taste, with him able to flex his muscles on every aspect of a film from years of pre-production (many of his projects would be abandoned during this exhaustive phase), through filming, and post. Kubrick was even in control of his own marketing, getting unprecedented freedom from the suits are Warner Bros, the studio he called home from A CLOCKWORK ORANGE onward (they also control the bulk of his non-WB films), thanks mainly to the fact that despite their artiness they usually turned a hefty profit at the box office (even BARRY LYNDON – thought of as a flop – made more than twice it's budget back not counting home video).

As a director, Kubrick was simply magic. He had a way of taking hugely ambitious ideas about man's struggle against his own nature, and making them palatable to a huge audience regardless of their background, education, or tastes. Sometime, Kubrick would wind up in conflict with his critics or colleagues (THE SHINING being a contentious example, as shown by the now-infamous behind-the-scenes short directed by his daughter), but everyone, even if they hated working with him would admit he made them do their best work. Many have tried to ape his style, very few have even come close to succeeding. He was meticulous, driven, and perhaps even a little crazy, but as far as directors go he was one of the best and someone whose kind we're unlikely to ever seen again.

Choosing Stanley Kubrick's best film is tough to do, as you can pretty much choose any film at random from his filmography, say it's his best, and no one would call you out on it. That's how consistent he was. For me, choosing between 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY and A CLOCKWORK ORANGE is next to impossible. On the whole, I'd have to admit 2001 probably has the edge just for how influential it is, something which hasn't diminished over time (see INTERSTELLAR). Visually it's a wonder, with virtuoso special effects by Douglas Trumbull and a sonic landscape of classical tracks by Wagner, Strauss, Ligeti that perfectly complimented the majestic images onscreen. While the astronaut characters are intentionally robotic (it's not coincidence the machine HAL is the figure most of us identify with) and the film really needs repeat viewings to absorb what Kubrick was trying to accomplish, its release remains one of the major defining moments of cinema history.

That said, I have a soft spot for A CLOCKWORK ORANGE. Both deeply disturbing and darkly humorous, it's long been one of my all-time favorite films, and Kubrick's pairing with leading man Malcolm McDowell remains one of the all-time best director-actor partnerships in the history of cinema (as does Kubrick's prior collaboration with Peter Sellers). A CLOCKWORK ORANGE was so controversial in its day that Kubrick himself had it taken out of UK circulation after his family was threatened, and it only ever re-appeared in the UK after his death. I can't imagine not having seen A CLOCKWORK ORANGE as a young film buff. CLOCKWORK was one of the key films that made me the movie-geek I am today, and one I've revisited over and over, although I'll admit it's not for everyone.

One Kubrick movie that often gets overlooked is PATHS OF GLORY. His follow-up to THE KILLING (also excellent), this movie put Kubrick on the path to stardom as it was his work with star Kirk Douglas that landed him SPARTACUS – which gave him the clout to take on more personal projects like LOLITA and DR. STRANGELOVE. Considering the time in which it was made, PATHS OF GLORY is a stunningly realistic, brutal war film, with horrifying images of trench warfare in WWI and a deeply disturbing story where three soldiers are made scapegoats for a whole nation despite the fact that all three showed tremendous valour in battle. While SPARTACUS is more famous, I'd argue that a lot more of Kubrick's own personal style is on display here, with the later being more of a “Kirk Douglas film” than a Kubrick one – although I can't deny it's spectacular in its own way.

Kubrick is yet another director whose work was pretty consistently great. When his movies were acclaimed, they always deserved it. The only Kubrick movie that doesn't quite work for me is EYES WIDE SHUT, although it was one he spent years agonizing over and one that's built up a massive cult following in the fifteen years since its release. I still think it's a good (sometime great) film, but I don't think it's in the same class as Kubrick's other work.

I had a hard time with this one. Part of me wanted to go with the “Beyond the Infinite” sequence for 2001, R. Lee Emery's introduction from FULL METAL JACKET or the “here's Johnny!” scene from THE SHINING. In the end, for me Kubrick's defining moment is the hilarious/horrifying moment in DR. STRANGELOVE OR HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE BOMB where Slim Pickens rides a nuclear bomb straight into the apocalypse, an image that's tough to shake and rattled a lot of folks fifty years ago (hell – it still rattles me now!).

5. FULL METAL JACKET
4. THE SHINING
3. DR. STRANGELOVE OR HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE BOMB
2. A CLOCKWORK ORANGE
1. 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY

Despite the fact that Stanley Kubrick's been dead for over fifteen years, his brand is alive and well. Every few years his movies get re-released, and there's even talk of a 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY theatrical re-release at some point. Meanwhile, it feels like every other week someone's unearthing a “lost” Kubrick script and promising to make it into a new film (or mini-series). Whether or not any of these wind of being worthy of the man remains to be seen, but seems highly unlikely.