One of the greatest directors of all time some would say, yet he never won an oscar for it.

I've enjoyed all of his that i've seen (haven't seen three of them) and would rank my favorites as follows:

1. A Clockwork Orange
2. The Killing
3. The Shining
4. Full Metal Jacket
5. 2001

ALRIGHT! MY FAVORITE DIRECTOR OF ALL TIME! Here's how I'd list them:

1. DR. STRANGELOVE
2. 2001
3. THE SHINING
4. PATHS OF GLORY
5. LOLITA
6. BARRY LYNDON
7. THE KILLING
8. FULL METAL JACKET
9. EYES WIDE SHUT
10. A CLOCKWORK ORANGE
11. SPARTACUS
12. KILLER'S KISS


[This message has been edited by Big 12-0 (edited 7/13/2006 3:09p).]

I can't rank Kubrick, I love almost all of them. He is my second favorite director after Kurosawa.

In no particular order, here are my favorites:

2001
Full Metal Jacket
A Clockwork Orange
Eyes Wide Shut
The Shining
Dr. Strangelove

I still have not seen Barry Lyndon or The Killing, but they are coming up soon in the Netflix queue!

Stanley wanted his movies in fullscreen on DVDs. Now that he's been dead a while, can I please get FMJ in widescreen already?

Dr. Strangelove
Paths of Glory
A Clockwork Orange
Full Metal Jacket
Spartacus
2001: A Space Odyssey

Widescreen movies of Kubrick films wouldn't really be that much of an improvement. He purposely shot his films with the intent of them being full framed when released on video. So he purposely composed his shots full frame. If you made them widescreen you would just get a lot of extra image on the sides that Kubrick didn't really want you to see, anyway.

Now if Kubrick would have shot a film in the age of DVD, he would probably shoot it with the widescreen image in mind.

Edit: Its not that Kubrick didn't want his films released widescreen on DVD, it was just that DVD was such a relatively new process (1999) when he passed away that he didn't know much about it. So if one of his films was released widescreen, the purists out there would say that is not how it was intended to be seen.

[This message has been edited by Big 12-0 (edited 7/13/2006 10:54a).]

Dr. Strangelove

dr. strangelove
eyes wide shut
full metal jacket

Dr. Strangelove

Mr. President, we must not allow a mineshaft gap!

No fighting in the war room!

Big 12-

It was not the DVD vs. video aspect that caused him to release only full-screen versions of his films for home viewing. He might have changed his mind with widescreen televisions becoming more and more popular, but DVD would not have made a difference.

Nevertheless, as you noted, he was of the opinion that it was folly to shoot a film with the widescreen theatrical presentation in mind, when it would be viewed that way for a short period of time and then be viewed on square television sets ad infinitum. Thus, he shot his movies with the TV aspect ratio in mind and simply matted them for theatrical release. The full frame version is actually a more accurate depiction of what he was trying to present than a matted widescreen version would be.

That said, I have a widescreen projector, and I want widescreen versions of his films.

Major T. J. "King" Kong: Goldie, how many times have I told you guys that I don't want no horsing around on the airplane?



General "Buck" Turgidson: Gee, I wish we had one of them doomsday machines.

Big Kubrick fan.

My favorite... Stanley Kubrick Collection stands proudly next to my Nightmare on Elm Street collection on my DVD shelf

He still butchered The Shining though.

BigAg95,

You are correct. And word on the street is that they are releasing 4 of the Kubrick films later this year in the new HD-DVD versions and will be WIDESCREEN!

while he royally screwed up the book for the Shining, both were excellent in different ways

THE SHINING film is a separate entity than the book. You can't really compare the two. Kubrick would take the basic plot of a book and make it his own. That's why its a Stanley Kubrick film.

That being said, THE SHINING by Stephen King is one of my favorites!

I agree on both counts -- one of my favorite movies as well as books... I was just rambling

Not to be a grinch, but I thought his work after DR. STRANGELOVE was mixed at best.

2001 was boring. We saw it when it first came out, at the Windsor on Richmond in Houston. It was the only movie I ever went to that you bought reserved seats for like a play or concert. Mrs. Ro and her parents and I thought it sucked, and looking around we saw lots and lots of people sound asleep. It got a cult following some years later.

CLOCKWORK ORANGE at least made people think, and gave them something to talk about.

THE SHINING was terrible. Nicholson overacted shamelessly. Since he radiated insanity from the first scene on (eyebrows going up and down like garage doors) it was no surprise when he went to the dark side of the force. Great screenplay, camera work, music, supporting cast, very bad leading man. The two little girls were great, as was the elevator.

Nobody but me liked EYES WIDE SHUT. It was strange to see soft core porn written and directed by men past seventy. And I loved the way they tried to pass the streets of London off as New York by putting vending machines for USA Today here and there. It was like a valentine drawn by a robot, and strangely touching for that reason.

He had a great talent, but went to the bad when he started to take himself so seriously.

That was the main difference between Kubrick's The Shining and King's The Shining. In Kubrick's, it was a true ghost story and Jack was arlready unhappy with his family and "on the edge" when they arrived.

In King's The Shining, it was a lot more about domesticity, overcoming your past, changing... You felt for Jack and you saw him change as the weeks went by from a father who just wanted to make things right to the wacko (though he did redeem himself). I thought this was much more effective.

Most of the original novel you could even make a case that the Overlook wasn't haunted at all and most of what happened was related to family breakdowns, domestic abuse, alcoholism and insanity/cabin fever.

I really liked Eyes Wide Shut. I think everyone tended to focus on the orgy sequence and missed the main focus of the movie.

quote:

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That was the main difference between Kubrick's The Shining and King's The Shining. In Kubrick's, it was a true ghost story and Jack was arlready unhappy with his family and "on the edge" when they arrived.

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Very true.

In the book Jack Torrance was basically a good guy who is tempted and possessed by the Overlook to do its bidding. The familial bond between father and his family is strong enough to overcome this, though. In the film, Jack Torrance is a failed teacher who you can tell is already irritated by his family before they even arrive at the hotel ("You see? Its okay. He saw it on the television". Also remember that Wendy tells the Doctor that Jack "accidentally" separated Danny's shoulder and three years ago and swore he would quit drinking. Later it is revealed that Jack quit drinking eight months, roughly two and a half years after his son's injury.

And not to mention in the novel Wendy is actually a strong, likeable character in an impossible situation. In the movie Shelly Duvall is completely worthless and you can understand why Jack is so pissed off

I really don't think Wendy as worthless. I think she has a bit of the shine to her and its both her and her son that the hotel wanting "corrected" so they cannot spill the savory secrets of the Overlook's past.

*** SPOILER ***

Remember the waiter telling Jack when he is locked in the storage room that maybe the hotel should have used her instead of Jack. Also, I think she has a hint of her son's ability. She is the only one that talks to Tony and there are flashes that she knows what is going on. Remember her out-of-hand reaction when Halloran calls Danny "Doc"? "How did you know we called him that?" she asks.

In the beginning, I think she is being the supportive wife ("We're all going to have a good time" and refuses to see Danny's side of reluctance going to the hotel. Its only after Danny is injured, where she is hugging him, that she turns to Jack and says "You did this." She is no longer the inactive wife; she is going to take care of matters on her own.

And after she sees the word REDRUM, she has shinings of her own of what the hotel really stands for.

EDIT: Also, she is the only one we see in the film doing work (i.e. checking the furnaces, cooking, etc.).

[This message has been edited by Big 12-0 (edited 7/14/2006 2:06p).]

I don't think Wendy shined... If she did, then so did Jack. Talking to Jack in the storage room I took as the Overlook basically saying that they should have preyed on her weaknesses and her try to kill Jack and Danny since she managed to over power Jack.

I took Wendy seeing things in the hotel at the end as the hotel finally having the strength to truly "come alive"... Part of that strength likely coming from having someone like Danny around. The Overlook wanted Danny because he shined, it had no real use for Jack other than using him to get Danny.

Again, it may have just been Kubrick's vision, but in the novel I felt like Danny and Halloran were the only ones that actually shined.

And I wouldn't really say she took care of manners on her own in the movie. Basically all she did was freak out and smack Jack upside the head and then lock herself in a bedroom. Past that she was useless aside from running around in her snow boots and screaming.

Likewise in the movie Kubrick had Halloran's character, but really didn't know what to do with him. While you could make a case that him showing up saved Wendy, we quickly found out that Jack didn't really care about Wendy anyways -- just Danny. I guess he brought the Sno-Kat so they could ultimately leave, but at that point the movie was over... Halloran in the book at least served a purpose.

In Stephen King's book, doesn't Halloran tell Danny that Wendy had a bit of the shine like all mothers do?

And the killing of Hallorann was a moment where you realized that all bets were off. Wendy, though she just ran to the bathroom of their tiny room, used logic and gave Danny the only means of escape.

And remember Wendy finding the manuscript with the words "All Work and No Play make Jack a Dull Boy"? She was the one doing all the upkeep on the hotel while thinking that her husband was writing/working when all he was doing was typing the same thing over and over.

Jack Torrance is the weak one of the family but is the leader since traditionally the father is the head of the family. Wendy goes along with this until the safety of her son is threatened, then the mother instinct kicks in.

I really feel that Wendy's character is misunderstood. Shelly Duvall did a great job; the scene where she is telling the Doctor about Danny's previous injuries is one of the best acted scenes in any Kubrick film.

quote:

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In Stephen King's book, doesn't Halloran tell Danny that Wendy had a bit of the shine like all mothers do?

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I believe you are right.

the woman who played wendy in the miniseries was much much hotter than shelly duvall...

i actually thought eyes wide shut was good as well. if you look past the orgy scene, the film has a very interesting plot and was very well made.

Yeah, Wendy was hotter in the miniseries. It made you wonder why she would stick around with a loser like Jack. In the film, you sense Wendy's desperation in supporting her husband no matter how many times he fails.