13. Fear and Desire 1953 -- B Tier -- Kubrick's first feature length and first narrative film. Four soldiers behind enemy lines in an unnamed war and country try to find their way back or complete their mission while tying a native girl to a tree. It's a different kind of war story for 1953 and there's a lot of gray area to it. There are flashes of the filmmaker that Kubrick would become. It's interesting as a film on its own, but much more interesting as a sign of things to come. Kubrick had made two short documentaries before this and his uncle funded this movie. They tried to bill it as a lewd and racy B-movie to make money, playing up the native-girl angle, but it was a commercial failure and it disappeared. Legend has it that Kubrick had the negative destroyed later. Regardless, it became a "lost" film. Kubrick tried to keep it hidden while he was alive, calling it 'amateurish'. There were a few copies around, namely one at the Eastman Film headquarters in Rochester, New York, where you could arrange a private screening. It finally got released on Blu Ray in 2012 and now sits on my shelf. Of course things change and now you can watch it online.

12. Killer's Kiss 1955 -- B Tier -- One of Kubrick's first short documentaries was "Day of the Fight" (watch it here) about a boxing match and apparently he liked the world of boxing. This is and "Fear and Desire" are the only films of his that weren't based on novels or short stories. This was an original story by Kubrick about a boxer intervening in a dancer getting beaten up by her boyfriend and the chaos that ensues. A nice little (1 hour and 7 minutes) movie that shows the genius to come. There is a short dream sequence floating down New York alleys shot in negative that evokes the Shining and 2001. The climax of the movie is in a noir-lit mannequin factory that is super creepy. Kubrick dismissed the film later as his "student film" but it's another great barometer for what's to come.

Can’t say I remember much about it. I gave it a 6/10 back in 2005 on IMDB. I have it tied for the lowest rated out of the 12 Kubrick movies I have rated, which I’m assuming are your top 12.

It's the most "disposable" of his movies. Really short, simple story, but some of the visuals are great. These early films are definitely best viewed as signs of things to come. If someone made either movie, then never made another film, these would be forgotten.

Along those same lines, he made 3 short documentaries as well in his early career.

The Flying Padre 1951 -- 9 minutes -- Chronicles a priest in New Mexico whose parish is so far-spread he has to fly from town to town. Some good visuals.

Day of the Fight 1951 -- 13 minutes -- Exactly what it sounds like, chronicling a boxer on the day of a big fight. Also some good visuals, especially during the fight.

The Seafarers 1953 -- 29 minutes -- After the commercial failure of 'Fear and Desire' Kubrick took a job making this promotional film for the Seafarers International Union. Nothing tremendous to speak of here.

11. Lolita 1962 (not available to stream free) -- B Tier -- Peter Sellers is the best thing about this movie. It's hard to watch because of the basic idea of the story. Kubrick made this after the success of Spartacus and it shows flashes of brilliance but drags in parts. This is the first time Kubrick made a film with a unsympathetic protagonist, and for me it was his most unsympathetic. It was also his first "shock value" film, but the one where the shock was just for the sake of shock. "How could they make a movie out of Lolita?" Some claim this as one of his best, but I disagree.

Again, it's been a long time since I've seen it. Maybe 18 years. I probably have it ranked higher, but B tier is probably where I'd put it too. I remember being drawn in by the repulsiveness of it all, but I can't imagine watching it again today. No way is it one of his best.

10. Spartacus 1960 -- B Tier -- not available to stream -- The big epic that put Kubrick on the map. And probably the least Kubrickian movie he made. There are movies to be made about the making of Spartacus, which is more interesting than the movie itself. It's well done and well acted but just a good movie. It's the Braveheart of its day.

Kirk Douglas fired the original director and hired Kubrick thinking he could get Kubrick to do what he wanted after working together on Paths of Glory. Kubrick cut most of Douglas's lines. When the cinematographer disagreed with him, Kubrick did the photography himself. Dalton Trumbo wrote the script but was blacklisted. So Kubrick suggested he himself take credit for the screenplay. This pissed of Douglas and he decided to credit Trumbo which had no effect on the massive box office success, thus ending the blacklisting era.

I probably haven't seen it since high school, but what I will always remember about Spartacus is Ralphie ranting about Kirk Douglas having a flat top to his stripper girlfriend on The Sopranos.

9. Paths of Glory 1957 -- A Tier -- not streaming -- A brutal movie. Kubrick's 4th feature but probably his first true "Kubrick" movie. Idiot French generals send their troops on a mission in World War I with no chance of success that gets many of them killed. When the soldiers retreat, the generals throw a fit and decide to have one soldier from each platoon executed for cowardice to set an example. The soldiers are picked at random. Kirk Douglas plays the leader of the troops forced to lead them into battle then acts as the three selected soldiers' lawyer to try to keep them from being executed. He fails and they're brought before the firing squad. It's a harsh movie. One of the three soldiers selected was wounded in battle and is unconscious for the entire time. He's literally propped up on a stretcher for the firing squad.

Dehumanization is a running theme in Kubrick movies, and here is the beginning of those themes. The French generals have lost all touch and cold-heartedly decide the fate of their men while dining on the best food and wine in palaces. This was the movie that really brought Kubrick to the attention of Hollywood and showcased his artistic abilities. I did read a book about him that he wanted to change the ending to a happy one to make money but changed his mind.

I can probably only go 6 deep on his movies and you haven’t named any of them - one I’m pleasantly surprised you haven’t named. The rest, I’ve only seen once and they were long ago. Pretty sure it took 3 sessions to get through Spartacus. Paths of Glory probably needs a revisit.

Everything else are his big movies, except for one, which I like a lot. It's hard to say Spartacus is overrated because I don't see it talked about much, but it was super popular in its day but is sort-of just another sword-and-sandal "epic" now. Paths of Glory has become the default "Kubrick's Best movie" for the wannabe film scholars/hipsters ("Jackie Brown and Reservoir Dogs are better than Pulp Fiction" type people) and it's really good but c'mon, just think about his other movies. He's literally made two of the greatest sci-fi movies ever, one of the greatest horror movies ever, one of the greatest war movies ever, one of the greatest erotic thrillers ever, and one of the greatest comdies ever. Pretty good little resume.

8. Barry Lyndon 1975 -- A Tier -- not available on any streaming service -- It's weird that this movie feels like a let-down despite being great. This was supposed to be, by all accounts, Kubrick's masterpiece. But it only turned out to be great. A big, sweeping period-piece costume epic made by a filmmaker at the height of his abilities. Lots of technical wizardry here: shooting interior scenes only lit by candlelight, the attention to detail in the costumes, the long highly choreographed battle scenes, etc. There's one shot that always comes to mind: a continuous take from a small conversation in a building where the camera moves to look out a small hole in the wall to a massive battle outside. The final duel between Barry and his stepson is a beautiful moment. What can frustrate people about the movie is the 3+ hour run time that follows a morally reprehensible character who does have some redemption in the end but not the kind we're used to. I find it fascinating, personally, but I understand how some could find that difficult to watch. The basics of it is that Barry Lyndon is a commoner and desperately wants to get into high society. Of course, like any good period piece, the point is that the station you're born into is the where you are destined to stay, which goes against our own psyche, the whole "you can be anything you want to be." But instead of our main character being a lovable underdog, Barry Lyndon is a selfish piece of shit who responds to his new upper-crust wife's requests by blowing smoke in her face. Good times.

7. The Killing 1956 -- S Tier -- A fantastic little hard-boiled heist/crime/noir film. So well constructed. Decades before Tarantino, Kubrick masters the non-linear/non-chronological story. And a great ending as well. Not really much more to say, but this is probably Kubrick's most basically enjoyable movie.

Now it gets interesting. Your top 6 are the 6 I’ve seen more than once. I’m ready.

6. Eyes Wide Shut 1999 --S Tier -- not available to stream -- The classiest porn ever made. I used to work with a guy who got pissed off when naked Nicole Kidman and naked Tom Cruise are cavorting in front of the mirror and she's not paying much attention to him and just keeps looking at herself in the mirror. Really. It made him mad. Also his name was Bubba. Nevertheless, Kubrick's tale of jealousy and sex is fascinating. All it takes to set Bill Harford (last name taken from Harrison Ford) off in a fit of insecurity is some pot and his wife mentioning she had a fleeting thought of fucking another dude. Considering Bubba was pissed at her for not giving naked Tom Cruise her undivided attention, I'd say that insecurity is rampant in a lot of dudebros. We get a hint of Kubrick's sexual depravities in A Clockwork Orange and the bear costume in the Shining, but here he's allowed to roam free, except for the Austin Powers cgi moments to secure an R rating. Also, I love that the last word and last line in the last shot of the last scene of the last Stanley Kubrick movie is "Fuck."

I think I’m putting it at #4. It’s come out that Kubrick cast Cruise and Kidman because they were having marital problems, which would make their scenes more real. That is some savagery from Kubrick and I’m here for it. The piano is the mansion scene is soooooo creepy. My expectations were low but I was engrossed the whole time. I’m not smart enough to pick up on smaller things in real time, but reflection and re-watch has elevated this to not-quite-masterpiece for me. I know Kubrick wasn’t happy with it. He was wrong. It’s not perfect. It’s not even top 3 Kubrick. But it’s great. I laughed at the Austin Powers line.

It’s also the only one in the top 6 that hasn’t gotten a 4K release.

Also, if I'm not mistaken, the European DVD/Blu Ray is unedited and doesn't have the naked people standing in the way of the sex.

5. Full Metal Jacket 1987 -- available on HBO Max -- FUCK YOU DK IT'S NOT THE #1 MOVIE HAHAHAHA. This movie proves that in the hands of a true master, a true narrative plot isn't truly necessary. As for Vietnam movies, the Deer Hunter and Platoon won Oscars, Apocalypse Now is remembered as much for its production drama as the movie itself, but Full Metal Jacket seems to be the most well remembered. Watching Pyle and Joker being turned into dehumanized killers is fascinating. Filming an entire movie about Vietnam in England is also fascinating. Iconic lines and moments everywhere. And ending the movie with a "big battle" where an entire squad of trained American military is nearly taken out by one 14 year old girl really drives home the futility of war.

I agree with the words you typed, but I have it at #2. It took a 2nd viewing to appreciate the 2nd half of this movie, but yeah it goes hard. It’s amazing how both halves work so well.

4. The Shining 1980 -- S Tier -- available on HBO Max -- When I was in Junior High, I was *big* into horror movies. Like, really big. I could've ranked the Friday the 13th movies (Part 6 is the best), but have forgotten most by now. I don't know how I never got pulled out of school and thrown in therapy. I subscribed to Fangoria magazine and cut the pictures out and hung them in my locker. I literally had a picture of a disemboweled man hung in my locker. I had similar posters in my room. I was big into the special effects of it all and loved the funnier horror movies (like Evil Dead 2). Back then, the only directors names I knew were Lucas and Spielberg. I didn't even really know what a director was back then. I didn't know who Stanley Kubrick was until after (flunking out of) college. But when I watched it, I knew the Shining was special. Even at 13, I knew it was different than any other horror movie I'd seen. Despite lacking the gore of all the other movies, it was still scarier. I remember a big group of us band nerds watching it at a friend's house after a football game and how we were all dead quiet 15 minutes in. It's just that good. I don't give a shit about the rethinking of it now as a masterpiece (it already was) and what people think it was about (although Room 237 is a fun documentary). It's a great fucking movie.

Are we missing #4 or is it just misnumbered?

I have a degree in math.

I put it at #6. I love it, but the top 6 are ridiculous. Something had to go here. Horror isn’t my genre and I realize this isn’t typical horror, but that was my reasoning.

WIth the top 6 it's all personal preference.

FMJ is the only good movie listed here.

3. Dr. Strangelove or: How I learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb 1964 -- S Tier -- not available on any streaming service -- The guy whose only box office success was Spartacus got to make a comedy about the nuclear annihilation of the world and it was released less than two months after Kennedy was assassinated. Holy shit. So full of iconic moments and great acting.

I got a chance to see it in the theater at the Lakewood theater on the day Kubrick died. It was surreal. I don't really have a whole lot to say about the movie, it's all out there. It's an absolute masterpiece.

#5 for me. A 60 year old comedy should not hold up like this. I swear that I still laugh out loud at 3 parts: 1. Merkin’s one sided conversations with Dmitri B. Merkin and Buck going back and forth and Buck continuing to come up “yeah well about that” rebuttals to everything Merkin says. Pi: Strangelove’s ideas for repopulating the earth after it’s bombed. I have no idea how Sellers held it together during that scene.

I know it’s about more than just comedy, but I hate old comedies. Seriously hate. They are not funny to me at all. The fact that this one still gets me says a lot.

It does drag a little for me during the Ripper/Mandrake scenes in the middle.

S tier for sure though.

The reason there are so many jump cuts in that scene is the rest of the cast couldn't keep it together. At one point you can see the Russian ambassador trying real hard not to laugh. Kubrick hated improvising but let Peter Sellers do his thing.

just watched the scene. You can see the Ambassador trying to hold back laughter when Strangelove starts banging on his saluting arm to hold it down. I had never noticed.

I wish the original pie-fight ending would find its way to Youtube.

As a bit of a cock-tease before #2 and #1 (though you can probably guess the order) I wanted to cover a few Kubrick-adjacent movies:

Color Me Kubrick 2005 -- Decent little movie about a really interesting story. The basic story in the movie is real. in 1997/98ish during the filming of Eyes Wide Shut, Alan Conway went around London posing as Stanley Kubrick. Despite looking and sounding nothing like him, the real Kubrick was just reclusive enough for Conway to get away with it since the average restaurant/bar/etc person probably knew the name but didn't know what Kubrick actually looked like. Pretty fun stuff. John Malkovich has fun with the role.

The Making of the Shining -- Kubrick's daughter Vivian (who has turned out to be an anti-vaxxer amongst other things) shot behind the scenes footage during shooting and it's really interesting.

I know we discussed AI back in the day and I still think it's a good movie.

I have never seen Marlon Brando's One Eyed Jacks, which he worked with Kubrick on for quite some time before directing it himself. I need to sit down with it and see what traces of Kubrick are left.

Unrealized projects
The big ones are Napoleon and Aryan Papers. Napoleon was to be made after 2001 and star Jack Nicholson in the title role. I have the book with the preproduction material and the screenplay but haven't poured through it yet. The massive detail of it is overwhelming. Aryan Papers had tons of preproduction material as well, but he scrapped it after Schindler's List came out and covered much of the same themes.

2. A Clockwork Orange 1971 -- S Tier -- available on HBO Max -- By the time I saw A Clockwork Orange in my early 20s, I'd already seen the Shining and Full Metal Jacket (not sure which of those two was the first Kubrick movie I saw). Pretty sure I'd seen 2001 once. But then I saw Alex and his three Droogs. That first Kubrick Stare, with the one eyelash and bowler hat, then pulling back to reveal the Korova Milk Bar with the drug-laced milk being dispensed from nipples of women on all fours. I instantly decided that Stanley Kubrick was my favorite director.

There are a lot of movies that open with a crazy pace and wild-ass scenes then calms down as the story unfolds. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas comes to mind (a movie I love nevertheless), but A Clockwork Orange keeps that pace throughout, always one-upping itself and keeping you on your toes. And then repeat viewings make me realize how well crafted the story and visuals are. For the first half of the movie, everything is sexual: sets, costumes, props, everything. Then Alex is "cured." Now everything is normal and mundane until he wakes up in the hospital at the end. We're seeing things through Alex's eyes as narrator so we see what he sees. Everything was already mundane, but Alex saw everything as sexual. That giant ceramic penis he kills the woman with? Probably just a generic sculpture. Probably the same with the Korova. The drink dispensers were probably just that, as were the tables, but Alex sees submissive women. Then he's "cured" and sees the world as it is. Then Darth Vader helps him try to kill himself. And he's "cured" again.

So many times lesser directors have tried to copy this movie and failed miserably. Natural Born Killers is shit. It's just the shock value side of it without anything to say. A Clockwork Orange really puts it out there. What is free will? How far can we go to punish or prevent violence? Does the end justify the mean? Like all Kubrick movies, it doesn't provide answers but makes you come to your own conclusion.

I have it at #3, although it was really tight between ACO, EWS, and Strangelove for #3, 4, and 5. I’m kind of regretting putting it at #3 though.

I agree with your words again, but I would have liked a little more of an “answer”. Or even to know the question. Like what point are you trying to make here, Stanley? (Or Anthony - I’ve never read it) As it stands, it’s about a dude who is obsessed with sex and violence (no issues there), but there is no redemption or arc and all the things that have happened have brought us right back to where we were at the beginning. Is it about letting those in power exerting control over us? I’m not sure it gave a pro/con either way with the way they wrapped it up.

It’s still fascinating and S tier (especially for the time), don’t get me wrong. The style and visuals are mesmerizing. I’m not sure it holds up today as well as Strangelove though. Or maybe we’re just so desensitized to sex and violence in 2022 that it’s ahead of its time. Although I still struggle watching that rape scene at the Alexander’s house.

I was going to tell you that Darth Vader played the guy in the tiny shorts, but of course you already know.

Oh, and shocker that we have the same #1

I think the point is kind of that there is no clear-cut answer, or maybe that you can't control free will. Is there a way to rehabilitate someone like Alex? I just asked another question without an answer, so I'm just adding to your point. When there's big issue movies like this, I don't mind the vagueness or a movie being an inroads to a discussion on the topic. Of interest, the book has a chapter after the hospital where Alex decides to give up his evil ways. That chapter was cut out of the American publication of the novel that Terry Southern (co-writer of Strangelove) gave to Kubrick. I've read the book and always felt that chapter was so out of place. Literally Alex is just sitting there and decides to change. I know characters are supposed to grow and change but it felt so sudden and unearned. It could have been done a lot better. Would we accept him repenting and becoming good? Tangent: this was my feeling about the Three Billboards movie a few years ago. Sam Rockwell is a shit-bag racist then suddenly isn't and we're supposed to love him now. I felt the turn was way too sudden and he hadn't earned the audience love yet. Just me.

My David Prowse story: There was a store, briefly, in the Parks Mall called Starlog. One day David Prowse was there signing autographs. I brought him my slipcase of the letterboxed VHS trilogy with a half-face of Vader for him to sign. We exchange pleasantries and he goes to sign it. I tell him there's another thing inside the case, if he wouldn't mind signing it as well. He gladly agrees and he takes out my case for my VHS copy of A Clockwork Orange. He gets a big grin and tells me I made his day, that someone knows him from something other than Star Wars. I made Darth Vader's day. Holy shit. He then proceeds to tell stories about filming with Kubrick and I'm just stupid-smiling and nodding. All I remember is how he said Kubrick made him do over a dozen takes of carrying the writer down the steps and how tiring it was. Good times.

That might be my favorite story ever told.

I agree that the final chapter of the novel feels wrong. They spent all this time trying to reprogram him, but all they needed to do was wait for him to grow out of it? I suppose it serves to make a final argument against the theme of making unnatural alterations to something natural, but it's ham-handed and comes from out of nowhere. Burgess preferred his version, but Kubrick's makes more sense. You can't change an evil bastard.

I also love Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and think Natural Born Killers is dogshit.

1. 2001: A Space Odyssey 1968 -- Whatever is Above S Tier -- Available on HBO Max -- I mean, it's the greatest movie ever made. What am I supposed to say? It's a movie that is open to the viewer's interpretation, so everyone gets something different. Kubrick said he and Arthur C. Clarke wanted to raise more questions than answers, and they succeeded.

How do I know my wife loves me? Several years ago, for my birthday, one of her gifts to me as to sit down and watch 2001 with me (she'd seen it before) and let me explain it to her as the movie went. That's love.

My interpretation:
Dawn of man: apes being apes. Then the monolith appears. Perfect geometry, which doesn't exist in nature. At the same time, one ape learns to be a tool user. Ape evolves into something above animal. The Monolith is there to mark the moment of evolution. Of course the first thought Man has is for violence. Then we get the greatest jump cut in movie history as the ape throws it's weapon to the sky and we jump about 200,000 years to a satellite falling through space. In the book, it's revealed the satellite is an orbiting nuclear missile silo but I don't feel that's required knowledge for the movie as I just see a "how far we've come" moment. Worth noting that Arthur C. Clarke came up with the idea of communication satellites in an early book and patented the idea. He got rich.

We dance through space where space travel has become so commonplace and boring that the PanAm spacecraft is virtually empty like a red-eye flight and the only passenger is sleeping since this is so mundane to him. There's even a Howard Johnson's in space (worth noting that both PanAm and Howard Johnson's had actually gone out of business by 2001, way to predict the future, Stanley!). So a monolith is discovered on the Moon and it sends a signal to Jupiter and Man makes the jump to interplanetary space travelers. The monolith is there to mark the leap again. Later, we find out the Monolith seems to have been deliberately buried on the Moon 400,000 years ago. Whatever force is behind this knew Man would be ready for the next step when it was capable of finding the Moon Monolith. Worth noting how well the Moon scenes ere considering Man had yet to actually land on the Moon.

18 moths later (I don't know if that date is now 2001, or it was 2001 during the scenes on the Moon) Man arrives at Jupiter with the highest tool it could possibly create: an artificial intelligence so human-like, it actually has the ability to be driven to murder. From the bone used to kill its enemies to protect a water hole to HAL 9000 being willing to kill humans to complete its mission, Man has evolved to the point it no longer needs Man. And a new Monolith is there to mark the moment like a road sign.

David Bowman, the Archer and our Odysseus, is taken across the Universe and shown its wonders in a sequence that evokes the nightmare scene from Killer's Kiss, and brought to a familiar setting to be comfortable as he learns that time is no longer a concept Man will need. As he lays on the bed while his physical body is dying, the Monolith is there one last time. David is reborn as a child of the stars, no longer needing a physical body, no longer needing time. He looks down on the Earth in in the film's final moment, he looks at us as if to let us know that this is where our destiny lies. Cue the credits.

I wasn't introduced and/or didn't have access to these movies growing up (I would have hated this one anyway, so no harm there). Pretty sure the only Kubrick movie(s) I saw pre-old forum were The Shining and maybe Strangelove. I didn't even know who Kubrick was in 2002. I'm pretty sure I watched 2001: ASO when some of you guys were talking about it (maybe you and meso) and I liked it a lot, but was kind of put off by the ending. I revisited it a couple of years later after seeing/liking Full Metal Jacket and Eyes Wide Shut and was enthralled by it. I understood it better that previously, but still had questions - the internets helped confirm/answer some things (or not) and I found it to be quite brilliant, thus began my Kubrick watching phase - though nothing ever touched this one.

I know it's the most obvious and easily understood section, but the Hal 9000 section is so intense. It's so quiet and eerie and Hal's voice is so creepy. And it's like an hour of the movie. It was so depressing when Dave had to let go of Frank. (I know he was already gone but it still hit the same)

It's in my top 10 of all time, maybe #7ish. It doesn’t even feel dated.

I look forward to your rankings of the Tarantino movies.

I'll get on that right after you rank the Wes Anderson movies.

I've always thought the monolith spurred man's advancement. It's been a minute since I've seen it, but I think the ape was inspired to use the bone as a tool after he touched the monolith. And on the moon (which I always imagined was the same monolith) the monolith calls home when it's touched, and man is compelled to follow the signal. As a reward for man's advancement, the monolith takes Dave on an Aladdin type journey (a whole new worrrrlddd) and shows man the wonders of the universe. At the end we see Dave reborn because of his experience and his relationship with the monolith. The monolith will continue to help man, now using Dave as a liaison.

A few years back Cinepolis held special showings of classic movies. I got to watch 2001 in full on Digital HD mega sound format in the theater and it was amazing.

Overrated. Didn't have any storm troopers