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Favourite Kubrick film

What's your favourite Kubrick film?

  • Total voters
    71
The thing with EWS is that it's one of those films you were put off initially by the fact it was Cruise/Kidman; then it got all the negative reviews, auteur loosing his powers type stuff (and it's far from his best film)..but...on my 3rd time of watching it I suddenly 'got' the film and while it is probably his weakest film, it's still miles out ahead of most other directors. IMV
 
So we have Kubrick who is reknowned for dark gritty films and Stephen Spielberg known for feel good films.

Spielberg makes out he was massive mates with Kubrick. I want to know if this is really true. I have a feeling it would be more a case of Kubrick putting up with the sickophantic Spielberg because it isn't wise to make powerful enemies unless you have to.

Or the basis of this friendship Spielberg takes over the project of AI when Kubrick dies. Does he remain true to Kubricks style? Nope he tacks on a cheesy feel good ending to what was promising to be a nice dark film.
Kubrick must have been turning in his grave.

Spielberg I do like a lot of your films but man you were a prick for taking over AI.
 
Kubrick was rich and famous enough, like Spielberg, to not have to worry about getting production funding or distribution from a mojor studio - IIRC he was one of the first directors to actually maintain control over his rights like that.

AI was a film Kubrick wanted to make but only when visual effects were up to the job of translating what he saw in his head to the screen. The cheesy ending with new robots was filmed after test audiences rejected the casey-joel osmet at the bottom of the ocean forever finale, so you've got consumer reaction, not Spielbergs's normal instinct to go for the happy close, for that one...and then of course those selfsame audiences said 'Oh, but that's a really cheesy, tacked on ending'

Aside from the bit with HJO, I actually quite liked the iceball earth, with robots doing an archaelogical dig...
 
I must admit, I really liked the ending of AI. It made sense of the whole film as a robot fairy tale where all humans had to die for the robot's wish to come true.
 
littlebabyjesus said:
My main problem with EWS is its turn-of-the-century Vienna sensibilities. It doesn't work in a contemporary setting.
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I saw it as americans with too much money on their hands trying to recreate something they'd read about and thought was cool.

Its uncool escapism but then thats the sort of thing they would do.
 
It's based on a novella set in Austria-Hungary. There are moments, for instance at the ball when Kidman is dancing with the creepy European who explains why people marry, that don't work in the modern world at all.
 
Shining > Clockwork Orange > Full Metal Jacket > 2001 for me!


I came to Dr Strangelove very, very late and only watched it for the first time about a year ago.


I was curiously unimpressed to be honest.

I suppose it is very hard for a film that has been revered as a stone cold classic for longer than I have been alive to live up to expectations I suppose, but even so I didn't really think it was that great. Not bad, but not great.

I dunno - perhaps I didn't "get it"
 
Marius said:
So we have Kubrick who is reknowned for dark gritty films and Stephen Spielberg known for feel good films.

Spielberg makes out he was massive mates with Kubrick. I want to know if this is really true. I have a feeling it would be more a case of Kubrick putting up with the sickophantic Spielberg because it isn't wise to make powerful enemies unless you have to.

Or the basis of this friendship Spielberg takes over the project of AI when Kubrick dies. Does he remain true to Kubricks style? Nope he tacks on a cheesy feel good ending to what was promising to be a nice dark film.
Kubrick must have been turning in his grave.

Spielberg I do like a lot of your films but man you were a prick for taking over AI.
Click to expand...

Kubrick felt Spielberg was more suited to the subject matter and handed the film to Spielberg long before he died or before it went into production. A.I. is a film written and directed by Spielberg, based on a detailed treatment by Kubrick. The ending in the finished film is exactly as it was in Kubricks treatment and it is far from a feel good ending if you actually bothered to take a good look at the film and not let your opinion be clouded by your preconceptions about Spielberg.

If there is a flaw with the film it's not the ending, which is the stories logical conclusion but it's the film's mid-section, featuring a rather twee performance by Jude Law that is indicative of Spielbergs discomfort with material of a sexual nature. Still it's a fascinating and tremendously ambitious work which is frequently misunderstood. The often repeated myth that Spielberg somehow ruined Kubricks vision and tacked on his own ending is utter rubbish.
 
My missus got me the GIANT Taschen book on Kubrick (it's the sze of a house and has spreads taken straight from the 70mm film stock, as well as extensive production notes etc) and that's got loads of prep notes that Kubrick had for Napoleon.

Be interesting to see if he could do it too..
 
Reno said:
Kubrick felt Spielberg was more suited to the subject matter and handed the film to Spielberg long before he died or before it went into production. A.I. is a film written and directed by Spielberg, based on a detailed treatment by Kubrick. The ending in the finished film is exactly as it was in Kubricks treatment and it is far from a feel good ending if you actually bothered to take a good look at the film and not let your opinion be clouded by your preconceptions about Spielberg.
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Yes, it is a very satisfying ending. Robot at bottom of sea for ever wouldn't have been any kind of ending at all.
 
It was difficult to pick just one, so I went for Eyes Wide Shut because I find something new in it every time I watch it.
 
Reno said:
Kubrick felt Spielberg was more suited to the subject matter and handed the film to Spielberg long before he died or before it went into production. A.I. is a film written and directed by Spielberg, based on a detailed treatment by Kubrick. The ending in the finished film is exactly as it was in Kubricks treatment and it is far from a feel good ending if you actually bothered to take a good look at the film and not let your opinion be clouded by your preconceptions about Spielberg.

If there is a flaw with the film it's not the ending, which is the stories logical conclusion but it's the film's mid-section, featuring a rather twee performance by Jude Law that is indicative of Spielbergs discomfort with material of a sexual nature. Still it's a fascinating and tremendously ambitious work which is frequently misunderstood. The often repeated myth that Spielberg somehow ruined Kubricks vision and tacked on his own ending is utter rubbish.
Click to expand...

I was under the impression that the whole iceearth robots thing was post-pro after test audeinces rejected the 'abandoned' ending...makes sense tho, cos as you say, the 'feel good' ending isn't exactly feel good...
 
dessiato said:
It was difficult to pick just one, so I went for Eyes Wide Shut because I find something new in it every time I watch it.
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SEE? *jumps points and shouts* I'm not the only one...

2001 is more an eperience of visual art on camera than an actual 'film' IMO - Solaris does what 2001 does better dramatically, 2001 does is sensually.
 
kyser_soze said:
I was under the impression that the whole iceearth robots thing was post-pro after test audeinces rejected the 'abandoned' ending...makes sense tho, cos as you say, the 'feel good' ending isn't exactly feel good...
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Nope, the film was never altered in regard to preview screenings and there is no abandoned ending. What you see is what was planned all along. There was speculation that the World Trade Centre would be removed from the submerged New York scenes when 9/11 happened during production, but Spielberg wouldn't do that either.
 
Reno said:
Nope, the film was never altered in regard to preview screenings and there is no abandoned ending. What you see is what was planned all along. There was speculation that the World Trade Centre would be removed from the submerged New York scenes when 9/11 happened during production, but Spielberg wouldn't do that either.
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Well I'm happy to be corrected on that front, ta.
 
On the lack of votes for 2001...there's only one vote allowed per person - if I'd had 3 it would have been in there, but this is an undemocratic, FPTP system...
 
Only 2 votes for The Killing/Paths of Glory combined (mine went for The Killing - it was that or Barry Lyndon). :(

Maybe few people have seen them.
 
littlebabyjesus said:
Only 2 votes for The Killing/Paths of Glory combined (mine went for The Killing - it was that or Barry Lyndon). :(

Maybe few people have seen them.
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I saw them, but I still prefer The Shining and Lolita. ;)
 
I had to vote for Strangelove, but 2001, FMJ and The Shining are right behind it.

For me Strangelove is perfect because the characters are just incredible - not that they have a whole lot of depth to them, but they're so immaculately caricatured I find it impossible not to love them.

I agree that 2001 is more of a visual art piece than a film, but when you're dealing with a concept as abstract as evolving into an informational being I can forgive you for going all arty farty on us :D Not to mention that it's staggeringly beautiful to watch and listen to - a cinematic ballet, if you will. Bonus points for being reasonably scientifically accurate (and there are still very few films that have silence in space, rather than the PREOW! of lasers and the roar of booster rockets, sigh).

Everyone loves FMJ because the relentless dehumanisation is so brutal and finely calculated.
 
Agree totally on 2001 - I was lucky enough to see the remastered, digital print and soundtrack at the Curzon a few years ago...can now see why the hippies had that whole guide to taking acid so that you peak during the stargate sequence...which STILL looks fucking incredible, even today.

Everyone loves FMJ because the relentless dehumanisation is so brutal and finely calculated.
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And the black humour. The boot camp bits have some of THE greatest insults ever.
 
kyser_soze said:
Agree totally on 2001 - I was lucky enough to see the remastered, digital print and soundtrack at the Curzon a few years ago...can now see why the hippies had that whole guide to taking acid so that you peak during the stargate sequence...which STILL looks fucking incredible, even today.
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Of everything that'll have me sitting with my face six inches from the TV grinning like a 5 year old, 2001's stargate sequence is the best. I think it's a testament to his mastery that the entire thing is kinda indescribable.

I do meet an awful lot of people who tell me that it's also the most boring and inexplicably stupid endings to a film, ever and that it makes no sense, and where's the explosions and why doesn't he get teh girl?!?!111oneon

Sigh.

kyser_soze said:
And the black humour. The boot camp bits have some of THE greatest insults ever.
Click to expand...

Also one of his wryest tricks - you find yourself laughing at these misbegotten lumps of meat, bringing the audience into the films premise. One of the things I loved about Kubrick is that even things like seemingly incidental details are often weaved into the film in such a way as to make them completely integral.
 
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