Which Stanley Kubrick films are worth watching

It is no exaggeration to say that Stanley Kubrick is one of the most influential authors of world cinema. He created incredibly beautiful, detailed films, which at first caused a lot of controversy, but then invariably became cult. For this, the author was nominated for an Oscar 13 times in various categories.

His painting 2001: A Space Odyssey is referenced by dozens of later fantastic works, from Christopher Nolan's Interstellar toTo the stars"James Gray. The Shining is often referred to as one of the most terrifying horror movies in history, and Doctor Strangelove is the best comedy of all time.

A unique approach helped the director to create such memorable films. Kubrick fully controlled the entire development and filming process, perfectly aligned the picture, even if it required dozens of takes, and took on completely different, but always catching viewers themes.

From his youth, he showed a talent for both creativity and logical, ordered thinking. From the age of 13, Stanley became interested in photography, and then got a permanent job at Look magazine. At the age of 23, Kubrick began filming short documentaries: "Fight Day" about the preparation of a boxer for the next match, "Flying Padre" about a preacher from New Mexico. And then he ran a half-hour advertisement for the Sea Riders union.

After that, the director took up feature films. Together with his classmate Howard Sackler, he made Fear and Lust and The Killer's Kiss using money from his family. This little experience helped the director to take on his first professional work, "Murder".

Why you need to watch Stanley Kubrick's films

At first glance, it may seem that the great director was shooting completely dissimilar pictures: historical dramas, satirical comedies, horrors and fiction. But in many works you can see the same techniques and moves, which create a unique atmosphere.

These are film adaptations of famous books

Most of Kubrick's films are based on famous books. Moreover, if possible, the director invited the author himself to rework the work for the film. For the film adaptation of Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov personally wrote a script for as much as 400 pages. Although the director later changed the author's work very much.

Doctor Strangelove is based on the thriller Red Alert by British writer Peter George. As with Lolita, the writer assisted the director with the script, and together they changed the dark tone of the original to satire and humor.

The painting "2001: A Space Odyssey" grew out of story Arthur Clarke's "Sentinel". The writer, together with Kubrick, greatly expanded the plot, turning the short work into an epic canvas.

There are, of course, exceptions to this rule. With the author "A clockwork orange”The director only phoned once to exchange pleasantries. A Stephen King disagreed with many of Kubrick's decisions during the filming of The Shining, but his opinions were ignored. Therefore, after the release, the writer scolded the picture.

They teach philanthropy and criticize war

Stanley Kubrick was born between the two world wars. Perhaps that is why he was worried about the topic of enmity and violence. This can be seen even in his artistic debut "Fear and Lust". In the future, he repeatedly filmed about the war, invariably talking about its cruelty. Moreover, Kubrick more often focused on the terrible actions of specific people, rather than battles.

In The Paths of Glory, he discussed the topic of decimation - the execution of randomly selected soldiers for the edification of others. In "Doctor Strangelove" he fantasized how one madman could destroy the whole world. Moreover, to develop the idea, the director collected dozens of books about the real possibility of a nuclear war. In "Full Metal Jacket" he showed both combat actions and the brutal training of soldiers.

But Kubrick wasn't just talking about violence in war. In the film adaptation of A Clockwork Orange, he raised the topic of excessive cruelty in peacetime, and also pointed to the influence of the state, which itself turns people into criminals.

They are epic and tell of the past

From the very first professional works, Kubrick created large-scale paintings, often in entourage past eras. The director always carefully selected costumes and locations in order to convey the atmosphere of the time as vividly as possible, and created precise scenery. Because of this, curious situations arose: in the film "Doctor Strangelove" the bomber was copied very well, and the American military suspected that the authors of the picture had stolen the real drawings.

While working on Barry Lyndon, the director decided that traditional lighting schemes would make the action too implausible. Therefore, in many scenes, they abandoned the lamps and shot by candlelight. And to keep the picture sharp, Kubrick used fast lenses.

The director made several historical films in different genres, but, unfortunately, was unable to stage the picture of his dreams. Stanley Kubrick spent several years developing the script for biographies Napoleon. He thoroughly studied the life of the ruler and even collected a huge card index with facts. But due to the failure of Sergei Bondarchuk's Waterloo, the studio decided that another film about Napoleon would not be very interesting to the audience, and the director was deprived of funding.

They have an unusual presentation and a clear-cut picture.

The director often experimented with the structure of the film, not fearing that the production would differ from the generally accepted canons. He often divided the narration into chapters, sometimes providing them with separate titles. He even added intermissions to Barry Lyndon and A Space Odyssey. And in the latter case, he even built the action as a symphony, dividing it into four unequal acts.

At the same time, Stanley Kubrick has always been considered a perfectionist in terms of visual presentation. Most of his paintings have one favorite technique: symmetry and perspective, directed at one point.

Also, the director often shot long shots to create a sense of greater immersion in what was happening. In The Shining, he helped the viewer see a child riding a bicycle down the hallway from the point of view of the youngest hero.

Another favorite Kubrick trick is the close-up, in which the actor tilts his head down but stares straight into the frame. This technique is especially noticeable in A Clockwork Orange.

All these moves create a feeling of anxiety: the viewer feels that he is in front of the villain or sees everything that happens from the point of view of the victim. And in "A Space Odyssey" the director even tried to show what was happening "through the eyes" of a computer watching the characters.

They are detailed, and the actors play perfectly

In addition to "Spartacus", the production of which was directed by the producers, Stanley Kubrick controlled the production of the film at all stages: he personally rewrote the scripts and did not allow the studios to dictate their terms.

He collected hundreds of special cards, where he recorded important details. Therefore, in his paintings, everything is lined up as clearly as possible and there is practically no goofsthat could ruin the atmosphere of the film.

At the same time, the director demanded that the actors follow the instructions as accurately as possible. Kubrick could repeat the same scene dozens of times. The short but important moment in The Shining, where Jack Nicholson's character says “Here's Johnny!” Was filmed for three days. And the stage, where his wife, played by Shelley Duvall, brushes off her husband with a baseball bat, took 127 takes. And sometimes it seemed as if the director himself did not know what exactly did not suit him, he simply asked to repeat it. This, of course, was exhausting for all the actors. But the result was perfect.

After filming, Kubrick spent months editing. Given the many takes, the author had to select scenes from an infinite number of tapes. For "A Space Odyssey" about 250 hours of footage were filmed, of which the author selected 170 minutes for the final version. But Kubrick's involvement in production did not end there either.

Taking care of the international box office, the director even supervised the dubbing of the film and its adaptation to other languages. He personally translated the inscriptions typed by the main character of The Shining on a typewriter. And to the film “With eyes wide shut”And completely forbade dubbing, since he considered the speech of the characters an important component of the plot - all sessions were only with subtitles.

What Stanley Kubrick films everyone should see

1. Spartacus

Spartacus

• USA, 1960.
• Drama, historical, military.
• Duration: 197 minutes.
• IMDb: 7.9.

A young Thracian named Spartak is bought and trained as a gladiator. He becomes an excellent fighter, but after the next fight he revolts. Spartacus leads the rioters, and they try to get to the sea in order to sail away from Rome.

This picture was conceived by the leading actor Kirk Douglas. He bought the rights to the film adaptation of Howard Fast's book "Spartacus" and found funding for the film. All the same Douglas recruited Stanley Kubrick, with whom they had already collaborated on Paths of Glory. Alas, it was the film about the gladiator that quarreled the actor and the director.

Kubrick acted as a hired director and could not fully control the creative process. As a result, he still managed to remove and mount Spartak according to his vision. But Douglas, screenwriter Dalton Trumbo and many others were unhappy with the final version of the picture. However, history has put everything in its place: today "Spartak" is considered one of the best peplums.

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2. Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Atomic Bomb

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

• USA, UK, 1964.
• Comedy, fantasy.
• Duration: 95 minutes.
• IMDb: 8.4.

The distraught military base commander Jack D. Ripper decides to save the world from the communist invasion and sends planes with nuclear bombs to the USSR. The President of the United States tries to prevent the attack and calls an emergency meeting, where, among others, a former Nazi scientist, Dr. Strangelove, arrives.

The director managed to fit a very large-scale story about nuclear war into an almost intimate film: most of the action takes place in just three rooms. But it was precisely this approach that helped to save the budget, which the author then spent on lengthy editing, and to focus on acting.

Moreover, the Columbia Pictures studio insisted that the director invite the famous Peter Sellers to one of the main roles. This should have attracted more viewers. As a result, Kubrick gave the actor three characters at once: the cautious Colonel Lionel Mandrake, President Murkin Muffley and a scientist named Strangelove. Such a grotesque fits perfectly with the satirical presentation of the story.

3. 2001: A Space Odyssey

2001: A Space Odyssey

• USA, UK, 1968.
• Science fiction, thriller.
• Duration: 149 minutes.
• IMDb: 8.3.

In prehistoric times, a black monolith appears on Earth, which stimulates the evolution of Australopithecus into humans. Millions of years later, humanity discovers the same stone on the moon, sending a powerful signal to a distant space. The research ship "Discovery" is sent there. True, there are only two awake crew members on board, assisted by the onboard supercomputer HAL 9000.

Kubrick wanted to make a credible and highly scientific film about space travel and contact with alien intelligence. To do this, the director met the writer, futurologist and popularizer of science Arthur Clarke, then carefully studied anthropology and consulted an astronomer Carl Sagan. As a result, the authors decided not to show the aliens as living beings, realizing that this would create too fantastic an atmosphere.

A Space Odyssey was a breakthrough in terms of visual effects. The director carefully worked out the external appearance and internal environment of spaceships and even showed life under conditions of artificial gravity. And for the final part, a fundamentally new technique was invented: the frames were filmed through a slit in the lens shutter, and then glued together, creating a deformed image. This is how the author conveyed the psychedelic experience of the hero.

There are very few conversations in "A Space Odyssey" - only about 40 minutes. Most of the time, the viewer hears only music, or even the silence of space. Therefore, the soundtrack became an important component of the picture. The futuristic film sounds classic compositions Richard and Johann Strauss, Aram Khachaturian and other famous authors.

Interestingly, according to the original idea, the music for "A Space Odyssey" was written by Alex North, a contemporary of Kubrick. The director planned to use the classics only for rough editing, but the compositions fit the picture so well that they decided to leave them. North found out about this only during the premiere and was very upset.

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4. A clockwork orange

A clockwork orange

• Great Britain, USA, 1971.
• Drama, crime, fantasy.
• Duration: 137 minutes.
• IMDb: 8.3.

Young and very cruel Alex DeLarge leads a gang of thugs that attacks bystanders. But after another crime, the comrades run away, and Alex is arrested by the police. The hero is sent for compulsory treatment, which radically changes his life.

After the release of the film adaptation, Stanley Kubrick had serious problems. He wanted to show a cruel society that often behaves as badly as criminals. It was for this that the director added a lot of outright violence to the plot.

But in the end, many perceived "A Clockwork Orange" in exactly the opposite way: as a film that justifies and even provokes youth for cruelty. It was banned in different countries. And worst of all, Kubrick and his family began to receive threats. Therefore, the director demanded to remove the picture from the box office in the UK, where he then lived, and did not allow it to be shown until his death.

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5. Shine

The shining

• USA, UK, 1980.
• Horror, thriller, drama.
• Duration: 144 minutes.
• IMDb: 8.4.

Writer Jack Torrance is in a creative crisis and is looking for a job. He was successfully offered to get a job as a caretaker in the Overlook hotel, which was closed for the winter. Jack moves there with his wife and son, planning to devote his free time to creating a new novel. But soon terrible things begin to happen in the hotel.

Stephen King did not approve of the new interpretation of his famous work. In the original, the hero struggled with the horrors taking place in the hotel, and in the film adaptation, the mentally unstable writer simply went crazy. And the critics at first scolded the picture and even nominated it for the Golden Raspberry. However, the audience liked the film: "The Shining" showed itself perfectly at the box office.

Over time, the attitude towards the film has changed. The picture is regularly included in the lists of the best horror films, and for Jack Nicholson the image of insane Jack Torrance has become one of the best roles.

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6. Full Metal Jacket

Full metal jacket

• USA, UK, 1987.
• Drama.
• Duration: 116 minutes.
• IMDb: 8.3.

Recruits undergo brutal training at the Parris Island Marine Corps Training Base. In eight weeks, they must be made real soldiers, so the heroes are drilled according to the most inhuman methods, punishing everyone for the misdeeds of one. Not everyone passes this test. But after eight weeks, the guys are sent to Vietnam, where it gets even worse.

«Full Metal Jacket»Differs not only in the picture, ideally built literally in every frame, but also in the careful selection of actors. Kubrick specially hired military instructor Lee Ermey to explain on the site how the soldiers are actually trained. But soon the director realized that no one could play this role better than a consultant. Therefore, Lee Ermey himself played the rude and cruel Sergeant Hartman, and this role made him famous.

In a strange way, difficulties during the filming played into the hands of the picture. Since Kubrick was working on "Full Metal Jacket" in the UK, he could not find suitable locations to depict the jungle. Therefore, the script was changed and a significant part of the hostilities in the film takes place in the city. And this is much closer to the real events in Vietnam: the battles were fought on the streets more often than in the forests.

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What else to see at Stanley Kubrick

1. Fear and lust

Fear and Desire

• USA, 1952.
• Thriller, drama, military.
• Duration: 62 minutes.
• IMDb: 5.5.

The action takes place in times wars between unknown states. After a plane crash, four soldiers find themselves in enemy territory. They want to build a raft and cross the river to their units. But suddenly the heroes run into a local resident.

The painting was considered lost for a long time. Moreover, Kubrick himself did not regret this at all: having already become an experienced director, he did not like to remember his first work, claiming that there was no artistic value in it. In 1993, experts found one of the copies and decided to hold a special screening. The author himself tried to dissuade the organizers from this venture. But the rights have already expired, and the tape has passed into the public domain.

Now the film "Fear and Lust" is interesting primarily as the beginning of the path of the famous director. But, in addition to this, in the amateur film, important topics of inadequate brutality in war are already raised.

2. Assassin's kiss

Killer's Kiss

• USA, 1954.
• Drama, thriller, crime.
• Duration: 67 minutes.
• IMDb: 6.6.

Boxer Davey Gordon rescues dancer Gloria from the attacks of her lover and employer Vincent. New acquaintances are getting closer, which makes the bastard even more jealous. He even hires assassins to eliminate Davey. Finding themselves in mortal danger, the couple decides to flee.

Filming on the street was sometimes carried out secretly from the car, so as not to attract the attention of the police. Since the director filmed this film at his own expense, there was no question of obtaining official permissions.

Already in "Kiss of the Assassin" you can see the visual techniques that Kubrick will use in his future work. For example, in a dream scene, the picture is shown with inverted colors: black becomes white and vice versa. Exactly the same approach is used by the author in "A Cosmic Odyssey".

3. Murder

The killing

• USA, 1956.
• Drama, thriller, crime.
• Duration: 84 minutes.
• IMDb: 8.0.

Four heroes of different professions led by the criminal Johnny Clay are planning the perfect heist of the racetrack. They hope to steal two million, but the plan is thwarted, because one of the participants decides to act independently.

After Killer's Kiss, Stanley Kubrick again turned to film noir techniques, combining them with the theme popular in the 50s. movie robbery. But, unlike many other authors, the director worked out the story in detail: the heroes' plan is really built and shown very clearly, it breaks down only due to human errors.

At the same time, Kubrick confuses the action, showing the plot from the point of view of different characters, as well as complementing it with flashbacks that explain what is happening. Later, many authors will be inspired by a similar technique: from Sidney Lumet to Quentin Tarantino.

4. Paths of Glory

Paths of glory

• USA, 1957.
• Drama, military.
• Duration: 88 minutes.
• IMDb: 8.4.

During First world war on the Western Front, the head of the corps orders to organize another attack on an impregnable enemy position. Colonel Dax, the commander of an infantry regiment, realizes in advance that the mission is doomed to failure. The garrison is forced to retreat, but after that three soldiers, chosen at random, are judged for cowardice. Dax decides to act as their lawyer.

Kubrick's plot of this film is very unusual. The picture begins as a large-scale military canvas. Moreover, one of the first scenes required considerable skill in the production: the generals walk along the trench for about a minute, communicating with the soldiers, explosions occur in the background, shots are heard and the wounded are carried. And all this was filmed in one long shot without editing.

But further the "Paths of Glory" turns into a judicial drama: Colonel Dax, realizing the foregone conclusion, tries to justify his soldiers. And the film ends on a very emotional pacifist note.

5. Lolita

Lolita

• Great Britain, USA, 1962.
• Drama, melodrama.
• Duration: 153 minutes.
• IMDb: 7.6.

Professor Humbert Humbert rents a room from Charlotte Hayes and later marries a woman. But all this is just to see her young daughter Lolita. After the death of his mother, Humbert takes the girl and goes on a journey with her.

Like the original novel Nabokov, the film adaptation immediately caused many scandals: the film was demanded to be banned for demonstrating sexual contacts with a minor. And this despite the fact that Kubrick, anticipating problems, removed many explicit scenes from the original and showed everything exclusively in the form of hints and conversations.

Yet the film received five Golden Globe nominations. And 15-year-old Sue Lyon even took the prize for the best debut.

6. Barry Lyndon

Barry lyndon

• Great Britain, USA, 1975.
• Drama, historical, adventure.
• Duration: 185 minutes.
• IMDb: 8.1.

A simple Irish boy Redmond Barry leaves his home after a duel with an officer. Finding himself in a difficult position, he joined the British army, but soon deserted and fell into the hands of the Prussian military. And even with the end of hostilities, a lot of unusual things happen in his life.

Kubrick filmed a not very famous novel William Makepeace Thackeray "The Luck of Barry Lyndon", because he was sure that more complex historical works would not fit into a three-hour picture. But the talent of the director made it possible to turn the ironic original into a melancholic narrative of the relentless action of rock.

The director built the plot on the constant repetitions of the same events. In the second half of the film, where the action takes place already in years of peace, what happens to the hero looks like a simplified reflection of the events of the war.

As in many of his other films, Kubrick complemented the action with a voiceover. But in Barry Lyndon, the narrator often contradicts what is shown on the screen or sarcastically makes fun of what is happening.

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7. With eyes wide shut

Eyes Wide Shut

• UK, USA, 1999.
• Drama, thriller, detective.
• Duration: 159 minutes.
• IMDb: 7.4.

Spouses Bill and Alice Harford are bored in family life. During a quarrel, the wife says that she dreams of treason. Bill leaves home and unexpectedly plunges into a world of dangerous fantasies. It all starts with an old friend giving him a password to enter a private party.

The main action of the film is filled with explicit scenes that sparked controversy in society. The picture was even separately censored for distribution in North America. But against this background, a subtle drama about the problems of long alliances unfolds in the plot. Moreover, the director built the action in such a way that it is difficult to distinguish real events from deception and fantasies.

For the main roles, Kubrick invited a real husband and wife - Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. Soon after the filming of the picture, they parted, which gave rise to rumors that the actors too much got used to the images of the spouses tired of each other.

Sadly, Eyes Wide Shut was Stanley Kubrick's last film. The director died four days after the film was edited.

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Stanley Kubrick managed to shoot only 13 films. This is significantly less than other, more prolific legends of cinema. But literally every painting by the author, with the exception of the earliest works, has become a recognized classic. Kubrick's films are endlessly quoted by contemporary filmmakers. They have become the standard for plot elaboration and well-built visuals. Therefore, over the years, the paintings do not become outdated and look interesting.