For anyone who knows KUBRICK, what should I watch?

[Frozenpinky]

I have become smitten with TWO Kubrick films of late:

THE SHINING and EYES WIDE SHUT.

For some reason, I like those two films more now than I ever have... and the more I watch them, the more I love them. They're becomming my favorite films!

The thing is, those are the ONLY TWO Kubrick films I've ever seen!

I don't doubt that all his other films are great. But what I like about EYES and SHINING are the pace, tempo, mood, vibe, and the fact that they're just as much about SOCIOLOGY as they PSYCHOLOGY.

With that said, which should I watch next? In other words, which do you think I'll like as much? Tell me 'why'.

I know they all get great reviews over at METACRITIC and ROTTEN TOMATOES...

EYES WIDE SHUT – (avail on Blu-ray)
Metacritic = 68
RT = 78

FULL METAL JACKET – (avail on Blu-ray)
Metacritic = 78
RT = 96

THE SHINING – (avail on Blu-ray)
Metacritic = 61
RT = 87

BARRY LYNDON – (avail on DVD)
RT = 94

A CLOCKWORK ORANGE – (avail on Blu-ray)
Metacritic = 78
RT = 91

2001 A SPACE ODYSSEY – (avail on Blu-ray)
Metacritic = 86
RT = 96

DR STRANGELOVE – (avail on Blu-ray)
Metacritic = 96
RT = 100

LOLITA – (avail on DVD)
RT = 97

..but just because one gets great reviews doesnt mean it's in the same vein of style, ya know what I mean? Maybe one is awesome, but not at all like a typical "KUBRICK" film ala THE SHINING or EYES WIDE SHUT. Tell me whatever you think... I'm open

[JasonR]

All of them!!!

Do Full Metal Jacket, A Clockwork Orange, 2001, Dr. Strangelove, and Lolita. In that order. I find for a non fan that is good, but as you watch his films that order will probably change.

[Sussudio]

I agree that you should eventually see all of them, but I would say you should next watch 2001 (my personal favorite) for the exact reason you liked the other two...the psychology of 2001 and the interpretations behind it are mindblowing (almost literally ). I would next say you should check out A Clockwork Orange followed by Full Metal Jacket for the same reason.

I find all of Kubrick's movies to develop at a slow but steady pace but that's part of what makes them great...they unfold through several layers. While you're wrapping your head around one, the next is already being unraveled

[Frozenpinky]

Originally Posted by JasonR

All of them!!!

Do Full Metal Jacket, A Clockwork Orange, 2001, Dr. Strangelove, and Lolita. In that order. I find for a non fan that is good, but as you watch his films that order will probably change.

Thanks. I always wondered, I know FULL METAL JACKET must be an awesome film, but is it just a great war movie in the vein of SAVING PRIVATE RYAN or something?

Does it have that "KUBRICK-ish" feel? I love the feel and un-nerviness of EYES and SHINING

[GGX]

I find all of Kubrick's movies to be pretty damn close to perfection.

[Sussudio]

Originally Posted by Frozenpinky

Thanks. I always wondered, I know FULL METAL JACKET must be an awesome film, but is it just a great war movie in the vein of SAVING PRIVATE RYAN or something?

Does it have that "KUBRICK-ish" feel? I love the feel and un-nerviness of EYES and SHINING

Answer to your first question: No, thankfully (in my opinion).

Answer to your second question: Yes, and that's what makes it great but also why many didn't like it. It's not about war, it's about the psychology of war.

[CZAR]

Full Metal Jacket!! Please dont watch 2001! If u do make sure u got plenty of rest! Haha! Got Em!!

[kotton247]

i for one am a rabbid fan of the guy's movies. however my favorite would be a clock work orange. If you want to talk about one big mind f!?@ then thats the film you want to watch. the scenery is beautiful and the acting is amazing. Especially by malcom mcdowell. the gang in the movie really feel that violence and a gang rape of a random woman is the way to live your life. however malcoms character is forever changed by a forced visual assualt in a so called rehab center. i know a lot of people hate the movie, but its my favorite. so watch it. full metal jacket would be my 2nd pick since you have watched eyes wide shut already. R Emerys performance in that movie is perfection.

[JasonR]

Originally Posted by kotton247

i for one am a rabbid fan of the guy's movies. however my favorite would be a clock work orange. If you want to talk about one big mind f!?@ then thats the film you want to watch. the scenery is beautiful and the acting is amazing. Especially by malcom mcdowell. the gang in the movie really feel that violence and a gang rape of a random woman is the way to live your life. however malcoms character is forever changed by a forced visual assualt in a so called rehab center. i know a lot of people hate the movie, but its my favorite. so watch it. full metal jacket would be my 2nd pick since you have watched eyes wide shut already. R Emerys performance in that movie is perfection.

Violence!!!! Don't you mean Ultraviolence!!!

[jhiggy23]

2001 is an experience like no other, but it's far from coherent (even though it's not meant to be).

Barry Lyndon is a mediocre film.

A Clockwork Orange is one my least favorite legitimate films (i.e. a film considered great that I just don't like). I greatly dislike it.

Full Metal Jacket is really two films: boot camp and the battle scenes. Both are very good individually, but they don't come together well as a singular film. Worth seeing though.

Lolita is what I voted for. One of the top 5 novels of the century and a great movie version with great performances. I love this film.

[Frozenpinky]

Sweet! I'm getting psyched because of all your comments. I guess I should rent first, then BUY if I fall in love with them (I posted the disc format next to each iso when its time to buy, I know if it's on Blu)

Another thing I really REALLY started to love is the SCORE/MUSIC in EYES and SHINING. The ambient or creepy score in both of those films take on a life of their own.

I started to play that game BIOSHOCk and BIOSHOCK II and the score in the video game was reminiscent of The Shining at times.

[kotton247]

Originally Posted by JasonR

Violence!!!! Don't you mean Ultraviolence!!!

its very funny that you mention that. its amazing how people really act in society. im a cop and since UFC became mainstream, its not uncommon for your suspect to tell you hes a trained ufc fighter and hes going to kick your ass. it makes me laugh. i can honestly see going to a call at a milk bar and having mcdowell hit me with the ultraviolence shtick and hit me with his cane. lol

[Frozenpinky]

Awesome, I see four votes and six members replying already.

[Idioteque...]

Full Metal Jacket is my Kubrick and first one as well. Very enjoyable film and I disagree with what, Jhiggy says. The first half is training and then they are thrown into the **** for real. Really exciting film with a twist at the end for those that don't know much about the war.

[F-Man]

If you're looking for something similar to Eyes Wide Shut and The Shining, don't pick Dr. Strangelove. Although I love it and consider it the best comedy I've seen and you would probably love it too, it's still very different.

Full Metal Jacket was the only Kubrick I didn't like enough to buy so far, though I do feel like watching it again and may change my mind afterwards. I remember liking the use of the music, if anything.

Clockwork Orange and 2001 would both probably work with what you're looking for. While CO has legendary over-the-top performances mixed in with deep social meanings, 2001 has a more eerie tone to it, and it really is one of the best and most artful movies of all time.

2001 is however a lot more cryptic, but it's not a problem, you still feel great watching it for its images and atmosphere, and eventually you begin more and more to understand it. Kind of like The Shining, I enjoyed the heck out of it as a genuinely scary horror movie the first few times, and repeat viewing after another, I began more and more to enjoy it for its subliminal narrative and the different ways the story can be interpreted.

I would go with 2001.

[surfdude12]

OP: I agree, and The Shining and Eyes Wide Shut are 2 of my top 25 films, and top 4 kubrick films.

I'd go with either Clockwork or 2001. Just be aware that the pace of 2001 is quite slow and not a typical character-driven plot like in The Shining and Eyes Wide Shut.

[mpm74]

I'm on a Kubrick kick as well!

Here are the ones I've seen so far (favorite to least favorite):

2001 (Rating 5/5) I can only imagine what people experienced back in 1968 when they saw this on the big screen. Those impressed with James Cameron's Avatar have no idea what movie magic is. With 2001, I was in awe. If I saw it back in 1968, I probably wouldn't sleep for days. I disagree with all the comments talking about how it's boring... only people who put Transformers 1 or 2 in their Top 25 films of all time would say something like that. Even 'slow' is not the right word - the movie plays like a subtle, but potent, orchestra (at times, literally). I still can't believe he pulled this off without cgi. Looks better than Star Wars. Considering what he had to work with, looks better than any movie that ever had space scenes in them. Kubrick's masterpiece... and I haven't even seen all of his films yet. Watch it loud and get ready to talk about it with others.

A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (Rating 4.5/5) Hilarious, dark, intense, witty, violent and shocking. It's films like these that fed the minds of people like Quentin Tarantino. Way ahead of its time. It's all about that good ol' ultra violence, and there's a reason for it!

EYES WIDE SHUT (Rating 4/5) I was afraid to watch this film (after seeing Kubrick's prior film, "Full Metal Jacket" - see below), but this is Kubrick at top form. I loved it! Just got done watching this an hour ago.

THE SHINING (Rating 4/5) Weird and creepy, but this is the closest we'll ever get to seeing a slasher/horror/ghost that deserves Best Picture. Damn, I wish this guy made more movies. Kubrick uses his camera lens like Bruce Lee uses his nunchucks. Awesome.

FULL METAL JACKET (2/5) When I was 14, this was a good movie. Now, I don't know. Not a bad movie, but surely, the weakest Kubrick film in my opinion. People say the training sequence (1st segment) makes the film. I say NONE of the sequences make it. Don't get me started on the second half. If it weren't directed by Kubrick, I probably would like it more. I just didn't find any magical 'kubrick-ish' moments in this one. Too much corny dialogue, too many so-so actors (Lee Emry being the exception... but even his dialogue doesn't hold the test of time). Films like The Deer Hunter and Apocalypse Now (especially Apocalypse Now) make Full Metal Jacket look like Rambo III. Heck, even Platoon is better than this (and I think Platoon is overrated). Sorry Kubrick... and sorry to anybody who loves this movie. Still, watch it. It'll make you appreciate his other films even more! I'm probably being a little harsh on it, but it's hard not to after seeing something like The Shining or Eyes Wide Shut. I was just expecting more I guess.

As far as his other titles, looking forward to them!

As for your bottom line answer to what movie you should watch next, any of the above except Full Metal Jacket! (Apocalypse Now fits your taste more, judging from your posts) =)

[Travis]

I love The Shining and Full Metal Jacket, both look great on Blu.

I can't stomach Clockwork Orange, stay awake for 2001 (it is eye candy) or get Dr. Strangelove (even though it is an amazing piece(s) of acting by Peter Sellers) not my type of comedy.

Not sure about your tastes in movies, need to post your a collection. Take a look at mine if there is stuff we agree on buy Full Metal Jacket and rent the others.

Never seen Lolita or Barry Lyndon.

[casablanca3]

All Kubrick is good Kubrick but my favorite is A Clockwork Orange. If you have never seen it then please watch!

[EricJ]

The two things most later Kubrick films have in common are
A) One certified looney/sociopathic character to shake things up, and
B) Lessons in Bad Karma--Sooner or later, things come around.

To sum them up:

- The Killing: A tidy thriller with an ironic twist, about a Perfect Heist that turns out to be not so perfect in the real world

- Paths of Glory: A doomed WWI mission becomes a framed court-martial, with Kirk Douglas for the defense.

- Spartacus: A more cynical bite than the big-budget Roman epic you'd think it would be (and no, the cable series has zero to do with it), again proving that nobody was cooler in the 50's than Kirk...Imagine what Russell Crowe and "Gladiator" wanted to be, only with a nastier edge.

- Lolita: Tries to be as satirical as the book, until Peter Sellers cuts loose and takes over the whole thing

- Dr. Strangelove: You don't have to have seen the Henry Fonda "Fail-safe" to know this is pure acid-tongued parody, and you have to listen to the dialogue carefully to catch every line.

- 2001: It'll take a few viewings to figure out, but stick with it; as glacially slow as it seems, it does have a plot, if you put the opening prehistoric scenes in context. If not, a viewing of "2010" might put HAL the computer in context.

- A Clockwork Orange: Everyone fan-idolizes the cool "shock" of Malcolm McDowell's future-punk, but it's the second half of the movie where the shock-value is supposed to come in...

- Barry Lyndon: C'mon, we know what you're thinking...
But like 2001, it's got a plot, too: Take it in chapters over a couple nights, like a good Masterpiece Theater serial, and worthless-lout Ryan O'Neal's rise and fall in 1700's England gets back to that Kubrickian "bad karma" thing.

- The Shining: Whether Nicholson is overacting shamelessly, YMMV, but it's got enough unexplained Stephen King creeps for one viewing...Silly sometimes, but darn creepy-looking.

- Full Metal Jacket: You have to have seen Strangelove when you hear it described it as "Dr. Strangelove meets Platoon", but if you have, it is. Not to mention, the movie that made a star out of R. Lee Ermey, and retired all performances of a Marine drill sargeant on film.

- Eyes Wide Shut: The one nobody liked. Period.

If you're trying to "understand" Kubrick, Strangelove's the first one to go with, and the rest should make sense from there.
2001 is the most Blu-ray-ish, but trust me...others weren't ready for it going in cold.