Stanley Kubrick - a movie making genius

by Vince Padilla

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Many movie directors have mastered a genre or two. Wes Craven and John Carpenter are two of
the horror film legends. Alfred Hitchcock is probably one of the five greatest directors of all
time, with thrillers being his primary claim to fame. George Lucas has been the reigning king of
science fiction ever since the release of Star Wars. John Ford is arguably the premier director of
westerns. In my opinion, however, Stanley Kubrick may be the person who mastered more
genres than any other director. Kubrick was a movie-making genius, much like Steven
Spielberg. Anyone you meet on the street can probably name five Spielberg movies. Not many
people, however, are aware that Stanley Kubrick was the director of The Shining, Full Metal
Jacket, A Clockwork Orange, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Spartacus, Dr. Strangelove, and eleven
other movies.

For my money, The Shining is the greatest horror film ever made. The setting is a real hotel in
an isolated area of Colorado. The movie starred Jack Nicholson and Shelly Duvall. The hotel is
completely abandoned except for a man, his wife, and their young son. The movie is a master-
piece. Under Kubrick’s direction, Jack Nicholson gives the greatest performance of his career.
The Shining will scare the hell out of anyone. In one scene the boy discovers the word “murder”
written on a wall. He, however, views the word on a mirror, and thus reads it in reverse as
“redrum”. He then proceeds to mutter the word “redrum” in an eerie manner at various times
throughout the movie. The crazed character played by Nicholson chases his son through a maze
of tall shrub hedges during a blizzard. The scene is incredible and so is the entire movie. Any
fan of horror and/or Jack Nicholson, who has not seen this movie, should rent it immediately.
Amazingly, The Shining is the only horror film that Stanley Kubrick made during his forty-nine
year career. In my opinion, it is the best of its genre, even better than Hitchcock’s Psycho.

Among the ten greatest war movies of all time, I would include Saving Private Ryan, The Bridge
on The River Kwai, Platoon, and Apocalypse Now. Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket also
belongs on this list. No other movie has depicted boot camp the way Kubrick did in this 1987
film. The hair on my arm was literally standing up by the time the movie had completed the
segment dealing with boot camp. I was left speechless, other than the words “Oh, my, God!”
And the movie was not even over. The movie had not even reached the segment dealing with the
fighting in Vietnam. This is one more genre mastered by Kubrick. He has also directed two
other war movies. One of those movies, Paths of Glory, is a critically acclaimed movie. I have
never seen that film and thus, can not attest to its greatness. I am sure that I would enjoy it,
however, because I have loved everyone of Kubrick’s movies that I have seen. My English class
instructor expressed his preference for Paths of Glory over Full Metal Jacket. "Dr. Strangelove" is sometimes also acknowledged as a war movie.

After Kubrick’s death this year, his final movie, Eyes Wide Shut, was released. I feel that this
film is the greatest “mainstream” erotic movie ever made. My wife and I loved this movie. The
real life husband and wife acting team of Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman starred in this film.
They both had great praise for Kubrick in interviews discussing the movie. Kubrick’s selection
of the music for this film is incredible. The movie will be considered strange by many, but I
thought it was wonderful. A huge number of people turned out to view the movie on the night
that my wife and I saw it. Apparently, many people were anxious to see this “weird” Stanley
Kubrick film. Most of his films are considered strange, disturbing, or controversial by some
people, but there are equally as many people who find the same films marvelous. I am one of the
latter groups.

Kubrick directed at least two period pieces. In 1960 he directed Spartacus and in 1975 it was
Barry Lyndon. I have never seen either of these movies, but I do intend to rent them when I have
a chance. Most of the reviews that I came upon have very high praise for Spartacus and varied
opinions of Barry Lyndon. Several of the reviews that I have seen or heard over the years for
Barry Lyndon were very poor. I have heard it called Kubrick’s worst film. Spartacus, however,
is usually referred to as a classic. Thus, it is fair to say that Kubrick may have directed at least
one excellent period piece.

As I mentioned earlier, George Lucas is surely the king of the science fiction. His four Star Wars
movies will probably guarantee him that title for many years to come. Lucas’ movies would
receive four of the top ten all-time science fiction positions from me. With 2001: A Space
Odyssey and A Clockwork Orange, Kubrick would get my vote for two of the remaining six
positions. Both of these are marvelous. They are both truly unique. The American Film
Institute agrees with me. The film, 2001: A Space Odyssey is ranked 22nd on the Institute’s list
of the top 100 films of all time. It is chosen as the second best science fiction movie ever, behind
only Star Wars. A Clockwork Orange ranks 46th on the same list.

Kubrick’s movie Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Working and Love the Bomb, ranks
26th all time on the American Film Institute’s list. It is classified as a political satire and can
obviously be considered one of the greatest movies of that type, evidenced by its high ranking. It
was released in 1964 and is usually referred to as simply, "Dr. Strangelove."

Stanley Kubrick is also responsible for one of the most controversial films of all-time. Lolita,
which was released in 1962, is an extremely controversial movie. The movie depicts an older
man who is obsessed with a fourteen year old girl. I have not seen this movie yet, but I do intend
to see it eventually. I can not pass up an opportunity to see a Kubrick film, even one that may
possibly disturb me. I usually like movies that are considered disturbing. A couple of other
Kubrick movies, A Clockwork Orange and Eyes Wide Shut can also easily be added to this
category. Controversial is not a genre, but it is another grouping that only certain movies can be
considered amongst.

I feel that Stanley Kubrick should be considered one of the five greatest directors of all time.
Spielberg and Hitchcock would also make my list. The three of them are easy picks for me. I
would need to think a little harder to determine the other two. Kubrick, however, is unique.
Other than Spielberg, Kubrick is one of the only directors who has directed magnificent movies
in several genres. The American Film Institute’s list of the top 100 movies helps to support my
opinion. Kubrick’s movies occupy three of the top forty-six positions. By comparison, Steven
Spielberg, who is usually considered one of the greatest director of all time, holds only two of the
first forty-six positions and a total of four of the top 100. Few people can name the director of
Kubrick’s movies, but many people have viewed and enjoyed his films. In my opinion, he has
produced the all time best movie in two genres and a top ten movie in at least three other
categories. Very few directors, if any, would receive those kind of rankings from me.

Watson, Russell and Brown, Corie. “The 100 Best of 100 Years.” Newsweek Extra Summer
1998: 17-20.

Kawin, Bruce F. How Movies Work. Berkeley, Los Angeles, and London: University of California Press, 1992.

“Stanley Kubrick” The Internet Movie Database Ltd. 1990-1999. 24 October 1999 <http://us.imdb.com/Name?Kubrick,+Stanley>.