Stanley Kubrick's Cinema

Feature Films of Stanley Kubrick:

Fear and Desire (1952)

Killer’s Kiss (1955)

The Killing (1957)

Paths of Glory (1958)

Spartacus (1960)

Lolita (1962)

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

A Clockwork Orange (1971)

Barry Lyndon (1975)

The Shining (1980)

Full Metal Jacket (1987)

Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

Stanley Kubrick directed 13 feature films over his career with the 1950s and 1960s being the most prolific decade with 4 films each decade:

1950s: Fear and Desire (1952), Killer’s Kiss (1955), The Killing (1957), Paths of Glory (1958)

1960s: Spartacus (1960), Lolita (1962), Dr. Strangelove (1964), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968).

The 1970s and 1980s each brought 2 films per decade: A Clockwork Orange (1971), Barry Lyndon (1975), The Shining (1980), Full Metal Jacket (1987).

And then there was the final film, Eyes Wide Shut, released in the summer of 1999, a few months after Kubrick passed away at the age of 70.

1950s: War and Noir

The 1950s are book-ended by two War films and two Noir films in the middle. This pattern makes sense as the end of WWII meant that War films started emerging in 1950s while Noir was still kicking around in the 1950s following their emergence in 1940s. However, neither of the two war films are conventional ones, although budget played a part in one of the film’s decisions.

Kubrick’s debut feature Fear and Desire is a war film set in an unnamed country. The film shows four soldiers navigating a forest after their plane is shot down. It is very clear from the outset that the forest isn’t in Europe or Latin America but it is a park in USA. Clearly, budget played a part in that decision. The location impacts believability of events although not for lack of effort on the part of Kubrick and the film crew. It is clear the film is made by someone who has a keen understanding of cinema techniques from the variety of camera angles (close-ups when needed) and the usage of music to heighten emotions.

Killer’s Kiss, The Killing and Paths of Glory are technically miles ahead of Fear and Desire and depict what a talented director can do with more production budget and better script. Incredibly, all 3 films were released over a 6-year period following Kubrick’s debut feature. Killer’s Kiss and The Killing are solid noir films enhanced with some brilliant technical flourishes. One of the best sequences in Killer’s Kiss is the boxing fight sequence which has some creative camera angles. This sequence has shots that build on Kubrick’s work from his documentary short Day of Fight (1951). The documentary showed the prep that goes before a fight and features a shot that depicts the other boxer via the legs of his opponent. This same shot is incorporated in Killer’s Kiss which also shows realism in the fight sequence. The black and white boxing ring fight scenes are a precursor to those incredible images in Martin Scorsese’s Raging Bull (1980). Both noir films also feature voice-over narration by the main character, an aspect that was found in Kubrick’s first two documentary shorts (Day of Fight, Flying Padre).

Paths of Glory highlights Kubrick’s progress as a director and can still be rightly considered as one of the best war films made. Or anti-war movie to be exact. The film shows the egos, rules and regulations, hierarchy of the military and is a perfect illustration of the phrase “power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely”. Paths of Glory depicts events that unfold when an egoistical general puts the lives of his soldiers at risk by sending them on a suicide mission. Not all the soldiers comply, and the loyal Colonel Dax (Kirk Douglas) defends his men in a court-martial trial. There are some realistic war trenches scenes, but the power of the film is from sequences which question blind orders.

1960s: New genres explored

The 1960s showed a different side to Kubrick’s craft and this decade resulted in two of his best films ever made. Although, the decade started out with a historical epic film with Spartacus (1960), Kubrick then tackled the hot potato of Lolita (1962), a film which showed the dark comedic hand of Kubrick for the first time. Next, he followed up with the brilliantly savage Dr. Strangelove (1964) which combined elements of war, satire, dark comedy in a remarkable manner. The decade ended with his first sci-fi film, 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), which is still one of the greatest sci-fi films of all time.

1970s-1990s: Sci-fi, Drama, Horror, War, Thriller

The next 3 decades only resulted in just 5 films but all 5 are stellar works and images from these films have become cultural points of reference.

Think of all the memes from A Clockwork Orange (1971), The Shining (1980), Full Metal Jacket (1987) that have permeated many other cinematic, TV and works of popular culture. Barry Lyndon (1975) is often cited as a classic must-see film that pops up in many best films list while Eyes Wide Shut (1999) is a film that finally seems to be getting the appreciation long after its release.

Ranking all Features in order of preference:

1. Dr. Strangelove (1964)

2. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

3. Paths of Glory (1958)

4. The Shining (1980)

5. Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

6. A Clockwork Orange (1971)

7. Barry Lyndon (1975)

8. The Killing (1957)

9. Full Metal Jacket (1987)

10. Spartacus (1960)

11. Lolita (1962)

12. Killer’s Kiss (1955)

13. Fear and Desire (1952)