Every Stanley Kubrick Film Ranked According to Critics

Every Stanley Kubrick Film Ranked, According to Critics

Stanley Kubrick stands as one of the greatest directors of all time. Here are his 13 films ranked, according to the critics of Rotten Tomatoes.

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Stanley Kubrick stands among the greatest filmmakers of all time. And yet, for a director so seminal, his resume is comparatively short: comprised of just 13 films. But the sheer level of quality is unassailable. None of Kubrick’s works rank below 75 percent on the critic aggregate Rotten Tomatoes listing, and the majority rank above 90 percent; an almost absurdly high standard by anyone’s measurement.

The question of which Kubrick film ranks higher than the others becomes a matter of personal taste. The director embraced a wide variety of genres and themes, and even his lesser-known early works have adherents who argue passionately for their virtues. What follows is a ranking of all 13 Kubrick feature films, based on their Tomatometer rating. In cases of ties, the Metascore on Metacritic.com serves as a tiebreaker.

13. Fear and Desire – 75 percent (no Metascore)

Kubrick’s feature debut came after cutting his teeth as a photographer and documentary short director. He raised funds for the production himself and made the movie with a cast and crew of only 15 people in total. Shot in black and white and emphasizing the surreal over the factual, it speaks to the dehumanization and absurdity of war — themes Kubrick would return to throughout his career.

Critics cited Fear and Desire’s unpolished and experimental nature, noting that it held a great deal of potential but required a more surefooted hand. It struggled at the box office – its avant-garde nature hindered its popular appeal – and Kubrick himself dismissed it as “amateurish.” Its copyright has lapsed, leaving it in the public domain (and freely available for viewing on YouTube.)

12. Eyes Wide Shut – 75 percent (Metascore: 69)

Kubrick’s swan song arrived swirled in controversy. Stars Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman shot Eyes Wide Shut in the midst of their deteriorating marriage, and their depiction of a couple in turbulence felt uncomfortably close to reality. Kubrick himself died less than a week after completing the picture, and Warner Bros. made the decision to digitally hide the onscreen genitalia of a central orgy scene in order to secure an “R” rating. The results robbed the scene of its eerie power and left critics baffled.

The film retained largely positive reviews, and defenders claimed it among Kubrick’s best, but the film’s slow pace, posthumous alterations and defiance of mainstream convention left the overall impression more curio than masterpiece.

11. Killer’s Kiss – 82 percent

Kubrick’s second film displayed more confidence and polish than his first: a noir thriller about a pair of lovers on the run from a New York gangster. United Artists, who financed the movie, demanded a happy ending, which Kubrick objected to and the film failed to find an audience at the box office. But critics noted its improved technical polish and again cited the director’s potential, while expressing disappointment that this outing was more “conventional” than Fear and Desire.

Its comparatively low rank reflects the early work of an artist still polishing his craft, as well as his frustration at an ultimate rejection of studio style filmmaking.

10. The Shining – 84 percent

Kubrick’s seminal adaptation of Stephen King’s novel is routinely ranked among the scariest movies of all time, and retains perennial status as a horror classic. When it was first released, however, it was considered something of a misfire. Roger Ebert panned it in his initial review, while the New Yorker’s Pauline Kael castigated it for destroying the ambiance of the novel.

King himself was infamously dissatisfied with The Shining, to the point where he helped produce a TV miniseries remake that failed to compete with Kubrick’s vision. More recently, questions of Kubrick’s on-set treatment of Shelley Duvall cast a problematic pall over scenes of her character terrified beyond belief. Time has mellowed the criticisms against it, however, and Duvall’s stated pride in the film during a recent Hollywood Reporter interview allowed fans to appreciate her performance for what it is.

9. A Clockwork Orange – 86 percent

Controversy was consistent throughout Kubrick’s career, never more than his 1971 adaptation of Anthony Burgess’s dystopian sci-fi novel. A Clockwork Orange’s depiction of violence led to several countries banning it, and Kubrick himself had the film removed from British theaters after a teenage boy murdered an old man in emulation of Malcolm McDowell’s psychopathic protagonist.

The intense subject matter left critics savagely divided, with The New Yorker calling Kubrick a pornographer, and the New York Times referring to the film as both brilliant and dangerous. The controversy fed its subsequent reputation as a trendsetter, and like so many of Kubrick’s films, time has improved its standing considerably.

8. Lolita – 91 percent (Metascore: 79)

Comparatively speaking, the arguments surrounding Lolita are mild, especially considering the controversial source novel. Censorship laws at the time forced Kubrick to tone down the book’s open exploration of pedophilia, and the changes necessitated by adapting the book to film caused a stir among purists. The ad campaign successfully played up the controversy, allowing the movie to turn a profit, and subsequent generations have praised the director’s careful handling of volatile and sensitive material. The 1997 version could be far more daring with the material, and yet still only finds a fraction of what Kubrick did.

7. Barry Lyndon – 91 percent (Metascore: 89)

Kubrick’s historical drama depicting the rise and fall of an Irish scoundrel had the benefit of a respectable genre, which muted the furor his other projects attracted. His focus on the details of day-to-day life set it apart from the more epic inclinations of most period dramas.

Some critics were dismissive of its slow pace and chilly demeanor, though the cinematography and Kubrick’s use of 100 percent natural lighting earned it high praise. The dark irony of its plot gave it an edge that other historical dramas lacked, and its merciless finale was very much in keeping with his cynical view of human decency.

6. Full Metal Jacket – 92 percent (Metascore: 76)

Few of Kubrick’s films were as well-received upon release as Full Metal Jacket, released the same year that Platoon won Best Picture in the midst of America’s cultural soul-searching over the Vietnam War. It was the right project at the right time for Kubrick, who had explored anti-war themes before, but rarely with the level of ambition on display here.

Admittedly, the first half has always been the strongest, with a pair of unforgettable performances from R. Lee Ermey and Vincent D’Onofrio. But the second half is a power of its own, and while other films of the era focused solely on Vietnam itself, Kubrick blurred the differences between it and larger ideas about war. The effects, it argues, are no different regardless.

5. 2001: A Space Odyssey – 92 percent (Metascore: 84)

Kubrick’s only Oscar came in the Visual Effects category for 2001, a backhanded compliment from an organization notorious for its inability to recognize science fiction as art. Though best known for the murderous confrontation between HAL-9000 and David Bowman – culminating with Bowman’s trip through the stargate – 2001: A Space Odyssey covered the entire human condition within its running time, from the moment we became more than an ape to the “Starchild” finale where we evolved beyond what we understood to be human.

The results were ahead of their time, and while a few critics decried the director’s typical emotional sterility, even normally harsh voices like Roger Ebert’s praised it to the heavens.

4. Spartacus – 93 percent

Spartacus’s most important accomplishment was likely its breaking of the Hollywood blacklist by crediting Dalton Trumbo under his own name for the screenplay. It’s often cited as the least Kubrickian of the director’s canon, and certainly reflected the studio process he despised more than any of his other films. He was brought on after filming had begun when producer/star Kirk Douglas fired director Anthony Mann, and Kubrick chaffed under the creative compromises required by the arrangement.

Kubrick argued with his collaborators often – including Douglas and Trumbo – and it was the last film he made without complete creative control. Despite that, the film drew huge accolades and remains one of the best historical epics produced by the studio system.

3. Paths of Glory – 95 percent

Kubrick and Douglas worked much better together on Paths of Glory, which became the director’s first truly brilliant anti-war film. With Douglas attached, Kubrick had the creative control he needed and the budget to achieve the requisite scope.

The film’s intended hyperrealism and downbeat ending made it stand out against other war films of the time, a feat Kubrick repeated with Full Metal Jacket three decades later. Its critical acclaim came quickly and never diminished, though it was banned in several countries for many years for its perceived anti-militarism; a sure sign that its message had struck the right nerves.

2. The Killing – 98 percent (Metascore: 91)

Kubrick’s third feature film and first true masterpiece sharpened his instincts for crime and the way it exemplified human weaknesses. It was a heist picture, depicting a meticulous and very clever robbery undone by happenstance and the inability of its band of crooks to get out of their own way.

The Killing failed to generate much box office, but made critics sit up and take notice. The intricacies of the plot and the surprisingly sympathetic criminals make it strong entertainment as well as artful filmmaking, and it holds up well to repeat viewings — making it a strong influence on later heist films like Heat and Ocean’s Eleven.

1. Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb – 98 percent (Metascore: 97)

The highest rated film in Kubrick’s canon is hard to argue with. Its bone-dry satire about nuclear Armageddon has lost none of its potency, and Kubrick’s repeated efforts to express both the horror and absurdity of war never succeeded quite so well as this one. While his films have funny moments from time to time, this was a flat-out comedy, citing laughter as the only rational response to something as unspeakably awful as nuclear holocaust.

Peter Sellers’ hat-trick performance – playing three of the film’s lead roles — bolstered an amazing cast, and the film was selected by the National Film Registry for its inaugural list, marking it as one of the 25 greatest films of all time.

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Link Source : https://www.cbr.com/every-stanley-kubric-film-ranked-critics/

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