Is Stanley Kubric really so great?

Sure movie critics go crazy over him, but didn’t he just make a bunch of weird movies? The following is a simple approach to understanding why he was a great movie director:

CONSIDERATION #1: He only directed 16 movies in his 48-year career. Martin Scorcese has been at it for 65 years and averages at least a movie a year. Hitchcock made 4x what Kubric did in the same amount of time, plus a TV show. Spielberg did about 3x more, but he did far more TV shows and movie shorts, not to mention all that he’s produced. Most great actors can boast a much longer filmography, however…

CONSIDERATION #2: His batting average is much higher.

When it comes to making influential and critically acclaimed movies, Kubric is unmatched, despite such a small amount of finished works. He would seem to pick a different genre every time he made a movie, and each time he would end up with it being one of the greatest of its kind. Many of us may not fully get his only sci-fi space movie,

(perhaps like me you even found it boring). However, the makers of all the great sci-fi space flicks since cite it as a major influence. If it wasn’t for , we wouldn’t have or even . If you’re a fan of romantic historical dramas like and(the later versions, which are the best ones!), you can thank Kubric for . Again his only one. If there is a list of greatest horror movies of all time, the only movie that can compete with his sole horror flick, is . A war movie? . A comedy? Dr. Strangelove. His filmography isn’t perfect, but he could create a classic like it was no one’s business. And he did this without investing in big name actors (even Nicholson wasn’t as big in 1980 as he was thereafter) and in only making a mere 16 movies!

CONSIDERATION #3: Depth of story. If you could talk for hours about a movie, chances are that what you’d talk about is 1) great scenes, 2) great quotes, and/or 3) cool stuff in it. And for a few minutes maybe themes and meaning. With most of Kubric’s movies, entire essays (even books and doctoral dissertations!) have been written on the themes he covers in his classics like . When I listen to podcasts that discuss movies, I typically listen to the ones talking about my favourites or maybe movies I’ve seen recently. But if they are discussing one of Kubric’s, I’m quick to download it. I know the angles that can be taken will be diverse and the ideas discussed thought-provoking. They will mention things I didn’t notice, and probably haven’t heard in other podcasts on the same film. He was known as a perfectionist and it paid off. The depth of his movies is truly something to behold.

So even though I don’t consider him one of my favourites, I can clearly see why he’s hailed as one of the greats, if not the greatest. With that being said…

Congratulations . This is your week.

Best Actress:

Shelley Duvall as Wendy Torrance in She should be lauded for how she put up with Kubric in the shooting of this film. That’s one thing I cannot appreciate about him was his treatment of some of his actors in his years as a director.

Best Actor: Malcolm MacDowell as Alex in

Best Quote: “The dead know only one thing: it is better to be alive..” — Matthew Modine as Private Joker in

My top 10 favourite directors:

Paul Thomas Anderson

• John Hughes

• Spike Lee

• Charlie Chaplain

• James Cameron

• Quentin Tarantino

• Christopher Nolan

• Stephen Spielberg

• The Coen Brothers

• Martin Scorcese

Honourable Mentions: