One of the greatest directors of all time only attached his name to a few films over the course of his career. Somehow, despite this, he ended up directing a few of the features considered the best ever made.
We’ve ranked the five best Kubrick-directed films and compared them to his five worst. Remember that Kubrick hasn’t really ever provided a bad film in his career, so most of those considered the ‘worst’, can never truly be considered ‘bad’.
BEST: 2001: A Space Odyssey (8.3)
Despite being released in 1968, long before special effects reached the dizzying heights of the modern era, Stanley Kubrick was able to create an incredibly realistic look into space.
The span of the film moves from the discovery of fire, all the way to a futuristic spaceport with a sentient computer, and somehow, it works perfectly. If Kubrick was able to bring such an incredible setting to life over fifty years ago, it would be mind-boggling to see what he could create these days.
WORST: Spartacus (7.9)
A 7.9 average isn’t even close to being considered a bad film.
It is one of his earlier works, with less of a revolutionary approach than some of his productions from years later, but placing Laurence Olivier and Kirk Douglas in the starring roles was a stroke of genius that gathered the film a number of Academy Award nominations.
BEST: A Clockwork Orange (8.3)
Somehow, despite being one of the most graphically violence, offensive and shocking films of its time, A Clockwork Orange has gone down in history as one of the greatest films ever made.
It might have been banned around the world as soon as it was released, but the way Kubrick was able to bring to life such a surreal, dystopian world and have it hold up just as well today as it did on the day it was released is a true skill.
WORST: Lolita (7.6)
A Clockwork Orange wasn’t the only Kubrick films to enrage viewers and critics and have those censoring films working overtime.
Lolita is a strange one; this adaptation of a graphically sexual book by Vladimir Nabokov is still very sexually-charged, despite the titular character being played by a thirteen-year-old girl. It’s all a little weird.
BEST: Paths Of Glory (8.4)
Another of Kubrick’s earlier films, Paths Of Glory, was the spiritual predecessor to Full Metal Jacket. Like Spartacus, Kirk Douglas also starred in this film, playing Colonel Dax, a colonel who has to defend his squad after they refuse to kill themselves for the fight.
Its powerful anti-war message and incredible acting performances have led to it being widely remembered and praised.
WORST: Eyes Wide Shut (7.4)
Eyes Wide Shut was Kubrick’s final film, and a marked step down from some of the incredible cinema he had previously produced.
It returns to the overt sexuality of Lolita, this time with Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman in the starring roles. He died just six days after finishing the final cut.
BEST: Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb (8.4)
It might have a ridiculously long title, but Dr. Strangelove is not a film with the same epic scale and grandeur of many other Kubrick titles. It is a comedy which satirizes the Cold War, specifically the idea of the US dropping a nuke onto the Soviet Union.
As seems to be the way with most films Kubrick gets his hands on, the film is widely considered to be one of the best comedies of all time.
WORST: Killer’s Kiss (6.7)
Considering this was only his second film ever, Stanley Kubrick was very much still finding his feet as a director.
He hadn’t yet unlocked the seemingly limitless potential for atmosphere or addictive dialogue, and instead delivered this very average crime film, the story of which he also conceived.
BEST: The Shining (8.4)
One of the greatest films of all time and possibly the best horror film that has ever and will ever be made is Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of Stephen King’s The Shining. King might hate it, but he is simply incorrect.
The visuals and atmosphere Kubrick was able to create without much dialogue, the true stomach-churning moments of fear and that heart-racing final scene combine to create one of the most impressive cinematic feats of all time.
WORST: Fear And Desire (5.5)
Kubrick’s first film was also the first of his to delve into his anti-war narrative that would be explored in more detail through the likes of Dr. Strangelove and Paths Of Glory.
However, he hadn’t quite nailed it yet, and the film has only landed a 5.5 IMDb average.