And the best Kubrick movie is…
FULL METAL JACKET!
Man, haven’t seen this in ages, but I do recall it having the same damn problem as Stripes: first half is unreal, but what the hell happened in that second hour? Then again, the first half of Stripes is one of the funniest things you’ll ever see and the same goes for the feel-good boosts of confidence from R. Lee Ermey in FMJ, too. Well, a lot of solid choices this week and we have ourselves a winnah!
Swell voting, folks. Looks like it’s high time I revisited this.
RESULTS:
– Full Metal Jacket: 19 votes
– A Clockwork Orange: 10 votes
– 2001: 10 votes
– Dr. Strangelove: 10 votes
– The Shining: 7 votes
– Spartacus: 6 votes
– The Killing: 2 votes
– Eyes Wide Shut: 1 vote
– Paths of Glory: 1 votes
– Lolita: 0 votes
– Barry Lyndon: 0 votes (anyone seen this? any good?)
Pretty sure I’d shit my pants on a daily basis with that mean bastard telling me off from sunup ’til sundown. What a performance, but someone needed to give that a guy a freakin’ bear hug.
Cut The Crap Movie Reviews 
Full Metal Jacket….great movie, but I’m not sure I would include it in my top 5 Kubrick films. Your point about the second half not being able to match the first half is spot-on, and that’s probably my only real complaint about the film.
I noticed Barry Lyndon received zero votes, which is a shame because I would probably rank it just behind 2001 and A Clockwork Orange as my favorite Kubrick films. However, Barry Lyndon definitely isn’t for everyone, as its 3-hour runtime and long, drawn out scenes leave many people extremely bored. But it’s certainly worth a look for anyone who enjoys Kubrick’s other films.
Yeah, will definitely check out Lyndon. Just don’t know anyone else outside of the blogosphere who’s seen it before, figured I’d test the waters. I could go for a long, meandering movie. Thanks for the heads up and thanks for visiting!
I liked Full Metal Jacket but it really shines in the first half only. R. Lee Ermey is priceless as the Sergeant Instructor.
That’s the double-edge sword of FMJ, but Ermey is totally insane.
Really? The first half is great, but the second half of this film is pretty lackluster and one of the most boring war movies I’ve seen.
The Shining, The Killing, 2001, Dr. Strangelove, Paths of Glory and A Clockwork Orange are all easily better and more consistently great than Full Metal Jacket.
Haha. Won’t argue any of those points.
Full Metal Jacket placed above Barry Lyndon, Paths of Glory or The Shining… No way. It doesn’t even make it to the top 5 in my view. The drilling sargeant scenes are very good, the first part is good and the second half is …forgettable.
Have any of the actors in this movie done anything remarkable since?
Yeah, I haven’t seen Barry Lyndon, but I’d definitely place The Shining and Paths of Glory over this from what I remember. Can’t deny how good the first half is, but alas, there is a second half. Vincent D’Onofrio is on some Law & Order show I think and Matthew Modine’s had some decent roles here and there, but that’s about it. Pretty sure Ermey was in The Frighteners, too.
It might take a little getting used to but “Barry Lyndon” is a strong film. It looks amazing.
I didn’t vote (=p) but I would’ve chosen “2001” as the best Kubrick film. “Full Metal Jacket” is great, and the second half being considerably different than the first highlighted the theme of duality. And I’m just happy someone voted for “The Killing.” Haven’t seen “Lolita” (hated the book in high school) and “Paths of Glory” yet.
Yeah, I might have to check that out. Only Kubrick movie left on Netflix Instant that I have yet to watch.
Haven’t seen Lolita (and I liked the book, even though I only read half of it…), will probably get around to reviewing The Killing this week or next, and definitely check out Paths of Glory – great stuff. And 2001 is a damn good choice for Best Kubrick Movie.
I can’t complain too much because I don’t think I voted in this poll. But I definitely wouldn’t have voted for Full Metal Jacket. I probably would have gone with The Shining. Or Dr. Strangelove.
And Barry Lyndon is a really, really great film.
Almost positive that someone has hacked into the system at this point. Doesn’t seem like a whole lot of folks agree with FMJ. Will definitely be checking out Barry Lyndon.
Whu?
As much as I like Full Metal Jacket, it’s still inferior to 2001, Clockwork, Strangelove, and Paths of Glory.
Word.
Barry Lyndon is an absolutely phenomenal film, but really needs to be seen on the big screen.
The BFI bravely chose it as the lynchpin/extended run of their Kubrick season a little while back and it totally blew me away.
It has a stately power that really creeps up on the viewer.
Needless to say, the composition and cinematography is flawless, and the sheer stillness of much of the mise-en-scene is really mesmerising and give you ample time to take it all in. I believe that a lot of (if not all) natural light was used.
The real clincher for me was the bone-dry voiceover – just hilarious.
See it if you can!!
Ash
http://permanentplastichelmet
Movies from the good and the poor to the not very good and the very poor
double post fail!
Damn. Will definitely see it. Never knew there was so much love for Barry Lyndon. Awesome!
Barry Lyndon is an absolutely phenomenal film, but really needs to be seen on the big screen.
The BFI bravely chose it as the lynchpin/extended run of their Kubrick season a little while back and it totally blew me away.
It has a stately power that really creeps up on the viewer.
Needless to say, the composition and cinematography is flawless, and the sheer stillness of much of the mise-en-scene is really mesmerising and give you ample time to take it all in. I believe that a lot of (if not all) natural light was used.
The real clincher for me was the bone-dry voiceover – just hilarious.
See it if you can!!
Ash
http://permanentplastichelmet.com
Movies from the good and the poor to the not very good and the very poor
Full Metal Jacket is absolutely freakin good film!