One of the greats of all time

I never got around to seeing Eyes Wide Shut. From the discussion it seems to be his most contentious film. But Kubrick would have to be in a pretty rare class as a director who never turned in a film just to put asses in the seats over the course of 40+ years. Always a maverick, every time out he challenged the viewer and he never went over the same ground twice. Pick any one of the films from his fairly short resume and it would be considered at or near the top of its class in that genre. The Shining is one of the best horror flicks ever made; 2001, one of the most revered sci-fi movies of all time, Clockwork Orange a visionary piece of Futurism, Paths of Glory is a chilling anti-war tale, Dr. Strangelove the best political satire ever made. His films were cynical, a little cold and maybe the characters were generally detached, you couldn't really warm to anyone in any of his films. But film for film he was a movie maker of the highest quality.

From some of his later misguided projects, regrettably not quite in the Pantheon. And yet, even at his least successful, no other filmmaker of his generation has been as individualistically adventuresome or as original - not Scorcese, not Coppola, nor Spielberg or Lucas later and, most certainly, not James Cameron or Tarantino - nor reached anything close to his cinematic accomplishment. In his own way, on a par with David Lean.

Besides '2001' and such as his finest, 'Dr. Strangelove,' can 'Paths of Glory' be too far behind in our appreciation? It certainly merits serious consideration as a companion piece to 'Full Metal Jacket.'

On the surface, no two of his fims are alike. I recommend The Killing, Kubrick's contribution to Film Noir.

Psst! You forgot Full Metal Jacket. Gunnery Sergeant Hartman was a loon, but I kinda liked him. Who says you can't warm to his characters?

Weird.

He is on the top with few peers. See his movies!

Great artists seek to reach for the stars and not just stand on the pavement. In so doing they often fail. Such is the case with Kubrick. He is responsible for some terrible stuff (most of which he acknowledges) but he is equally responsible for some of the finest films ever made. A lot like Welles, erratic at times, but a genius.

Some of his films where a bit out of the ordinary- nonethless a famous flim maker of the highest caliber. '2001' remains an iconic film, that is my favorite.

Great director,I think he is now directing The News.

I love all of his movies! My favorite one is A Clockwork Orange. Kubrick is a genius!

Words cannot describe how amazing a filmmaker Kubrick was.

Master

I wouldn't say all his movies are great, but to deny Stanley Kubrick's due as one of the greatest directors ever would be to deny the truth. A man who brought realism to the silver screen in many frightening portrayals, Kubrick was THE 'shock and awe' director of all-time. Who can forget the disturbing 'A Clockwork Orange' or the sheer madness in 'Full Metal Jacket'? Kubrick was the shock king of cinemadom.

The greatest: only Kant, Plato, Shakespeare, Galileo, Newton were great like him. His Barry Lyndon is like Don Quijote: a life experience. But every movie is absolutely perfect: technically and philosophically.

No one has made a more impressive string of astonishing films.

Nobody makes films as intelligently as Stanley Kubrick.

Kubrick is GOD!

Let's see...Eyes Wide Shut was offensive and boring...A Clockwork Orange was grossly violent and extremely pessmistic...2001: A Space Odyssey was dull and uninspired...so, yes, Kubrick is an awful director with terrible tastes in films.

Full Metal Jacket is one of the most overrated movies of all-time, right there with Fight Club and American History X. Testosterone-feuled mediocrity. But is shows how ambitious Kubrick really was, and when you're always striving for greatness you're bound to stumble sometimes. Kubrick was a genius director who tackled varied subject matter with the same amount of vision each time. He deserves all the praise in the world.

the most consistent and ingenious film director that ever lived

One of the worst directors since the beginning of moving pictures ! A Clockwork Orange, Eyes Wide Shut, must I say more? They were all awful movies...I can't even think of one that was worth 2 stars.....:(

Stanley Kubrick is certainly controversial which should be a clue to his influence and importance. Whether one likes his work or not, most everyone is familiar with his landmark films (ie "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), "The Shining" (1980), and "Full Metal Jacket" (1987)). As others have noted, Kubrick's use of color and extended, unedited scenes gave his films an epic feel leaving his work recognizable without having to read the credits.

Truly masterful director who chalked up several top knotch classics. Of course, "Dr. Strangelove," "A Clockwork Orange," "2001" and "The Shining" are the most notable of the lot, but "Killer's Kiss" was a very good low-budget film, "The Killing" was most entertaining and diverting, "Paths of Glory" was one the best anti-war flicks ever, "Spartacus" was among the best swords and sandals efforts, his version of "Lolita" was absolutely hysterical (this guy aways got great performances out of the truly magnificent Peter Sellers), and if your son is thinking about enlisting, just rent him "Full Metal Jacket" at the video store and I'll bet he'll want to go off to college or trade school instead. Kubrick's one clunker, "Eyes Wide Shut," was the product of a director who was in his early 70s already and pretty much used up. On the whole, a pretty decent track record. Sure beats anyone out there today.

I think that he has produced some amazing movies, but he loses a whole star for Eyes Wide Shut, which stunk like a burning pile of feces-smeared fish carcasses.

Stanley is definately worthy of five stars, but it seems that as his health declined, his talent did as well. "Eyes Wide Shut" was one God-awful movie. However, "The Shining" and "Full Metal Jacket" are classics.

"The Shining" and "Full Metal Jacket" are good examples of quality directing. I thought "Eyes Wide Shut" was a yawner. . .but few people remember Kubrick as the young director for the epic "Spartacus." He was a very good, but not great, artist.

"Eyes Wide Shut" - automatic one-star deduction. "A Clockwork Orange" - Bonus star Gave us R. Lee Ermey and Vincent D'Onofrio - eleavating him to Olympian status. Although his films have an antiseptic feel, at least they have a feel. I will confess that I have to be in the right mood to watch his stuff. Somtimes the mood comes from the material, but not for me with Kubrick.

Vastly overrated. Every Kubrick I've seen bored me except Clockwork Orange, and that was only marginally interesting. I wouldn't see it again.

A master of cinematography. Wherever his movies fall short (acting, length, etc...) his scene development, camera angles (and I stress ANGLES), colors, use of light and shadows, costumes, dialogue, and ability to create a story all highlight Kubrick's unparalleled genius. Can scare the hell out of you one minute, make you split your sides laughing the next minute, and then have you pondering philosophical questions at the end. One of the greatest.

I've seen all his movies from Killer's Kiss to Eyes Wide Shut, and there's not a bad one in the bunch! He is undoubtedly one of the greatest ever! Just ask Speilberg, Scorcese, or Woody Allen, and they'll agree! Paths of Glory should be on the AFI top 100 along with Strangelove, 2001, and A Clockwork Orange. The only one of his movies I can't sit through repeatedly is Barry Lyndon. I can find new things to admire in his films every time I see them. His films are not for those who have short attention spans or like lots of car chases, bathroom humor, or need their plots spelled out to them. He took Stephen King's overly long, tedious The Shining and but out all the BS to make a creepy classic! I still get tears in my eyes at the end of Paths of Glory.

the most brilliant director in American cinema who pushed the envelope every step of the way. At the height of his powers with 2001, and the most gutwrenching and absorbing with Clockwork

Stanley Kubrick did not make movies. Stanley Kubrick made motion pictures. LITERALLY! Every one of his films that I've seen (2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, THE SHINING, FULL METAL JACKET) looks like a photograph miraculously put into motion. Stanley Kubrick is undeniably the greatest director of all time, second to only Alfred Hitchcock of course.

I really, & deeply, loved "Eyes Wide Shut" with Tom Cruise & Nicole Kidman! One of the few masterpieces of our time, a time where junk movies like "Hannibal" & "American Psycho" are the standard, not the exception.

The power behind this mans work is unfathomable. Kubrick is an artist of the highest degree. His films show an undeniable talent and flair for visual atmosphere. From the color red he used as a symbol of eroticism and sex to the icey cold hyes of the Shinning, Kubrick is one of the worlds greatest film makers. He vreated films that were not just entertaining and thought provoking, but movies that broke new grounds in story telling and cinamatic technique. He is absolutly one of the if not the best cinematographeres. His capability to make you feel,to keep you watching. If you enjoy the pictures Kubrick has made or not, he has touched thousands of film makers with his creative style. Kubrick is on of the last truly innovative film makers. Truely Brilliant. His films and contributian to humanity will live on forever. I might get ridiculed for posting this but, I found to Eyes Wide Shut to be a very well made and thoutful movie. Kubrick's style was in full swing and I felt he did a magnificent job directing it. I cannot think of a Kubrick film that has not in some way made me think or ever made me want to leave the theater. Kubrick is an artist, and like all artist, sometimes the work isn't for every persons taste. Eyes Wide Shut was a beautiful finale for a great and inspiring artist.

It baffles me that the same guy who directed "Clockwork Orange" also directed "Eyes Wide Shut." If you take "Eyes Wide Shut" off Kubrick's resume, he easily gets five stars from me. But that movie was so painfully awful that it taints Kubrick's entire body of work.

How could you consider Eyes Wide Shut a good movie?

I wouldn't say that any of his films are among my favorites but surely he has made some of the greats, 2001, The Shining, Dr. Strangelove, Clockwork Orange. He seemed to possess a keen sense of stage, how the surroundings of the characters could deeply impact the scenes they were in, that a his use of long spans of silence. For instance, the great halls that the young boy big wheels through and the sounds of the wheels going from carpet to hard floor with door after door zipping by as if in a tunnel. The joggin scene in 2001 where there is nothing but the sound of the astronaut shadow boxing as he runs in what appears to be a wheel shaped ship on edge, or the men as they eat scraping as their food plates, and again at the end as the old man clinks the plate in his room, alone. The war room in Dr. Strangelove, and the hang out club in Clockwork Orange, all created the scene more than the words or actions of the characters in them. As for Eyes Wide Shut, I didn't even bother to pay money for that.

Responsible for goofing up the cinema adaptation of one of Stephen King’s best novels “The Shinning”. His left field interpretation makes you wonder if he even read the book. “2001” was strange and kept my attention when I first saw it in 8th grade, but left me feeling emotionally flat. Looking back, I think I actually enjoyed the music most. On the other hand, “Dr. Strangelove” is still one of the funniest cult flicks ever. I’m sure he appeals to many but he had fewer hits than misses with me.

Did I ever actually enjoy a Kubrick film? No, I don't think so. I know it's sacriligious to say, but while "2001" "Clockwork Orange" "Full Metal Jacket" and "The Shining" were all interesting films, I can hardly imagine a more miserable day the one where I'd have to sit through them all again. And "Eyes Wide Shut" was so horrible I didn't bother to watch the second half.