Stanley Kubrick's Favorite Films

July 28, 2013 6:39 PM

Some insight into what Stanley Kubrick liked of what he saw in the world of film over the years, with a master list at the end.
posted by indices (21 comments total)

I wonder what about White Men Can't Jump appealed Kubrick.
posted by Foci for Analysis at 7:03 PM on July 28, 2013 [3 favorites]

The Kadeem Hardison lines, most certainly.
posted by Senor Cardgage at 7:15 PM on July 28, 2013 [1 favorite]

Yay! Ikarie XB-1! Well, not confirmed, but we all know.

Of course, I'm still waiting for Ridley Scott to acknowledge that he saw Terrore Nello Spazio.
posted by sonascope at 7:17 PM on July 28, 2013

I skimmed through hoping that Toshio Matsumoto's Funeral Parade of Roses would get a mention, if for no other reason than it might prompt more people to see it. The story is not at all similar - Funeral is a retelling of the story of Oedipus via the gay culture of late 1960s Tokyo - but it was a huge stylistic influence on A Clockwork Orange.

This isn't the scene I was looking for, but it is still an example (no subs, unfortunately


Or you can watch the whole thing.
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posted by louche mustachio at 7:25 PM on July 28, 2013 [3 favorites]

So glad that there's someone else in the world that has the same affection for Freebie and the Bean that I have. In terms of car chases, that movie puts to shame the much more well known Blues Brothers scenes. And it has Alan Arkin and James Caan as buddy cops. It's incredible.
posted by to sir with millipedes at 7:27 PM on July 28, 2013

That's just crazy, louche mustachio! I randomly played the third link and instantly recognized the rape scene from Clockwork Orange. Guess it's true that good artists copy, great artists steal.
posted by Foci for Analysis at 7:36 PM on July 28, 2013 [1 favorite]

Great list, did a little searching for the first film I came to on it I hadn't seen, Arthur Lipsett's Very Nice Very Nice, and it's excellent! What's next What's next?
posted by jrb223 at 7:57 PM on July 28, 2013

Man, I was just thinking about Freebie and the Bean yesterday, for some reason, and remembering that I thought it was hugely entertaining when I saw it all those years ago. I would never have had Kubrick down as an admirer, though.
posted by Decani at 8:04 PM on July 28, 2013

There's a fantastic article buried in this one:

Albert Brooks Knows the Whole, Hellish Truth

Albert didn't add the psychiatrist scene; he changed agents. Modern Romance, released without much studio support, did poorly. Albert, in despair, retreated to his bed--until Stanley Kubrick called.

"He saved my life," Albert says. "I was so depressed; I didn't understand the movie business, I didn't know what was happening, and he said, 'This is a brilliant movie--the movie I've always wanted to make about jealousy. You will not understand what I'm saying, but you must believe me: The studio decides before the movie is ever released how it's going to do. It has nothing to do with you.' "

What Kubrick offered was a brief, brutal tutorial in Hollywood economics: The money poured into distributing and marketing a film is almost always directly correlated both to how much that film cost to produce and how much it might gross. So studios flog the shit out of a costly dog--anything with Kevin Costner's name on it, say--hoping to recoup its money, while good, small-budget films, including all of Albert's, open with puny (or no) advertising in a handful of theaters in a few cities and die upon arrival. And an agent hungry for power isn't going to let a whining, angst-riddled, small-budget director's vision or integrity befoul a beautiful relationship with the shits who sign the checks.

posted by deanklear at 8:05 PM on July 28, 2013 [20 favorites]

That Taschen book on Kubrick mentioned in the article looks awesome and sold out.
posted by Ironmouth at 8:09 PM on July 28, 2013

Nice find, deanklear!
posted by JHarris at 8:10 PM on July 28, 2013

Abigail’s Party

I saw both the filmed version and staged version of this play.

It was one the most agonizing, uncomfortable experience ever. It was like visiting British Middle-Class Hell. I kept wanting to run screaming from the action and never return.

It was wonderful.
posted by The Whelk at 8:49 PM on July 28, 2013

I wonder what about White Men Can't Jump appealed Kubrick.

He's probably just trolling us.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 9:20 PM on July 28, 2013

Kubrick: he's probably just trolling us.
posted by yoink at 9:21 PM on July 28, 2013 [1 favorite]

KUBRICK YOU HACK what about Alien.

what about the wicker maaaaan
posted by elizardbits at 9:27 PM on July 28, 2013 [1 favorite]

not everything is about burning people alive
posted by The Whelk at 9:28 PM on July 28, 2013

dishonor on your cow
posted by elizardbits at 9:30 PM on July 28, 2013 [4 favorites]

I'm not a huge Kubrick fan, but I really like White Men Can't Jump. It strikes me as a movie that has very little in common with the majority of Kubrick's films, so maybe he was fond of how outsider-y it made him feel.
posted by dogwalker at 2:58 AM on July 29, 2013

Tora! Tora! Tora!?

Really?
posted by Thorzdad at 4:54 AM on July 29, 2013

Tora! Tora! Tora!?

Well, it's better than Michael Bay's movie.
posted by octothorpe at 6:39 AM on July 29, 2013

Here's an IMDb list which I think is based on the article.
posted by WalkingAround at 5:50 AM on August 3, 2013