Summary

• Stanley Kubrick revolutionized filmmaking with his unique style, creating visually stunning shots and infusing his projects with dark humor.
• Kubrick's ion for denouncing war is evident in many of his movies, with almost half of his films covering wartime themes directly or indirectly.
• Despite his success, Kubrick often craved creative control and found collaboration to be limiting, as seen in his experience with Spartacus.

Stanley Kubrick's contributions to film are legendary, with several focused on the theme of war. Kubrick created several films that entirely changed how people viewed and made movies within the sci-fi, horror, and crime genres. His unique style resulted in many creative and visually stunning shots, as well as imbuing his projects with dark humor. Kubrick was also a perfectionist who liked to assume control over multiple aspects of his movies, from scripting to editing. Kubrick had a direct hand in most elements that went into his movies.

Much of his work was based on book adaptations with Kubrick adapting stories to the film format with a great degree of success. He also clearly had a ion for creating movies that highlighted the negative aspects of war as his first project and almost half of all of his films covered some aspects of wartime, whether directly or indirectly. Kubrick undoubtedly innovated and altered the landscape of filmmaking for generations to come, even after he died in 1999.

6 Fear And Desire

1952

Before Kubrick developed his own signature style, he had to start somewhere. His first feature film, Fear and Desire, was an hour-long antiwar drama starring four soldiers; Frank Silvera, Kenneth Harp, Steve Coit, and Paul Mazursky. The movie follows these men as they crash behind enemy lines and struggle to survive. The budget was extremely modest, and it was written by his earliest collaborator, Howard Sackler, whom he also worked with on his second outing.

The movie bears little resemblance to his later works as it presents a cut-and-dry war story with little nuance. The whole thing feels more akin to a college project, more than typical Kubrick feature-length films, but it still provided a foundation for Kubrick's later works and allowed him to become familiar with the medium. He also worked on this project as the editor and cinematographer, which helped him understand the medium he would go on to dominate. However, the fact that he had yet to assume the role of writer and contribute his unique voice may have also been part of the detriment of this film.

5 Spartacus

1960

Less than 10 years later, Kubrick was hired to direct Spartacus, a film that went on to win four Oscars and saw Kubrick nominated for a Golden Globe. The project was produced by Kirk Douglas, who also starred as the lead, and written by Dalton Trumbo. However, this was also the last movie Kubrick made in Hollywood before moving his permanent residence to the United Kingdom. Kubrick disagreed with aspects of Hollywood and found his creative differences with collaborators there too much to overcome, so following the release of Spartacus, he left.

Spartacus is widely hailed as a classic film that depicts the final days of the Roman Empire. While the film is universally praised and stands as an iconic part of cinematic history, it was also one that Kubrick had the least creative control over. With many of his other projects, Kubrick assumed multiple roles and continued to adjust them until they fit within his vision, but this movie was less about creating his own vision and more about realizing the visions of his collaborators. For most creatives, that collaboration is vital, but Kubrick clearly appeared to feel restrained and suppressed by it.

4 Barry Lyndon

1975

Barry Lyndon was another four-time Oscar winner which saw Kubrick nominated for multiple categories due to his role as writer and director. Well established in his career at this point, Kubrick had established his unique visual style and tone which could be expected from any project with his name attached. The film explores aspects of the Seven Years' War from the titular character's perspective, played by Ryan O'Neal.

Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon runs for over three hours, which was largely uncommon at the time, but Kubrick manages to keep audiences engaged with the rogueish behavior of the lead, Barry, as he attempts to elevate his position in life through various methods. The story sees many events shape the young man's life, which sees him several different militaries and war efforts throughout the movie. The film is certainly one of Kubrick's best, although it has not retained the same level of fame and regard as some of his other works, like 2001: A Space Odyssey and The Shining.

3 Paths Of Glory

1957

Paths of Glory was the true realization of what Kubrick set out to achieve in Fear and Desire in many ways. Having had time to refine his work, develop a personal style, and now taking over the role of writing the story and script, Kubrick took a much larger degree of creative control and set out to create a meaningful antiwar film with Paths of Glory. The film starred Kirk Douglas and is set during World War I around a group of soldiers who disobey orders to embark on a near-certain suicide mission.

The film draws clear divisions between the people making the decisions, sitting in luxury and comfort, and those fighting in the trenches, covered in dirt and blood. Kubrick used newsreel-style images and also created an incredibly gripping and realistic fight sequence to drum home the antiwar message that often embodied his work. In addition, Douglas has a career-defining performance in this film which helps to elevate it to a much higher degree. However, due to how early it was released and having been snubbed for any Oscar nominations, it remains one of the less popular titles in Kubrick's filmography.

2 Full Metal Jacket

1987

Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket is certainly one of the most enduring movies to come from Kubrick's career, and it stands apart from his other antiwar films in several ways. The movie is split into two halves which outline separate and distinct parts of what war is like for the young men caught up in the middle of it all. One section highlights the intense and dehumanizing training that occurs at boot camps, with a real drill sergeant hired for the part, and the other explores the ugly face of war.

The film is also tremendously aided in these efforts thanks to the performance of the outstanding Vincent D'Onofrio. Like many war films of the time, Full Metal Jacket explores the Vietnam War and the reality of what war and bloodshed actually mean. For those living comfortably apart, without any real connection to the war effort, Kubrick shines a glaring spotlight on glorified violence and the victims who are thrown into the fray. Kubrick was never shy about addressing antiwar sentiments in his work, but Full Metal Jacket provides the most serious and intense look at these things to come from the visionary director.

1 Dr. Strangelove Or; How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb

1964

Dr. Strangelove is one of the most celebrated and studied antiwar films in all of history. The film was nominated for four Oscars due to Kubrick's work as director and writer, as well as the multiple performances of the leading man, Peter Sellars, who played three separate roles in the film. In a distinctly different approach to his other projects, Kubrick turns the threat of mutually assured destruction and potential nuclear war into a zany comedy.

The film is a clear satire pointed squarely at world leaders who wield such great and terrible powers as to permanently affect the survival of the entire human race. The scenes in the war room and seeing the pilots commanded to carry out their missions struggling with orders from the command are sobering and, thanks to Kubrick's focus on the comedy elements, every moment is layered to make audiences laugh and cry. Just as with his other antiwar films, Stanley Kubrick manages to deliver a meaningful message, in a visually splendid way, whilst entertaining audiences and opening up a larger dialogue about the subject.