American filmmaker Stanley Kubrick's work is influential, innovative and controversial.
Kubrick’s 13 feature films are:
1. Fear and Desire (1953). Kubrick’s first feature film was a war flick in which the main characters realize the faces of their enemies are identical to their own. Kubrick and his wife, Toba Metz, were the only crew on the film. He later rejected the film as an amateur effort and banned screenings of it.
2. Killer’s Kiss (1955). Kubrick’s second wife, Austrian dancer Ruth Sobotka, made a cameo appearance in his second film, which was about a New York boxer at the end of his career.
3. The Killing (1956). The use of non-linear chronology made the classic aper film, The Killing, a bit of a milestone in cinema history and influenced many future filmmakers.
4. Paths of Glory (1957). Kubrick’s fourth film featured Kirk Douglas and was deemed “culturally significant” by the Library of Congress. It was the director’s first commercial and critical success. While filming in Munich, Kubrick met Christiane Harlan. The two married within a year.
5. Spartacus (1960). Once again starring Kirk Douglas, Spartacus established Kubrick as a major film director.
6. Lolita (1962). Moving to England to make Lolita, Kubrick ended up staying for the rest of his life. Both the film and the book it was based on were highly contrversial because they centered around the love affair between a young girl (she was 12 in the book, 14 in the movie) and a middle-aged man.
7. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964). The cult classic is considered a masterpiece of black comedy.
8. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). The film’s special effects were groundbreaking and are often seen as some of the only special effects that have stood the test of time. They were also the inspiration for many future films including Star Wars. Kubrick received an Academy Award for his supervision of special effects for the film. It would be the only Oscar he would receive.
9. A Clockwork Orange (1971). Kubrick’s next film was highly controversial because of its depictions of violence, including rape. After his family received death threats prompted by the film, Kubrick had it taken out of circulation in Britain.
10. Barry Lyndon (1975). Some viewed this period drama as too slow and lifeless, but the film earned respect over time, much like many of Kubrick’s other films. It received four Academy Awards, the most of any of Kubrick’s movies.
11. The Shining (1980). An adaptation of Stephen King’s novel, The Shining became a cult classic for horror fans.
12. Full Metal Jacket (1987). Kubrick has said that he was attracted to this project about the Vietnam War because it was neither pro-war nor anti-war, but was just concerned with “the way things are.”
13. Eyes Wide Shut (1999). Kubrick died shortly after editing the film. It is not known whether he was completely done or would have made more changes after screening the film, which famously stars Nicole Kidman and then-husband Tom Cruise.
Information about the films, Kubrick's life and more are on display in Ghent, Belgium. Click here for more information.
