7 Cinematic Gems from Masters of the Seventh Art: Stanley Kubrick

Number 1: Eyes Wide Shut. Filming began in 1995, and the movie was finally released in 1999 (a year some consider one of cinema’s greatest). The monumental effort it took to bring this film to life was absolutely worth it. It’s an enigma—blurring the line between dream and reality. Some have said its depiction of ritual is like disturbing a cradle full of rattlesnakes. Perhaps that poison, combined with the intense demands of post-production, took a toll on Stanley’s health. Regardless, this is a subliminal and hypnotic piece of cinema.

Number 2: The Shinning. It’s a maze of emotions, full of twists and turns. What appears to be a straightforward horror-thriller on the surface has, over the decades, transformed into a film that lingers in the minds of its audience—inviting endless interpretations.

Number 3: 2001: A Space Odyssey. But… if there’s no heaven and no God out there… are we truly alone? This thought-provoking masterpiece has haunted audiences since its release.

PS: Catch this gem in 70mm at least once in your life—just as the true gods of cinema intended.

Number 4: Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. What makes this film even more powerful with time is how it shifted from being a satire to feeling like a cautionary tale. It exposes the dangerous absurdity of the people in power—then and now.

Number 5: The Killing. Based on a novel, Kubrick took this story and turned it into a tight, suspenseful heist film. Come for the robbery, stay for the brilliantly structured narrative—and that bittersweet ending.

Number 6: Barry Lyndon. A meticulously crafted portrait of a bygone era—one we usually only glimpse in books and paintings. Kubrick recreated it with astonishing accuracy, designing costumes and scenes that look like they stepped out of 18th-century art.

Number 7: A Clockwork Orange. The psyche of a madman, reformed (or deformed) by a broken system. The irony? That very system helped create the chaos in the first place. It’s a brutal, looping metaphor for society—one that still hits hard today.