1. Stanley Kubrick vs The World (And Shelley Duvall)
You could probably have every one of Kubrick's films on this list, if not all of them. He destroyed the body of Vincent D'Onofrio on the set of Full Metal Jacket, Malcom Macdowell often cites his relationship with Kubrick during the shoot for A Clockwork Orange as one of great pleasure, but Kubrick never spoke to him again once the film was released. Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman speak highly of Kubrick in candid interviews about him and his death in 1999, but more widely discussed is the strain Eyes Wide Shut and its monstrously long shoot had on their marriage, becoming (apparently) a factor in their divorce. But above all that is the simply incredible treatment he gave to Shelley Duvall on The Shining. If you have the DVD of The Shining, pop it on and have a watch of the documentary filmed by Kubrick's daughter during the making of the film. While interesting for many reasons, the most intriguing is the slow breakdown of Shelley Duvall. She often whines and complains to Stanley that she is too ill/weak/tired to continue with the film. It is not surprising considering The Shining still holds the world record for the greatest number of takes in a film, 125 for a simple scene of Shelley Duvall climbing some stairs towards the end of the film, something that is contested by the film's Editor Gordon Stainforth. Constantly in tears, red faced and just generally looking awful, Kubrick seemingly pushes Duvall to her weakest point, so much so that the performance from her seems agonisingly real.
Who Won? Kubrick. Kubrick
always wins.