Stanley Kubrick: Ranking His Films From Worst To Best

2001: A Space Odyssey is a masterpiece, and perhaps Kubrick’s magnum opus. There are few films as monumental and inspiring as this one.

The movie follows the dawn of man and the discovery of a huge monolith in the desert. And perhaps after one of the most famous scene transitions in movie history, we are then transported millions of years ahead to a moon expedition researching another monolith.

This film is broken into two parts as one follows the expedition to the moon, and the second sees a crews journey on the Discovery One as it travels to Jupiter. During their mission, the crew is met with the malicious actions of their on-board AI, HAL 9000. The film is perhaps best known for its incredibly cryptic ending which sees our protagonist transported through a wormhole into another dimension. He then spends his years in a mysterious room before he is reborn as a star child.

It’s hard to imagine any modern filmmaker having the courage to make anything like this film today. It perfectly tells the story of the evolution of man and our collective consciousness. There is nothing like this movie and it has to be experienced by everyone.

Obviously at the time Star Wars was yet to be released, and it was noted for its scientifically accurate depiction of space flight and pioneering movie effects. Kubrick won his one and only Oscar for this and was nominated for his writing and directing as well. A true classic.