Top 20 - Spielberg vs Kubrick

1. Jaws (s)
2. Full metal Jacket (k)
3. Indiana jones Raiders (s)
4. 2001 Space odyssey (k)
5. Dr Strangelove (k)
6. Schindler's list (s)
7. Saving Private ryan (s)
8. The Shining (k)
9. Spartacus (k)
10. Jurassic park (s)
11. Temple of doom (s)
12. Paths of glory (k)
13. The last crusade (s)
14. Lolita (k)
15. ET (s)
16. A clockwork Orange (k)
17. The Killing (k)
18. Eyes wide shut (k)
19. Close encounters (s)
20. The Color Purple (s)

Spielberg 105  - 105 Kubrick......................A draw ........How about that !!!

Compubox says Kubrick landed more punches......................Kubrick the best....

This one is not even close for me.

1st round KO - Spielberg dominates this list.

Kubrick is hugely overrated for my liking and I feel that Spielberg gets downgraded due to the popularity of his movies.

It's in the eye of the beholder.....All Kubrick's films were pieces of art.....

He wouldn't have made 1941 and Hook....

Have huge respect for Spielberg he's up there with the best..........Too commercial though for me.....Prefer a director who sees things and creates.....

I think the commerciality is what people downgrade Spielberg for but its very unfair.

Even his most successful films are very, very good from a creative and artistic point of view:

Jaws - the reverse zoom. The music.
ET - Directing children is never easy but every one of the stars nail it. Amazing acting.
Close Encounters - take away the FX and its still a great piece of storytelling
Indiana Jones - created a franchise that has more than just an action hero at the centre. Historical connotations, back stories, little touches and beautiful visuals.
Catch me if you can - brilliant story telling with career best performances by all of the leads

Funnily enough, my two least fave spielberg films are his bigger hits - Jurassic PArk and Saving Private Ryan.

ANd AI: ARtificial Intelligence was a Kubrik pet project. I have read that SS was a huge SK fan.

Adam D wrote:This one is not even close for me.

1st round KO - Spielberg dominates this list.

Kubrick is hugely overrated for my liking and I feel that Spielberg gets downgraded due to the popularity of his movies.

Couldn't agree more Adam. Spielberg gets a raw deal sometimes. He seems to be seen as 'uncool' by movie snobs who see his films as just commercial 'blockbusters' but he is a brilliant film maker.

Catch Me If You Can is one of his best, it is an outstanding film.

The Womble wrote:

Adam D wrote:This one is not even close for me.

1st round KO - Spielberg dominates this list.

Kubrick is hugely overrated for my liking and I feel that Spielberg gets downgraded due to the popularity of his movies.

Couldn't agree more Adam. Spielberg gets a raw deal sometimes. He seems to be seen as 'uncool' by movie snobs who see his films as just commercial 'blockbusters' but he is a brilliant film maker.

Catch Me If You Can is one of his best, it is an outstanding film.

"Catch me if you Can" has Spielberg getting the best out of a child actor. Can't take baby faced DiCaprio seriously in any role where he's required to play an adult. If anyone wants to remake "Bugsy Malone", Leonardo's ya man/child

DAVE667 wrote:

The Womble wrote:

Adam D wrote:This one is not even close for me.

1st round KO - Spielberg dominates this list.

Kubrick is hugely overrated for my liking and I feel that Spielberg gets downgraded due to the popularity of his movies.

Couldn't agree more Adam. Spielberg gets a raw deal sometimes. He seems to be seen as 'uncool' by movie snobs who see his films as just commercial 'blockbusters' but he is a brilliant film maker.

Catch Me If You Can is one of his best, it is an outstanding film.

"Catch me if you Can" has Spielberg getting the best out of a child actor. Can't take baby faced DiCaprio seriously in any role where he's required to play an adult. If anyone wants to remake "Bugsy Malone", Leonardo's ya man/child

Did you not take him seriously in Titanic Dave?

He is good in The Wolf of Wall Street.

The Womble wrote:

Adam D wrote:This one is not even close for me.

1st round KO - Spielberg dominates this list.

Kubrick is hugely overrated for my liking and I feel that Spielberg gets downgraded due to the popularity of his movies.

Couldn't agree more Adam. Spielberg gets a raw deal sometimes. He seems to be seen as 'uncool' by movie snobs who see his films as just commercial 'blockbusters' but he is a brilliant film maker.

Catch Me If You Can is one of his best, it is an outstanding film.

Bored the crap out of me..

The Womble wrote:

DAVE667 wrote:

The Womble wrote:

Adam D wrote:This one is not even close for me.

1st round KO - Spielberg dominates this list.

Kubrick is hugely overrated for my liking and I feel that Spielberg gets downgraded due to the popularity of his movies.

Couldn't agree more Adam. Spielberg gets a raw deal sometimes. He seems to be seen as 'uncool' by movie snobs who see his films as just commercial 'blockbusters' but he is a brilliant film maker.

Catch Me If You Can is one of his best, it is an outstanding film.

"Catch me if you Can" has Spielberg getting the best out of a child actor. Can't take baby faced DiCaprio seriously in any role where he's required to play an adult. If anyone wants to remake "Bugsy Malone", Leonardo's ya man/child

Did you not take him seriously in Titanic Dave?

He is good in The Wolf of Wall Street.

There isn't a film with Dicaprio in it that's ever made me think "I HAVE to see that movie" (even a glimpse of Winslet's t!t isn't enough to endure Titantic any longer than it takes to see he boob. The vast majority of stuff he's been in has washed over me in an inspid wave of watery magnolia. The only film he's been in that surprised me was "Blood Diamond" but even then, he was little more than a child with bumfluff "end e sheet seth efreken ecksent, men!"

Whilst at different ends of the Hollywood acting spectrum, there's as much chances of me making a deliberate choice to watch a DiCaprio film as there is of me buying tickets to an Adam Sandler all-night chuckle-fest at the Odeon.

Di-Caprio was excellent in what's eating gilbert grape, and this boy's life, though he was a child actor back then. As an adult, I liked him in The Departed.

DiCaprio is the best actor of his generation, hands down.

Great in Shutter Island too

They're both fairly hit and miss for me, in the same bracket as Scorcese.

Kubrick got it very right with Clockwork Orange, Barry Lyndon and parts of Full Metal Jacket (not including the dreadfully overacted suicide scene).  The Shining is often trotted out as the standard bearer of his talent which I've never understood.  It's a poor film version of a mediocre book with Jack Nicholson at his worst.

Jaws, Duel and Schindler's List were the best of Spielberg.  Most of his work is on the goodish side of mediocre, I've never really got the fuss over Indiana Jones, Saving Private Ryan is poor after the beach opening, Catch Me If You Can and Empire Of The Sun are probably the best of the rest for me.  His propensity to give in to schmaltz makes him more of a good businessman than a good director.  And his complete bastardisation of the Tintin cartoons deserves drowning.

incontinentia wrote:DiCaprio is the best actor of his generation, hands down.

Great in Shutter Island too

Shutter Island is rubbish, the book is infinitely better, DiCaprio looks less like a noir era detective and more like a little kid dressed in his dad's clothes. As for being the best actor of his generation, when you have contemporaries like Jude Law and Johnny Lee Miller it's not much of a feat is it?

Anyway, DiCaprio sucks, the only people who like him are girls or aging queens...which are you?

incontinentia wrote:DiCaprio is the best actor of his generation, hands down.

Great in Shutter Island too

Sam Rockwell is the best actor of DiCaprio's generation...............

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:

incontinentia wrote:DiCaprio is the best actor of his generation, hands down.

Great in Shutter Island too

Sam Rockwell is the best actor of DiCaprio's generation...............

Rockwell is criminally under-rated...difficult to pin down DiCaprio's generation as although he's nearly 60, he still looks like a tubby child (bit like TRUSSY)

DiCaprio is taking a bit of needless stick here.

He was great in Wolf of Wall Street, Inception, Blood Diamond and The Departed.

Furthermore Inception is up there with one of my favorite films.

The Speilberg vs. Kubrick is a mismatch for me. Apart from Spartacus, FMJ and a clockwork orange Kubrick bores the hell out of me.

Where as Speilberg has done so many gems. Saving Private Ryan and Schindlers List I single out for particular praise.

Stick for DiCaprio is never needless...little more that a pretty boy who was fortunate enough to have Scorcese fall in love with him and give him instant credibility. The Departed has to be one of the most long winded, tedious, up it's own arse, trying to be clever for the sake of it pieces of rubbish I've had the misfortune to sit through.

Really had to question why people rated that film

I've never forgiven him for making Titanic...........i know it word for word and I hate it..

DAVE667 wrote:Stick for DiCaprio is never needless...little more that a pretty boy who was fortunate enough to have Scorcese fall in love with him and give him instant credibility. The Departed has to be one of the most long winded, tedious, up it's own arse, trying to be clever for the sake of it pieces of rubbish I've had the misfortune to sit through.

Really had to question why people rated that film

The concept is fantastic, I know it was adapted from the Japanese production Internal Affairs (another one worth a watch although probably not in your case dave). I thought a bent cop trying to find an undercover cop and an undercover cop trying to take down the crime family he was undercover in before his cover was blown to be a very interesting concept.

It worked IMO because of the sharp, snappy dialogue and dry humour and anchored by Matt Damon and DiCaprio's convincing performances.

I dunno where all the hate comes from to be honest. He was pretty rancid in Titanic but redeemed himself almost immediately with The Beach, helped a lot by Danny Boyle's direction.

I rate Leo quite highly to be honest.

I'm aware The Departed is a remake but it was Infernal Affairs not Internal Affairs (there are three of them and they get progressively more convoluted)

Galted wrote:They're both fairly hit and miss for me, in the same bracket as Scorcese.

Kubrick got it very right with Clockwork Orange, Barry Lyndon and parts of Full Metal Jacket (not including the dreadfully overacted suicide scene).  The Shining is often trotted out as the standard bearer of his talent which I've never understood.  It's a poor film version of a mediocre book with Jack Nicholson at his worst.

Jaws, Duel and Schindler's List were the best of Spielberg.  Most of his work is on the goodish side of mediocre, I've never really got the fuss over Indiana Jones, Saving Private Ryan is poor after the beach opening, Catch Me If You Can and Empire Of The Sun are probably the best of the rest for me.  His propensity to give in to schmaltz makes him more of a good businessman than a good director.  And his complete bastardisation of the Tintin cartoons deserves drowning.

Praise for both Barry Lyndon and Jaws, it is stuff like this that is why you're my favourite galted.

Rowley wrote:

Galted wrote:They're both fairly hit and miss for me, in the same bracket as Scorcese.

Kubrick got it very right with Clockwork Orange, Barry Lyndon and parts of Full Metal Jacket (not including the dreadfully overacted suicide scene).  The Shining is often trotted out as the standard bearer of his talent which I've never understood.  It's a poor film version of a mediocre book with Jack Nicholson at his worst.

Jaws, Duel and Schindler's List were the best of Spielberg.  Most of his work is on the goodish side of mediocre, I've never really got the fuss over Indiana Jones, Saving Private Ryan is poor after the beach opening, Catch Me If You Can and Empire Of The Sun are probably the best of the rest for me.  His propensity to give in to schmaltz makes him more of a good businessman than a good director.  And his complete bastardisation of the Tintin cartoons deserves drowning.

Praise for both Barry Lyndon and Jaws, it is stuff like this that is why you're my favourite galted.

That's given me an all-over tingly feeling concentrated in my balls.

Was going to suggest you PM me your choice for the final round but, as it involves a film and an author, I'm certain to choose it without the need for chicanery.

By the way, Galtova is at the very minute making me listen to the Dave Brubeck quartet.  May I suggest to her that it isn't bad or would this be a betrayal?

Its a difficult comparison since Kubrick has a smaller body of work in comparison to Spielberg. For me though Kubrick wins out with a little to spare, films such as Dr Strangelove, The Killing and 2001: A Space Odyssey being my personal favourites. Spielberg for me has only really had one film on par with those and thats Schindler's List. Not to say Jaws, Indian Jones and Jurrassic Park aren't great movies but then Kubrick had others just as good in his locker.

There's better directors than either but in this case Kubrick is a little ahead.

Galted wrote:

By the way, Galtova is at the very minute making me listen to the Dave Brubeck quartet.  May I suggest to her that it isn't bad or would this be a betrayal?

They are a bit poppy for the jazz purist Galted, but Take Five is obviously a classic. It is a good, gentle place to start. Once she's listened to them she can move on to the likes of Coltrane and Davis before graduating to the likes of Sun Ra and Don Cherry, which is at best unlistenable.

Cheers.  I shall remember the "a bit poppy for the jazz purist" in case I ever need jazz conversation credibility.  The husband of a friend of hers and some of his friends/contemporaries are successful jazz musicians but I've managed to steer the conversation to cats each time we've seen them.

Probably a wise decision Galted, if you do find yourself backed into a corner remember Miles Davis and John Coltrane are the daddies of all this. They are like name dropping Kurosowa or Hitchcock to film geeks, may be obvious references but are no less credible for being so.

incontinentia wrote:DiCaprio is the best actor of his generation, hands down.

Great in Shutter Island too

Think DiCaprio is an awesome actor.

Shutter Island
Basketball Diaries
The Departed
Django Unchained
Body Of Lies
The Beach
Titanic
Man In The Iron Mask
Blood Diamond
Inception.

DiCaprio films I have seen.

Think he has been excellent in all of them, even if the film wasn't the best.

Still to see Wolf Of Wall street.

Galted wrote:They're both fairly hit and miss for me, in the same bracket as Scorcese.

Kubrick got it very right with Clockwork Orange, Barry Lyndon and parts of Full Metal Jacket (not including the dreadfully overacted suicide scene).  The Shining is often trotted out as the standard bearer of his talent which I've never understood.  It's a poor film version of a mediocre book with Jack Nicholson at his worst.

Jaws, Duel and Schindler's List were the best of Spielberg.  Most of his work is on the goodish side of mediocre, I've never really got the fuss over Indiana Jones, Saving Private Ryan is poor after the beach opening, Catch Me If You Can and Empire Of The Sun are probably the best of the rest for me.  His propensity to give in to schmaltz makes him more of a good businessman than a good director.  And his complete bastardisation of the Tintin cartoons deserves drowning.

Can't disagree with any of that, there are some parallels with their major war films, both starting off very well but curtailing from the middle onwards, would have to give it to FMJ for R. Lee Ermey's fantastic performance.

Adam, you can say that Spielberg gets marked down because of commerciality but the complete opposite is in fact true, he isn't quite as good as people say he is, still a damn fine director but the accessibility of his films isn't necessarily a positive. Kubrick was an artist and on the whole isn't the easiest of directors to get into, unlike Spielberg he was a lot more risky as A Clockwork Orange attests to.

The best film either of them directed is Dr Strangelove but that doesn't enter into my consideration as it's the performances of Scott and Sellers that make that such an outstanding film as well as making a serious film comedic.

Adam D wrote:

ANd AI: ARtificial Intelligence was a Kubrik pet project. I have read that SS was a huge SK fan.

I loved AI. I realise that tends to put me in a minority of one and is usually as popular as your views on Moulin Rouge, but mavericks like me don't follow the pack

Rowley wrote:

Adam D wrote:

ANd AI: ARtificial Intelligence was a Kubrik pet project. I have read that SS was a huge SK fan.

I loved AI. I realise that tends to put me in a minority of one and is usually as popular as your views on Moulin Rouge, but mavericks like me don't follow the pack

I think in this case you should turn around and find the pack pronto. Hand in the maverick tag along the way before you become the leading star in a new cop show.

On a side note never got the fascination with DiCaprio or his supposed acting chops, him and Jude Law both act as negatives in a film for me... though a film together might produce a positive result

I'm just a sensitive sort Brys, the closing scene gets me every time.

Just did nothing for me, then again neither did the Departed, Godfather or half a dozen other well regarded films so what do I know.

In this case if I wanted to indulge my sensitive side with a film about AI I'd much rather watch Bicentennial Man.