Stanley Kubrick's Top 10 Favorite Films That Were Never Revealed

On the occasion of Stanley Kubrick’s 85th birthday, Nick Wrigley explores the director’s favorite films and viewing habits with the help of Kubrick’s right-hand man, Jan Harlan. Nick Wrigley, with the help of Jan Harlan, Kubrick's producer and brother-in-law, have explored the director's list of favorite 10 films. What did one of the greatest directors of all time think were the greatest films of all time?

The first and only (as far as we know) Top 10 list Kubrick submitted to anyone was in 1963 for a fledgling American magazine named Cinema (which had been founded the previous year and ceased publication in 1976). Here’s that list:

1. I Vitelloni (Fellini, 1953)

2. Wild Strawberries (Bergman, 1957)

3. Citizen Kane (Welles, 1941)

4. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (Huston, 1948)

5. City Lights (Chaplin, 1931)

6. Henry V (Olivier, 1944)

7. La notte (Antonioni, 1961)

8. The Bank Dick (Fields, 1940)

9. Roxie Hart (Wellman, 1942)

10. Hell’s Angels (Hughes, 1930)

In an early interview with Cahiers du cinéma in 1957, Kubrick said:

“Highest of all I would rate Max Ophuls, who for me possessed every possible quality. He has an exceptional flair for sniffing out good subjects, and he got the most out of them. He was also a marvelous director of actors.”

Also in 1957, Kubrick considered Elia Kazan:

“…without question the best director we have in America. And he’s capable of performing miracles with the actors he uses.”

In the 1960s, Kubrick said:

“I believe Bergman, De Sica and Fellini are the only three filmmakers in the world who are not just artistic opportunists. By this I mean they don’t just sit and wait for a good story to come along and then make it. They have a point of view which is expressed over and over and over again in their films, and they themselves write or have original material written for them.”

Please Recommend Us On