Stanley Kubrick

 Stanley Kubrick




The Killing (1956)




RANKED:


1. The Killing (1956)


Stanley Kubrick's very first non-independent film, 1956's "The Killing" is also his most pulpiest film of his career. In a sort of proto-"Ocean's 11" plotline, the film centers on a group of men who come together to plan and execute a heist at a horserace track. Every member of the team has an independent and unique part in the scheme and it takes every individual doing their part to pull it off. However, because it is a Kubrick-penned film, it does not go off without a hitch and the final scene will have you feeling as empty as the characters. Although "The Killing" did not do well as the box office, the critical praise and the admiration by MGM provided Kubrick to make another self-penned production the following year and set him headlong to his destiny of the auteur films we know him for now.

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