MFA Presents Entire Month of Stanley Kubrick Films

Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey earned him an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, as well as nominations for Best Director and Original Screenplay. / MGM

Spartacus, Dr. Strangelove, The Shining… These and so many more films make up the impressive body of work created by the late Stanley Kubrick. His life’s work is a film studies staple, the movies an influential part of 50 years of American pop culture.

There’s simply no denying it: Kubrick was one of the best.

To celebrate the both acclaimed and controversial director-screenwriter-producer-cinematographer’s legacy, the MFA is showing Kubrick films all February long, from Fear and Desire (1953) to his final film Eyes Wide Shut (1999).

All the favorites by this eccentric perfectionist are on the schedule, including each of the aforementioned, plus 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, and more. There’s something for every Kubrick fan here, whether you prefer the Kirk Douglas classics—“I am Spartacus!”—or his later work—“Here’s Johnny!”

For those who don’t already have a favorite Kubrick film in mind, consider this: while a whole bunch of great contemporary directors like Nolan, Fincher, and del Toro cite Kubrick as a big inspiration, veteran Steven Spielberg once said that Paths of Glory (1957) was his favorite, while Martin Scorsese is a fan of Barry Lyndon (1975).

In addition to an entire month of Kubrick, the MFA will also screen Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures, the 2001 documentary by his brother-in-law Jan Harlan. The rare look at the reclusive filmmaker’s life includes interviews with actors, writers, technicians, composers, friends, and family.

“One of his pictures is equivalent to 1o of somebody else’s,” Scorsese says in the documentary.

Well then, consider this 12-film review at the MFA worth 120 trips to the movies.

“The Films of Stanley Kubrick” runs February 4-28 at the Museum of Fine Arts, 465 Huntington Ave., Boston, mfa.org.