When Should Stanley Kubrick Have Won His Best Director Oscar? An Investigation – /Film

The first Stanley Kubrick film to receive Oscars attention was “Spartacus,” which won four of its six nominations. For as big a success as the film was, Kubrick received very little credit for that success, and he even distanced himself from the film over the years, as he was brought in during shooting after Anthony Mann left the picture. It wasn’t really his movie. He was just keeping it on the rails.

The major breakthrough came four years later with “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.” The Cold War satire managed four nominations total, all of which were in the “major” categories: Best Picture, Best Actor for Peter Sellers, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Director. Unfortunately for Kubrick, he was up against the year’s juggernaut. “My Fair Lady” cleaned up that night with eight wins, beating out “Dr. Strangelove” in three of the four categories it was up for (with “Becket” beating it for Screenplay).

Had the year been a race between Stanley Kubrick for “Dr. Strangelove” and George Cukor for “My Fair Lady,” I’d choose Kubrick in a heartbeat, even though I do love the Lerner and Loewe musical. You bring in Peter Glenville for “Becket” and Michael Cacoyannis for “Zorba the Greek,” and it’s still Kubrick in a walk-off. But then you have Robert Stevenson for “Mary Poppins,” which comfortably sits in my top three favorite films of all time. “Dr. Strangelove” makes my top 100 — maybe even top 50 — but putting it up against something I hold so dear is a tough spot for any movie. Most would choose Kubrick in that bakeoff, but my vote this year would go to Stevenson, especially because the director never reached these heights ever again.