Stanley Kubrick counted ‘White Men Can’t Jump’ among his favorite films

Criterion has a nice feature on directors and their favorite films, and while it’s hard to do one on Stanley Kubrick, considering he’s both (a) reclusive and (b) dead, Criterion writer Josh Warren claims to have compiled a list based on “interviews with Kubrick’s family, friends and colleagues.” You can check out the Criterion films Kubrick loved over there, which include Tarkovsky’s Solaris, Silence of the Lambs, Rosemary’s Baby, The Bank Dick, Henry V, and others. But this being FilmDrunk, I thought the non-Criterion Collection titles on the list were even more interesting.

Eraserhead

Citizen Kane

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

The Godfather

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

Dog Day Afternoon

City Lights

La Notte

Roxie Hart

Hell’s Angels

An American Werewolf in London

Metropolis

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Abigail’s Party

Roger & Me

White Men Can’t Jump

Modern Romance

The Jerk

Yep, White Men Can’t Jump and The Jerk. I’ll admit being surprised by White Men Can’t Jump, but not by the fact that Kubrick liked comedy. He is, after all, the guy who discovered R. Lee Ermey and basically stuck him in Full Metal Jacket and let him say whatever he wanted. Thereby producing one my top ten comedic performances ever, easily. Also, between this and Grantland’s Oral History of White Men Can’t Jump a few months back, could it be that we’re experiencing a renaissance of White Men Can’t Jump? Who could’ve guessed what the future would pull from the junk heap of 1992? Frankly, I had my money on Captain Ron, or 3 Ninjas.

[hat tip: Vanity Fair]

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