Vladimir Nabokov's witty, grotesque novel is, in its film version, like a bee from which the stinger has been removed. It still buzzes with a sort of promising irreverence, but it lacks the power to shock and, eventually, makes very little point either as comedy or satire.
Lolita
United Kingdom, United States · 1962
2h 34m
Director Stanley Kubrick
Starring James Mason, Shelley Winters, Sue Lyon, Gary Cockrell
Genre Crime, Drama, Romance
Add to Watchlist
Please login to add films to your watchlist.
When middle-aged college professor Humbert leaves Europe for America, he rents a room from desperate widow Charlotte. He becomes obsessed with her 14-year-old daughter Dolores, nicknamed “Lolita.” Humbert schemes to be near Lolita, but it turns out that her mother is not all that stands in his way…
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
Village Voice by Andrew Sarris
Kubrick goes through the motions with a hula hoop and the munching of potato chips, but there is nothing intuitive or abandoned about the man-nymphet relationship. The Director's heart is apparently elsewhere. [05 Jul 1962, p.11]
The New York Times by Bosley Crowther
This is not the novel Lolita, but it is a provocative sort of film.
Where Nabokov was witty, Kubrick is sometimes merely snide, but fine performances (particularly from Peter Sellers, as the ominous Clare Quilty) cover most of the rough spots.
Austin Chronicle by Marjorie Baumgarten
Nabokov’s satire is sensationally cast, with Winters and Sellers delivering some of their best work ever.
Chicago Tribune by Michael Wilmington
Brilliant adaptation of Vladimir Nabokov's 20th Century comic-erotic classic. [08 Jul 2005, p.C2]
The New Yorker by Pauline Kael
Wild, marvelously enjoyable comedy, adapted from Nabokov's novel.
Users who liked this film also liked
2001: A Space Odyssey
Humanity finds a mysterious monolith buried beneath the lunar surface and sets off to find its origins.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, United States • 1968
- Director Stanley Kubrick
- Cast Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester, Douglas Rain, Daniel Richter, Leonard Rossiter
- Genre Adventure, Mystery, Science Fiction
- Available on Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand, AMC on Demand
A Clockwork Orange
The adventures of a young man whose principal interests are rape, ultra-violence, and Beethoven.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, United States • 1971
- Director Stanley Kubrick
- Cast Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Magee, Adrienne Corri, Michael Bates, Warren Clarke, James Marcus
- Genre Drama, Science Fiction
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand, AMC on Demand
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Nuclear war breaks out when a rogue general orders a strike on the U.S.S.R., and it's up to the government to try to avert the end of the world.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, United States • 1964
- Director Stanley Kubrick
- Cast Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden, Keenan Wynn, Slim Pickens, Peter Bull
- Genre Comedy, War
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand, AMC on Demand
Vivre Sa Vie
(Vivre sa vie: film en douze tableaux)
A young Parisian woman’s existential crisis — and eventual turn to sex work.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 1962
- Director Jean-Luc Godard
- Cast Anna Karina, Sady Rebbot, André S. Labarthe, Guylaine Schlumberger, Gérard Hoffman, Monique Messine
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Kanopy
Barry Lyndon
Redmon Barry is a young farm boy who challenges a British Captain to a duel over the woman he loves.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, United States • 1975
- Director Stanley Kubrick
- Cast Ryan O'Neal, Marisa Berenson, Patrick Magee, Hardy Krüger, Diana Körner, Gay Hamilton
- Genre Drama, Romance, War
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube
The Bothersome Man
(Den brysomme mannen)
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Norway, Iceland • 2006
- Director Jens Lien
- Cast Trond Fausa Aurvåg, Petronella Barker, Per Schaaning, Birgitte Larsen, Johannes Joner, Ellen Horn
- Genre Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Distant
(Uzak)
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Turkey • 2002
- Director Nuri Bilge Ceylan
- Cast Muzaffer Özdemir, Emin Toprak, Zuhal Gencer, Nazan Kirilmis, Feridun Koc, Fatma Ceylan
- Genre Drama
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Le Petit Soldat
(Le petit soldat)
Split between love and his country, a French deserter during the Algerian war is forced to prove his loyalty.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 1963
- Director Jean-Luc Godard
- Cast Michel Subor, Anna Karina, Henri-Jacques Huet, Paul Beauvais, László Szabó, Georges de Beauregard
- Genre Drama, War
- Available on Criterion Channel
An Impudent Girl
(L'Effrontée)
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 1985
- Director Claude Miller
- Cast Charlotte Gainsbourg, Bernadette Lafont, Jean-Claude Brialy, Julie Glenn, Clotilde Baudon, Jean-Philippe Écoffey
- Genre Drama, Comedy
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Il tuttofare
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy • 2018
- Director Valerio Attanasio
- Cast Sergio Castellitto, Guglielmo Poggi, Clara Alonso, Elena Sofia Ricci, Domenico Centamore, Alberto Di Stasio
- Genre Comedy
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Memories of My Father
(El olvido que seremos)
The story of Héctor Abad Gómez, a doctor and human rights activist in 1970s Medellin.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Colombia • 2020
- Director Fernando Trueba
- Cast Javier Cámara, Daniela Abad Lombana, Aída Morales, Patricia Tamayo, Juan Pablo Urrego, Kami Zea
- Genre Drama
- Available on Cohen Media Amazon Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand