I watched this film without any previous exposure to sentiments about it, or Kubrick. I chose to watch it based purely on the title. I still came to the conclus

I watched this film without any previous exposure to sentiments about it, or Kubrick. I chose to watch it based purely on the title. I still came to the conclusion that it is one of the greatest films ever made. * The photography is singular, this is self-evident * The acting is outstanding Complaints usually then come down to story and direction. I interpret the direction as perfectly executing my understanding of Kubrick's intended impact: Contrast between character (developed through the story) and sentiment. A sentiment engineered with all the available emotional tools: * The tone of the narration * Slow pacing * Divine Music * Lavish Costume All intended to convey the message - "Take this very seriously". Imparting a gravity to every word and action. Be it glory, or tragedy. What then of the contrasting element - Character? As you say - The protagonist is unlikable. This wasn't a mistake. He's a selfish, spineless, jerk, of no inherent merit, who raises himself to mediocre heights through questionable behaviour, morals, and company only to be struck down again. A parody of the Greek tragic form. What does that leave us with? A comedy! It's a simple proposition, a farcical contrast between story content, and story form. Told completely straight-faced and dry. In this light I find it to be one of the most original and daring pieces of cinematic story-telling I know of. The punchline to the joke, however, seems to be that I've never found another person who shared this perspective, and most seem to take the the sentiment seriously and at face value... You seem like you might be someone who enjoys looking at it from this angle. I haven't yet read or watched any reviews of this film or the book it was based on, and was surprised to see the film being discussed on Hacker News, so in the tradition of a good internet commenter, I'm writing this comment before having read the article. I'll go ahead and read OP's link now and see if any of my ideas are vindicated :)