Steven Spielberg, who took a lot of influence from the 1962 film Lawrence of Arabia by David Lean, said this is a kind of movie that would not be done these days. And he is not talking about the epic production, about the elaborate sets, and very complex sequences, that today in the age of CGI would totally be faked to one degree or another. What he is talking about is more political. Thomas Edward Lawrence was not necessarily a good guy. He murdered a lot of people, some in cold blood. As he himself states in the movie: he quite enjoyed it. And yet the film is an epic tale romanticizing this man as a sort of broken mythical hero. Which begs the question: why?
Stanley Kubrick is known for making... well... he is known primarily for making 2001: A Space Odyssey... but most of his other films are black-comedies that poke fun at some rather dark aspects of the society. Full Metal Jacket is undeniably a comedy that pokes fun at the Vietnam war. Dr. Strangelove is a comedy that pokes fun at the absurdity of nuclear weapons. Hell even Lolita is a comedy. And a very funny one at that. So in the middle of all this, Kubrick decides to make a movie about space and stuff. And makes 2001: A Space Odyssey. So is it a comedy as well?