The Stanley Kubrick Collection
by Stanley Kubrick
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Jack Nicholson, Malcolm McDowell, Matthew Modine, Patrick Magee, Shelley DuvallDirector: Stanley Kubrick
Writer: Stanley Kubrick
Writer: Anthony Burgess
Writer: Arthur C. Clarke
Writer: Diane Johnson
Writer: Gustav Hasford
Writer: Michael Herr
Writer: Peter George
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled)
Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 976 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2000-08-29
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Warner Home Video
Movie Reviews of The Stanley Kubrick Collection
Movie Review: Controversial to the end...
Summary: 5 Stars
I read a number of reviews of the DVD release of thiscollection after I bought it, and feared the worst. Having onlyperused the discs, my review is premature at best, but I do want to share my views on what I saw. First off, the sound is better than I expected it would be. The mono mastering is actually quite good, and I found little difference between the 2001 disc (which is in 5.1 stereo) and the others, except that it was louder. I should say that I am viewing these with a stereo reciever, and not a surround sound system, which I imagine will account for much of the difference. Second, I found the video quality to be quite satisfactory, in fact, I was really happy to see the colors the way they should be (the brights aren't distorted on Clockwork Orange as it is on VHS). Most of these movies are over twenty years old, and I think some of graininess (ie, on Barry Lyndon) is due to superior mastering of older film. From someone coming from VHS, all I can say is that the picture is beautiful. It looks like FILM, not TV. The formatting and supplemental material controversy is overblown. Kubrick rarely shot in real widescreen, so we ARE getting the whole image he shot. And while Kubrick commentary would be wonderful, I won't hold it against him if it isn't there. While personally, I would love to have all these movies in 5.1 stereo (and if there are better prints of the film or superior mastering techniques--which I doubt--it would be nice to have those too I guess), I have no problem with the transfers. In fact, they are what I have been wishing for all these years, stuck with clunky, sloppy VHS tapes. Since these masters are appoved by THE master, any complaints should be taken up with him, I guess, and I'm not about to do that. Besides, any technical flaws I can't even detect are more than made up for by the ARTISTIC quality of these discs. The movies look and sound great. These DVDs bring the home viewer closer to Kubrick's vision than ever before, and for that reason, I recommend this collection without reservation.
Summary of The Stanley Kubrick Collection
With the 1957 release of Paths of Glory, Stanley Kubrick confirmed his early promise and joined the ranks of world-class filmmakers. The age of the auteur had arrived, and Kubrick was a prime candidate for inclusion in the pantheon of directors later canonized by critic Andrew Sarris in his influential book The American Cinema. Ironically, this was also the period during which Kubrick left his native soil for permanent residence in England, and from that point forward, the Kubrick mystique inflated to legendary proportions. But if Kubrick was no longer bringing himself to the world, he was certainly bringing the world to his films. From the comfort of his rural England estate and locations never far from London, Kubrick would command cinematic odysseys to isolated Colorado (in The Shining), battle-ravaged Vietnam (Full Metal Jacket), upscale New York City (Eyes Wide Shut), and, of course, Jupiter and Beyond the Infinite (in 2001: A Space Odyssey).Released on VHS and DVD just prior to the July 1999 theatrical release of Kubrick's final film, Eyes Wide Shut, The Stanley Kubrick Collection includes all seven of Kubrick's films from Lolita to Full Metal Jacket--a quarter-century of brilliant, challenging cinema. Authorized by Kubrick prior to his sudden death in March of 1999, the boxed set represents a cooperative effort among the Warner, Columbia, and MGM labels (with Killer's Kiss, The Killing, and Paths of Glory released simultaneously by MGM). All films retain the superior digital mastering of their earlier releases on laserdisc and DVD, and although purists have complained that The Shining and Full Metal Jacket have been released in full-screen format only, this was in compliance with Kubrick's wishes and both films do not suffer unduly from full-screen formatting.
The diversity of Kubrick's work is truly astonishing, even though the director's technical precision and steely perspective on humanity may strike uninitiated viewers as cold and even misanthropic. From the rich, black comedy of Lolita to the bleak heart of darkness explored in Full Metal Jacket, Kubrick's films almost always received mixed (and sometimes scathingly negative) reviews upon their release, only to benefit from glowing reassessment as they grew entrenched in the public consciousness. Here, in all their glory, are the collected films of a genuine master, ripe for study and appreciation for many years to come. --Jeff Shannon
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