Stanley Kubrick Visionary Filmmaker Collection [Blu-ray]

This DVD set is fantastic. As promised, a full collection, and truly awesome. It was everything I expected and ordered. Very satisifed. The "best of" Stanley Kubrick on blu-ray DVD. I"m excited to watch this fantastic collection of his works.

All these films look amazing and a great value for all these films. Sadly the botched version of The Shinning is in here making this pack not as great and Barry Lyndon, while a beautiful film, not really what Kubrick was known for, the only reason I can think this was part of it was that this was a UK release. That all said this is a great collection off Kubrick films especially for the quantity and quality of the films you get in this set.

How can you NOT watch the films of Stanley Kubrick in high definition? He gave so much care to cinematography, and his films are never just talking heads -- the visual component is always extraordinary and was always at the cutting edge. Take the fast lens he helped develop for the candlelight scenes in BARRY LYNDON, or the work he did on the Steadicam technology. This collection also seems to contain all the bonus material that each individual disk contains on its own. Nothing was sacrificed to make this a set. Although I'm not a technician, all the films look quite beautiful and sound fantastic. While I wouldn't call LOLITA a "later film," this collection starts with LOLITA, and then has 2001 and all the films he made after that (after 1968). And what a great price! The set also includes an extra disk, with STANLEY KUBRICK: A LIFE IN PICTURES, which is a long and super-complete documentary reviewing his life and his work. I think it's one of the best films made about a filmmaker that I've seen. To complete your Kubrick collection, in addition to this set, you should get the Criterion editions of SPARTACUS and THE KILLING. The later also includes his second feature, KILLER'S KISS, which I'm rather fond of -- made for cheap, it seems, but with great cinematography of New York, reminiscent of the photographs Kubrick took for LOOK Magazine during his career as a photographer. FEAR and DESIRE is available as a separate disk, and so is the other quintessential Kubrick film, DR. STRANGELOVE. I highly recommend this set as a good set of transfers and extra features, and at a very good price.

My review is for the 2011 Visionary Filmmaker Collection (8 Blu-Ray Set). I make specific note of that because sometimes Amazon groups reviews with alternate editions, and I don’t want to mislead the reader. This set is exquisite! It is by no means a complete Kubrick collection, but for the price (when I purchased it was $28.87) it is very worthwhile. Anyone who loves Kubrick doesn’t need a boring essay upon the greatness of the movies themselves…that is self-evident. My focus is to give you a few technical details and let you know what you’re buying if you invest in this box. Edition This is a European Import. The great news is that the discs are Region Free. I had no issues playing them on my American Blu-Ray players, and the disc art features cool Euro art and detail! Packaging There is nothing special really about the box. Each disc is pressed onto its own plastic insert. No booklets or nice additions, but the box is fairly sturdy. The Films Lolita (1962) – Ratio: 1.66.1 Widescreen. This is the original theatrical size. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) – 2.35.1 Cinerama Widescreen; the original size. This is the only film Kubrick ever made in the full Panavision format. Supposedly because he hated the cropped look that it received for television, and that’s where he assumed most people watched his movies. A Clockwork Orange (1971) – 1.66.1 Widescreen. This is the original theatrical size. Barry Lyndon (1975) – This 2011 Blu-Ray is at: 1.78.1. This is not the correct ratio. It should be at 1.66.1. You’ll have to get the Criterion Blu-Ray to get this one right. The Shining (1980) International Version – Ratio: 1.78.1. This is incorrect; The Shining was shown internationally at 1.66.1 and in America at 1.85.1. So far there is no release of either of these ratios. Even more irritating is that the Open Matte 1.33.1 version is on DVD, but not HI-DEF Blu-Ray. The Open Matte is very probably the version Kubrick preferred. Also…you’ll want to know that this is the International Cut which only runs two hours! That was fine with me because every other edition that I own is the American Cut which runs approximately forty-five minutes longer. Full Metal Jacket (1987) – 1.78.1 incorrect ratio. The original is 1.66.1. As far as I know, all the Blu-Rays of this are in 1.78.1. Eyes Wide Shut (1999) International Version – 1.78.1 incorrect ratio. Should be 1.66.1. All the Blu-Ray releases that I am aware of are this ratio. But this is however the superior 159 minute International Cut! It is far better, and has uncensored nude scenes. Much of the American print has fake computer-generated gimmickry rather than the actual real nude parts. Extra Features I do believe that all featurettes included are on previous releases. Disc 8 includes the doc ‘Stanley Kubrick: A Life In Pictures’, which first appeared on the 2001 DVD box set. My conclusion is that this is good set to buy, especially if you don’t own these films or all of them already. Obviously you’d want the longer version of The Shining to accompany this. As much as I love Kubrick’s works, I would buy practically anything that comes out! But I want you guys to have the facts before you invest the money. Thanks For Reading

Excellente édition compacte, riche et bon marché des 7 derniers chefs-d'oeuvre de Kubrick, Blue-Ray en version 1080p, multilingue (avec au moins la V.O, la V.F. et les sous-titres français, et une série debonus intéressants). Disque bonus contenant le documentaire 'Kubrick, a life in pictures' et un documentaire d'1h½ sur le très attachant Malcolm McDowell. A compléter avec ses premiers chefs-d'oeuvre en N&B : 'Killer's kiss', 'The killing' et 'Paths of glory' Indispensable pour les admirateurs de ce génie.

Great price. Greatest director

The films are all unique and brilliant. These are the films which all sit inside the top 100 films ever made. The quality of these blu ray releases is wonderful. 2001 is the film to show to mates when they are umming and ahhing about upgrading to blu ray. the picture is sharp enough to cut the eyeballs and is truly breathtaking. Also, Lolita and Barry Lyndon were previously unavailable on blu and make their debut here. Barry Lyndon is one of my very favorite films (it also has my favorite cinematography of any Kubrick film) so I was very pleased about this, it often gets overlooked but I would personally put it a nose ahead of full metal jacket and EWS. The extras are more than enough on the discs but also included is a whole documentary which is in depth about Kubrick on disc 8. At triple the asking price it would still be a reasonable buy but at this price it is literally a steal - about £3 a film. I have many of these on DVD but at this price I just had to upgrade. If you are even slightly into Kubrick you will without a doubt come back to these films again and again. I'm not wishing to be dramatic but its a price so low its almost criminal. I saw The Shining for sale in a well known entertainment outlet last week and it was £14.99 on normal DVD with all the extras included here, that is two thirds the price of this collection which has 6 times as many films (all in High definition), a documentary and a small book!!!! Buying this at the current price is a steal and even if somehow you haven't seen all the films included just go ahead and buy it I swear you won't be disappointed. So amazed by the price was I that I researched the Blu ray releases to make sure they were not really poor restorations and transfers but this is far from the case = all are known to be good while a few (2001 & The Shining) are noted as being outstanding eye popping transfers. In summary get your hands on this before they sell out and then put the price back up to a reasonable amount, which should surely be about £10 a film. Get it .... Quick !!!

I watched all these excellent movies earlier, at the cinema and in DVD-format, but I wanted to have this BluRay collection for future watching, when I find free time. I'm looking forward to it.

Como ya ha quedado más que dicho (en particular si lo dice Alex, al que bien conocemos los lectores de foros de DVD y BD), los discos son exactamente los mismos que se venden en España, serigrafía en español incluida. Su cuidada presentación y ese magnífico precio de UK son motivos suficientes para hacerlo muy recomendable. Las únicas diferencias estriban en que los textos de la caja y del librito, que por otro lado es eminentemente visual, están en inglés. El pack incluye numerosos extras y con suficiente profundidad, aunque la mayoría en SD (es lo lógico, por la fecha de grabación y su procedencia televisiva en muchos casos). Especialmente buenos son los extras de '2001' y 'La naranja mecánica'. De hecho, el disco extra que incluye los documentales sobre Kubrick y McDowell es el segundo disco de la Edición 40 aniversario de 'La naranja mecánica', y ésta sí incluye más contenido extra en HD. Por contra, 'Lolita' y 'Barry Lyndon' (las dos que hasta hace poco no se habían editado en Blu-ray) únicamente incluyen el tráiler como extra. Como único punto negativo, la dificultad que supone sacar los discos de la sujeción de las bandejas. Es una de las peores cajas que he visto en mis días de comprador de DVD y BD, y ante la posibilidad de dañarlos, recomiendo cambiar de caja o usar los sencillos métodos de "bricolaje" que en ocasiones se hacen necesarios con las cajas de DVD (los más aficionados ya sabrán de lo que hablo). En todo caso, el pack es un producto muy recomendable en su categoría.