Gateway to Kubrick
This collection gathers up 4 of Stanley Kubrick's films produced for Warner Brothers and at this price, it's hard to beat. Before griping that this is hardly the way these cinema masterpieces should be packaged and sold, it should be noted that this set serves as an excellent introductory point for anyone discovering these for the first time. The package consists of the following: All films, except for Barry Lyndon, consist of the 2007 remastered versions that were previously issued as two-disc special editions. You only get the movies here though, no bonus discs. Barry Lyndon remains the non-anamorphic edition first released in 2000 and does not look as good as the other three. The best version of Barry Lyndon available at this time is the blu-ray itself. Eyes Wide Shut is the unrated version. 2001 and The Shining each contain feature-length commentaries. All 4 discs are stacked on top of the other inside the case as seems to be customary for the WB 4 Film Favorites series. Please...
Magnificent!
As long as you don't expect extras (other than the almost mandatory theatrical trailer), this 4-disc set of Stanley Kubrick masterworks is an unbelievable buy. Just think, for less than the price of a ticket to the evening showing of one of Hollywood's current and mostly forgettable blockbusters, you can own four unforgettable masterpieces of cinema by one of the screen's true artists.
"2001: A Space Odyssey" is still the most fascinating science-fiction film ever made.
"Barry Lyndon" is the ultimate "costume drama," and the best, and quite possibly the most visually beautiful film ever made. It's also a joy to listen to thanks to Leonard Rosenman's Oscar winning score adapting classical pieces by Handel, Mozart, and others. (The copy I received is in wide-screen as promised on the package.)
"The Shining" was a disappointment when I first saw it, but it's a movie that stayed in my mind like a nightmare and now I recognize it as one of the greatest and...
"Barry Lyndon" disappoints
The back of this DVD package says the version of "Barry Lyndon" enclosed is "widescreen," 16X9, 1:1.85:1. That is a lie. The version included is equivalent to the VHS copy available since the mid-1980s, formatted for standard TV screens, not contemporary wide screens. Without the original aspect ratio, the film (which won four Oscars, for cinematography, art direction-set decoration, costume design, and adapted score) is a pale reduction of the 1975 original. Either Warner Bros. doesn't think Kubrick fans can tell the difference, or (more likely) it had old copies to dump and didn't want to pay for a correct aspect-ratio version on DVD. Not recommended if you're buying it for "Barry Lyndon."
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