Warner Home Video has announced a brand new 10-disc Stanley Kubrick Limited Edition Collection Blu-ray set for release on May 31st, which will include the director’s classics, Barry Lyndon and Lolita – two films previously unavailable on the format. This is both amazing and crappy news for Kubrick fans and collectors. Amazing because we’ve all been waiting for these two films to make their debut on Blu. Extremely crappy news because neither film will be available outside of the 10-disc collection, forcing fans to re-purchase all the Kubrick Blu-ray discs if they want to complete their collection.
I can stand by a double-dip or re-purchase if there’s a significant upgrade in the transfer or special features of a Blu-ray disc but with a single exception, all the discs in this Kubrick set are identical to the previously released versions. That exception is the new 40th Anniversary Edition of A Clockwork Orange, which will also be available individually and features a host of new extras in a 2-disc set, detailed below. The 10-disc set comes packaged with a 40-page book with “rare photos, production notes and more” and includes the films Spartacus (via Universal), Dr. Strangelove (via Sony), 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Shining, Full Metal Jacket and Eyes Wide Shut in addition to Lyndon, Lolita and A Clockwork Orange.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m excited about this boxed set if for no other reason than it collects a bunch of the best films ever made into one neat package but I think that pang of disappointment I’m feeling comes from the hope that classics like 2001 would receive something of a refresh, given the rumours of new special features being created and new footage being unearthed. It’s just a matter of time before WHV gets around to upgrading each and every one of their Kubrick films so we fans are bound to be re-purchasing either way. Unless we’re willing to wait for the inevitable individual Blu-ray releases of Barry Lyndon and Lolita or import from overseas, where both films will be available outside the boxed set.
A CLOCKWORK ORANGE: 40TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION
(May 31, 2011 – MSRP $34.99)
Video: 1.66:1 VC-1 1080p
Audio: 5.1 Uncompressed PCM
Special Features:
- Commentary by Malcolm McDowell and historian Nick Redman
- Malcolm McDowell Looks Back: Malcolm McDowell reflects on his experience working with legendary director Stanley Kubrick on one of the seminal films of the 1970s (new)
- Turning like Clockwork: the film’s ultra-violence and its cultural impact (new)
- Still Tickin’: The Return of Clockwork Orange
- Great Bolshy Yarblockos!: Making A Clockwork Orange
- Theatrical Trailer
- Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures: Kubrick’s career comes into sharp focus in this compelling documentary narrated by Tom Cruise. Fascinating footage glimpses Kubrick in his early years, at work on film sets and at home, augmented by candid commentary from collaborators, colleagues and family (new to Blu-ray)
- O Lucky Malcolm!: Documentary about the life and career of actor Malcolm McDowell produced and directed by Jan Harlan
Via: The Digital Bits
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