Stanley Kubrick Special Editions in October - Art update
22-09-2007 10:30 | 26899 views | Dave Foster | Show Backlinks
Warner Home Video have announced the US Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD release of several Stanley Kubrick titles on 23rd October 2007. Launching alongside the new Warner Home Video Director's Series: Stanley Kubrick Collection on DVD are High Definition versions of 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, Eyes Wide Shut, The Shining and a new Deluxe Edition of Full Metal Jacket.
2001: A Space Odyssey has been newly remastered; A Clockwork Orange, Eyes Wide Shut, The Shining and Full Metal Jacket, also remastered, debut in their original widescreen theatrical aspect ratios. All releases have been created in collaboration with, and approved by, the estate of Stanley Kubrick. Retail is $28.99 SRP each.
These Special Editions include commentaries, documentaries, rare interviews with Stanley Kubrick and special new featurettes that offer a rare look into the mind of the master filmmaker. The Eyes Wide Shut Special Edition includes both the Rated and Unrated versions, along with the all-new featurette “Lost Kubrick: The Films That Never Were.”
Details follow, though please note AV specs are tentative and subject to change…
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Stanley Kubrick’s dazzling, Academy Award-winning achievement (Special Visual Effects) is an allegorical puzzle on the evolution of man and a compelling drama of man vs. machine. Featuring a stunning meld of music and motion, the film was also Oscar® nominated for Best Director and Best Screenplay. Kubrick (who co-wrote the screenplay with Arthur C. Clarke) first visits the prehistoric age-ancestry past, then leaps millennia (via one of the most mind-blowing jump cuts ever) into colonized space, and ultimately whisks astronaut Bowman (Keir Dullea) into uncharted space, perhaps even into immortality.
Using a dual-layer Blu-ray Disc (BD50) and dual-layer HD DVD (HD30) features include...
Blu-ray Disc Specs:
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Stomping, whopping, stealing, singing, tap-dancing, violating. Derby-topped hooligan Alex (Malcolm McDowell) has a good time – at the tragic expense of others. His journey from amoral punk to brainwashed proper citizen and back again forms the dynamic arc of Kubrick’s future-shock vision of Anthony Burgess’ novel. Controversial when first released, the film garnered three Academy Award nominations – Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay. Its power still entices, shocks and mesmerizes today.
Using a single dual-layer Blu-ray Disc (BD50) and two dual-layer HD DVD discs (HD30x2 – Movie and Commentary on Disc 1, Extras on Disc 2) features include…
Blu-ray Disc Specs:
Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
Kubrick’s daring and controversial last film is a bracing psychosexual journey through a haunting dreamscape, a riveting suspense tale and a career milestone for stars Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. Cruise plays a doctor who plunges into an erotic foray that threatens his marriage – and may ensnare him in a murder mystery – after his wife’s (Kidman) admission of sexual longings. As the story sweeps from doubt and fear to self-discovery and reconciliation, Kubrick orchestrates it with masterful flourishes. His graceful tracking shots, rich colors and startling images are some of the bravura traits that show Kubrick as a filmmaker for the ages.
Using a dual-layer Blu-ray Disc (BD50) and dual-layer HD DVD (HD30) features include…
Blu-ray Disc Specs:
Full Metal Jacket (1987)
A superb ensemble falls in for Stanley Kubrick’s brilliant saga about the Vietnam War and the dehumanizing process that turns people into trained killers. The scathing indictment of a film was nominated for an Academy Award® for Best Screenplay. Joker (Matthew Modine), Animal Mother (Adam Baldwin), Gomer (Vincent D’Onofrio), Eightball (Dorian Harewood) and Cowboy (Arliss Howard) are some of the Marine recruits experiencing boot-camp hell under the punishing command of the foul-mouthed Sergeant Hartman (R. Lee Ermy). The action is savage, the story unsparing, and the dialogue is spiked with scathing humor.
Blu-ray Disc Specs:
The Shining (1980)
From a script he co-adapted from the Stephen King novel, Kubrick melds vivid performances, menacing settings, dreamlike tracking shots and shock after shock into a milestone of the macabre. The Shining is the director’s epic tale of a man in a snowbound hotel descending into murderous delusions. In a signature role, Jack Nicholson (“Heeeere’s Johnny!”) stars as Jack Torrance, who’s come to the elegant, isolated Overlook Hotel as off-season caretaker with his wife (Shelley Duvall) and son (Danny Lloyd).
Using a dual-layer Blu-ray Disc (BD50) and dual-layer HD DVD (HD30) features include:
2001: A Space Odyssey has been newly remastered; A Clockwork Orange, Eyes Wide Shut, The Shining and Full Metal Jacket, also remastered, debut in their original widescreen theatrical aspect ratios. All releases have been created in collaboration with, and approved by, the estate of Stanley Kubrick. Retail is $28.99 SRP each.
These Special Editions include commentaries, documentaries, rare interviews with Stanley Kubrick and special new featurettes that offer a rare look into the mind of the master filmmaker. The Eyes Wide Shut Special Edition includes both the Rated and Unrated versions, along with the all-new featurette “Lost Kubrick: The Films That Never Were.”
Details follow, though please note AV specs are tentative and subject to change…
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Stanley Kubrick’s dazzling, Academy Award-winning achievement (Special Visual Effects) is an allegorical puzzle on the evolution of man and a compelling drama of man vs. machine. Featuring a stunning meld of music and motion, the film was also Oscar® nominated for Best Director and Best Screenplay. Kubrick (who co-wrote the screenplay with Arthur C. Clarke) first visits the prehistoric age-ancestry past, then leaps millennia (via one of the most mind-blowing jump cuts ever) into colonized space, and ultimately whisks astronaut Bowman (Keir Dullea) into uncharted space, perhaps even into immortality.
Using a dual-layer Blu-ray Disc (BD50) and dual-layer HD DVD (HD30) features include...
Blu-ray Disc Specs:
- 1080P 2.20:1 Widescreen
- English PCM 5.1 Surround
- English, French, Spanish, German and Italian DD5.1 Surround
- Subtitles (Main Feature): English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, German, Italian, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese, Swedish
- Subtitles (on Select Bonus Material): English, French, Spanish, Dutch, German, Italian, Portuguese
- 1080P 2.20:1 Widescreen
- English Dolby True HD 5.1 Surround
- English, French and Spanish DDP 5.1 Surround
- Subtitles (Main Feature): English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Portuguese
- Subtitles (Extra Features): None
- Commentary by Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood
- Channel 4 documentary: 2001: The Making of a Myth
- 4 Featurettes:
- Standing on the Shoulders of Kubrick: The Legacy of 2001
- Vision of a Future Passed: The Prophecy of 2001
- 2001: A Space Odyssey - A Look Behind the Future
- What Is Out There?
- 2001: FX and Early Conceptual Artwork
- Look: Stanley Kubrick!
- Audio-Only Bonus: 1966 Kubrick Interview conducted by Jeremy Bernstein
- Theatrical trailer
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Stomping, whopping, stealing, singing, tap-dancing, violating. Derby-topped hooligan Alex (Malcolm McDowell) has a good time – at the tragic expense of others. His journey from amoral punk to brainwashed proper citizen and back again forms the dynamic arc of Kubrick’s future-shock vision of Anthony Burgess’ novel. Controversial when first released, the film garnered three Academy Award nominations – Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay. Its power still entices, shocks and mesmerizes today.
Using a single dual-layer Blu-ray Disc (BD50) and two dual-layer HD DVD discs (HD30x2 – Movie and Commentary on Disc 1, Extras on Disc 2) features include…
Blu-ray Disc Specs:
- 1080P 1.66:1 Widescreen
- English PCM 5.1 Surround
- English, French, Spanish, German and Italian DD5.1 Surround
- Subtitles (Main Feature): English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese, Swedish
- Subtitles (on Select Bonus Material): English, French, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, German, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Portuguese, Swedish
- 1080P 1.66:1 Widescreen
- English Dolby True HD 5.1 Surround
- English, French and Spanish DDP 5.1 Surround
- Subtitles (Main Feature): English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese
- Subtitles (on Select Bonus Material): English, French, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, German, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Portuguese, Swedish
- Commentary by Malcolm McDowell and historian Nick Redman
- Theatrical trailer
- Channel 4 documentary: Still Tickin’: The Return of Clockwork Orange
- New featurette: Great Bolshy Yarblockos! Making A Clockwork Orange
- Career profile: O Lucky Malcolm! (in High Definition)
Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
Kubrick’s daring and controversial last film is a bracing psychosexual journey through a haunting dreamscape, a riveting suspense tale and a career milestone for stars Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. Cruise plays a doctor who plunges into an erotic foray that threatens his marriage – and may ensnare him in a murder mystery – after his wife’s (Kidman) admission of sexual longings. As the story sweeps from doubt and fear to self-discovery and reconciliation, Kubrick orchestrates it with masterful flourishes. His graceful tracking shots, rich colors and startling images are some of the bravura traits that show Kubrick as a filmmaker for the ages.
Using a dual-layer Blu-ray Disc (BD50) and dual-layer HD DVD (HD30) features include…
Blu-ray Disc Specs:
- 1080P 1.85: Widescreen
- English PCM 5.1 Surround
- English, French, Spanish, German, Italian and Japanese DD5.1 Surround
- Subtitles (Main Feature): English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese, Swedish
- Subtitles (on Select Bonus Material): English, French, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, German, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Portuguese, Swedish
- English Dolby True HD 5.1 Surround
- English, French, Spanish and Japanese DDP 5.1 Surround
- Subtitles (Main Feature): English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese
- Subtitles (on Select Bonus Material): Japanese
- Digitally remastered movie selectable in both Rated and Unrated Versions
- Theatrical trailer and TV spots
- 3-Part Channel 4 documentary: The Last Movie: Stanley Kubrick and Eyes Wide Shut
- New Featurette: Lost Kubrick: The Unfinished Films of Stanley Kubrick
- Kubrick’s 1998 DGA D.W Griffith Award acceptance speech
- Interview gallery featuring Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, and Steven Spielberg
Full Metal Jacket (1987)
A superb ensemble falls in for Stanley Kubrick’s brilliant saga about the Vietnam War and the dehumanizing process that turns people into trained killers. The scathing indictment of a film was nominated for an Academy Award® for Best Screenplay. Joker (Matthew Modine), Animal Mother (Adam Baldwin), Gomer (Vincent D’Onofrio), Eightball (Dorian Harewood) and Cowboy (Arliss Howard) are some of the Marine recruits experiencing boot-camp hell under the punishing command of the foul-mouthed Sergeant Hartman (R. Lee Ermy). The action is savage, the story unsparing, and the dialogue is spiked with scathing humor.
Blu-ray Disc Specs:
- 1080P 1.85:1 Widescreen
- English PCM 5.1 Surround (Uncompressed)
- English, French, Spanish, German and Italian DD5.1 Surround
- Subtitles (Main Feature): English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, German, Italian, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese, Swedish
- Subtitles (on Select Bonus Material): English, French, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, German, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Swedish
- 1080P 1.85:1 Widescreen
- English Dolby True HD 5.1 Surround
- English, French and Spanish DDP 5.1 Surround
- Subtitles (Main Feature): English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Dutch, Finnish, Korean, Portuguese, Swedish
- Subtitles (on Select Bonus Material): English, French, Spanish, Dutch, Finnish, Swedish
- Commentary by Adam Baldwin, Vincent D’Onofrio, R. Lee Ermey and Jay Cocks
- New Featurette: Full Metal Jacket: Between Good and Evil
- Theatrical trailer
The Shining (1980)
From a script he co-adapted from the Stephen King novel, Kubrick melds vivid performances, menacing settings, dreamlike tracking shots and shock after shock into a milestone of the macabre. The Shining is the director’s epic tale of a man in a snowbound hotel descending into murderous delusions. In a signature role, Jack Nicholson (“Heeeere’s Johnny!”) stars as Jack Torrance, who’s come to the elegant, isolated Overlook Hotel as off-season caretaker with his wife (Shelley Duvall) and son (Danny Lloyd).
Using a dual-layer Blu-ray Disc (BD50) and dual-layer HD DVD (HD30) features include:
- 1080P 1.85:1 Widescreen
- English PCM 5.1 Surround (Blu-ray Disc)
- English Dolby True HD 5.1 Surround (HD DVD)
- English, French and Spanish 5.1 Surround (Dolby Digital on BD, Dolby Digital Plus on HD DVD)
- English, French and Spanish subtitles (Main Feature only)
- Commentary by Steadicam Inventor/Operator Garrett Brown and Historian John Baxter
- Theatrical trailer
- Documentary The Making of the Shining, with optional commentary by Vivian Kubrick
- Three new featurettes:
- View from The Overlook: Crafting the Shining
- The Visions of Stanley Kubrick
- Wendy Carlos, Composer
Comments
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These films are what Hi-Def formats were made for! I hope there'll be a box-set of all the above....
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Wonder what version of Eyes Wide Shut they will use though. The US version was digitally altered in the orgy scene.
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Originally Posted by DJ Mike:
Hmm, I wonder - they say 1080P widescreen transfers, but Kubrick's preferred ratio is 4:3 - will they release them with the intention of their being screened at 4:3, or will they crop them or even add black borders on the sides?
1080p isn't a ratio, it's a resolution. So they can give us 1080p 4:3.
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Originally Posted by DJ Mike:
Hmm, I wonder - they say 1080P widescreen transfers, but Kubrick's preferred ratio is 4:3 - will they release them with the intention of their being screened at 4:3, or will they crop them or even add black borders on the sides?
Actually, Kubrick designed for the films to be shown in widescreen. His prefereance for full frame was made in the early 90's because of the limited resolution of TV screens, and it's a myth that that's the correct way to see the films
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Originally Posted by James Lee:
Originally Posted by DJ Mike:
Hmm, I wonder - they say 1080P widescreen transfers, but Kubrick's preferred ratio is 4:3 - will they release them with the intention of their being screened at 4:3, or will they crop them or even add black borders on the sides?
Actually, Kubrick designed for the films to be shown in widescreen. His prefereance for full frame was made in the early 90's because of the limited resolution of TV screens, and it's a myth that that's the correct way to see the films
It's a myth promulgated by some widescreen owners who know nothing of composition and who want every inch of their displays filled that Kubrick really preferred widescreen for his later films. Eyes Wide Shut especially suffers when cropped from its proper 4:3 ratio. It was nearly unwatchable in the theater, the cropping hurt it so. Finally seeing the masterfully framed 4:3 image on DVD was a revelation. He shot to protect for widescreen presentation in theaters, but the imagery in the full frames is clearly superior.
We're seeing the inverse of the phenomenon wherein some 4:3 display owners couldn't tolerate those black bars. Some ignorant widescreen owners now similarly prefer to have a masterwork butchered in order to fill their screens, and will fabricate any rationalization for doing so, including presuming to know better than Kubrick how his films should look.
I'm very pleased these will be available separately.
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http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=11149750#post11149750
The idea that Kubrick composed his movies for 4:3 is a myth that has been debunked time and again. Storyboards for his movies specifically mention the 1.85:1 framing. People who worked in post-production on this movies have confirmed that only 1.85:1 footage was ever displayed during editing.
In addition, if you actually look at his movies, you can see that close-up shots of actors' faces are positioned much too low in the frame for the open-matte version, while in the 1.85:1 matting maintain the "Golden Rule" of placing the eyes 1/3 down from the top of the frame.
The reason Kubrick instructed the VHS and LD transfers of his movies to be open-matte back in the '80s was because he was a straight-up black bar hater. He had a peculiar notion that the bars themselves affected the viewer's perception of the movie, distancing them from the story, and wanted his TV screen filled instead.
Unfortunately, Kubrick died before the prevalence of 16:9 TVs, and we will never know his wishes for viewing his movies in High Definition. However, given his prior explanations, it stands to reason that pillarboxing his movies into the center of a 16:9 screen would have exactly that "distancing" effect that he was trying to avoid on 4:3 TVs.
William Friedkin is another director who used to be a black bar hater and demanded that all of his movies be transferred open-matte, until recent years where he has completely reversed course and started supervising widescreen transfers for his movies.
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Originally Posted by gasteropod:
isn't a ratio, it's a resolution. So they can give us 1080p 4:3.
So that's why it says 1080p Widescreen? :rolleyes:
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Simply cannot wait for these. I've no doubt that the 'Star Gate' sequence in 2001 will be stunning in HD.
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I only want to comment on "Full Metal Jacket" because it was stated on here that Warners released it on Laser Disc (LD) in open matte, that is not true, the laser disc was released in early 90's properly formated at 1:85.1. The DVD is the only one of the films that was Cropped/Pan & Scanned. It clearly says so on the case. "The Shinning" and "Eyes Wide Shut" are the only two open matte DVDs in the Kubrick Collection. His films from MGM were all shown theatrically in Standard, Dr. Strangelove has been released in both an open matte and widescreen, as for Spatacus it was shot in Super Panavision 70 in a 65mm negative, so there was never any intention for that to be shown any other way.
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Originally Posted by DaveF:
They're all widescreen transfers according to the early specs. 2.20:1 for 2001, 1.66.1 for Clockwork Orange and 1.78:1 for the others.
Whatever the arguments about the other ratios, there is absolutely no doubt that Barry Lyndon was framed for 1.66:1 and should only be screened in that format. Kubrick was so insistent on this that he used to send spies out to check that cinemas were doing it properly, even offering to pay for the right projection mask if the cinema in question didn't have one.
So I hope Warner meant to add "and Barry Lyndon" after Clockwork Orange, because they've seriously screwed up if they've cropped that film to 1.78:1.
(There's a philosophical reason for Barry Lyndon being in 1.66:1 as well - it's the ratio that most closely approximates the so-called "golden ratio" of approx. 1.62:1, which numerous painters from the Renaissance onwards believe to be the most aesthetically pleasing. For a film whose visual style was entirely inspired by eighteenth-century painting, it seemed appropriate).
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Incidentally, I saw Paths of Glory and The Shining at the NFT in 1999 during their Kubrick retrospective, and they were shown in 1.66:1 there.
<i>as for Spatacus it was shot in Super Panavision 70 in a 65mm negative, so there was never any intention for that to be shown any other way.</i>
You're mixing Spartacus up with 2001. Spartacus was shot in Technirama, a process which combines 8-perforation 35mm and an anamorphic lens. It was called Super Technirama 70 when the results were blown up to 70mm (which Spartacus was).
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http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/content.php?contentid=65399
and been discussed to death many many times on the forums.
Suffice to say you've got two points of views...
Those that believe Stanley's "preferred" ratios are those previously released on DVD, backed up by the likes of Vitali (Stanley's PA) and some comments perhaps by the Kubrick estate and some others.
Those that believe Stanley's "preferred" ratios are those shown theatrically. Based mainly on a sample storyboard frame featured in The Kubrick Archives book which has an instruction to shoot for widescreen and protect for full frame.
Personally I feel the storyboard is sketchy on being conclusive, especially when you take Vitali's interviews. It's quite clear Stanley did shoot for theatrical composition, but it's not necessarily what he wanted. He was frustrated and was keen on keeping the full screen composition right also.
But either view could be right. Personally I just wish they'd give us both. I find that just providing widescreen is perhaps more to do with keeping widescreen TV owners happy by filling their screens than any sense of what Stanley really wanted, which is really sad. As mentioned on the other article comments, the inclusion of Baxter's stuff is very odd as the estate never got on with the guy.
Really it only affects three films so long as the rest are respected at 1.66:1 (anamorphic or not).
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Originally Posted by gasteropod:
I wonder which cut of The Shining it will be. They should really put both cuts on the Blu-ray, take advantage of it for once.
Surely they should put both cuts on HD as well?
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Originally Posted by colderclimate:
Surely they should put both cuts on HD as well?
Oh yeah, I didn't mean Blu-ray in particular, it's just that I don't really pay attention to HD-DVD anymore because I have a PS3 haha.
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I've never seen Full Metal Jacket and Eyes Wide Shut is just woeful.
Originally Posted by colderclimate:
Surely they should put both cuts on HD as well?
HD means High Definition not HD-DVD ;)
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