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Stanley Kubrick: The Blu-ray Collection

Over the past few months we have seen the release of three seminal Stanley Kubrick films, and now these have been put together as one three disc set – these are films Kubrick made outside his Warner Brothers work – they are all excellent and see the filmmaker working in three very different modes.

“Fear & Desire” (1953)

This is a relatively recent find and is not a stones throw from his later work “Paths of Glory” (1957), this film follows a squad of soldiers who have crash-landed behind enemy lines and must work their way downriver to rejoin their unit.

Here we see Kubrick extremely early in his career and working with a major star, Frank Sinatra, and with a limited budget – something Kubrick would not have to worry about again as his own name became larger than any single film.

Special Features:

– The Seafarers – a short film

“Spartacus” (1953)

This was a film that Kubrick should never have been a part of but he was a late arrival and was working not only with a massive budget, many egos, it was also one of the first films written by a blacklist writer – the indomitable Dalton Trumbo. This may have been a Kirk Douglas movie but it has become the standard bearer for epics and the first time Kubrick made his mark. Still one of his best – a must watch for any film lover.

Special Features:

• Deleted Scenes
• Interviews
• Behind the Scenes
• Newsreels
• Costume Designs and more

“Dr Strangelove” (1964)

More a satire than an outright comedy, this sees Kubrick delve into one of the only ‘funny’ films he made and the second with Peter Sellers in a number of roles. A film that covers many locations in very different types of scenes. Watch out for shifting aspect ratios and superb performances from George C Scott and Sterling Hayden – one of the most popular Kubrick films in pop culture and have been riffed on numerous times in “The Simpsons”.

Special Features:

• The Cold War featurette
• Inside Dr. Strangelove doco
• No Fighting in the war room doco and more

This new Stanley Kubrick Collection includes three masterpieces from the great director in stunning all-new digital transfers, restored picture and new digital audio.