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.
