Though he only made 13 features, Stanley Kubrick may be the best director ever. That’s because what Kubrick lacks in quantity, he makes up for in quality. Seemingly, each and every film Kubrick made showed complete mastery of a genre, which then allowed him to go on to the next one and do it all over again. Want a perfect comedy? Here’s Dr. Strangelove. A perfect sci-fi film? Here’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. A perfect horror film? Here’s The Shining. And on and on.
Every film in Kubrick’s collection, even some of the lesser-known ones like The Killer or Killer’s Kiss, is well worth owning, and now you can do just that with one of the most breathtaking physical media collections we’ve ever seen. Criterion just announced The Complete Kubrick, a 13-movie, 30-disc (you read that right) collection, which amounts to probably the most comprehensive monument to the director’s work ever. It even has its own teaser trailer. Here it is.
Now, as we mentioned in the headline, the downside here is that the set retails for $600. Which is, clearly, a lot. However, it works out to a little under $50 per movie, which is about what a Criterion disc goes for these days, especially on 4K. So, really, it’s not horrible. Plus, even pre-ordering the set now cuts $100 off the cost. And at $500, this is a steal.
So what, exactly, is in this set? Well, here’s a partial rundown, as per the press release.
- 4K restorations of Kubrick’s thirteen features and three shorts, with their original soundtracks alongside the 5.1 mixes, restored and remastered
- Over twenty-five hours of interviews, documentaries, and behind-the-scenes materials
- Kubrick’s international version of The Shining
- A new 4K restoration of Vivian Kubrick’s behind-the-scenes documentary Making “The Shining”
- Newly recorded commentary tracks featuring filmmaker Lee Unkrich (editor of the book Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining”) and author Michael Benson (Space Odyssey: Stanley Kubrick, Arthur C. Clarke, and the Making of a Masterpiece)
- Rare films from Graphic Films and computer-animation pioneer John Whitney that inspired the special effects in 2001: A Space Odyssey
- Unseen Lolita screen tests with actors James Mason and Sue Lyon and rare Full Metal Jacket behind-the-scenes footage
- A newly recorded conversation with novelist Jonathan Lethem and film historian Kevin Wynter on Kubrick and authorship
- An essay by author and critic Nathaniel Rich
- Deluxe packaging illustrated with rare photographs, artwork, and documents annotated by Kubrick himself, all housed in a singular box inspired by the director’s legendary archive
The Complete Kubrick will be out on October 20, and for more info on the set, head to this site. Are you tempted to order it?
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