Stanley Kubrick: A Life In Pictures - DVD Review

Stanley Kubrick: A Life In Pictures

DVD Ratings
FILM	PICTURE	AUDIO	EXTRAS
			N/A

LANGUAGE

English

FULLSCREEN

5.1
Surround

CAPTIONS
SUBTITLES

English
French
Others

Color
B&W

Dual
Layer

2 hours 22 Minutes

Special Features:
None

I was a little pissed when I heard that Warner Bros. was releasing all of the Kubrick films in a new box set. I had already paid $70 for the original box set. That didn't stop me from picking it up as I am a huge fan of everything Kubrick ever made. One of the added DVD's for the new box set was Stanley Kubrick: A Life In Pictures. Stanley Kubrick took a long time to make each film (he made 13 feature films in 47 years). This was obviously a disappointment when he was alive, but it helps for this documentary. Instead of having to gloss over a bunch of his movies, each film is discussed in some detail. (The exception is Fear and Desire, his first feature, which Kubrick himself hated.)

Among the people interviewed are Steven Speilberg, Martin Scorsese, Nicole Kidman, James Harris, Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson and Kubrick's widow Christiana. Each gives their unique insight into both the man and his films. I especially liked the sequences on The Killing, Dr. Strangelove and A Clockwork Orange. You really get a unique feel as to how obsessed Kubrick was with the film making process.

What is amazing about Kubrick is how far ahead of the curve he was on everyone else. From The Killing (1956) to Barry Lyndon (1975) he stretched the boundaries for both film content and what was technically possible. For me, his most inspired and subversive film has to be Dr. Strangelove (see previous review). That anyone at the height of the cold war and nuclear fear could make a comedy about a United States General causing the nuclear destruction of the world because he couldn't get it up one night in bed (you need to see it to understand) is amazing. Every detail of the films speaks volumes on Kubrick as both a person and filmmaker.

Quality on the disc is solid. It is a documentary so all we are really hoping for are good reproductions of the clips used. We get that as a lot of the films have been given new transfers for this box set.

There are no extras, as this disc is a special feature for the whole box set.