Reviewed by Screenjabber
Stars Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Magee, Adrienne Corri,
Michael Bates, Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd,
Scatman Crothers, Barry Nelson, Matthew Modine, Ed O'Ross,
Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Sydney Pollack
UK certification 18 | UK RRP £36.99
DVD Region 2 | Runtime 647 minutes
Written & directed by Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick spent his career dividing the critics and avoiding the public's gaze — he preferred to let his work speak for itself. A true genius behind the camera, he made just 13 films before his unexpected death in 1999. This new collection — released just a few months before what would have been Kubrick's 80th birthday — gathers together 5 of his greatest films in cleaned up (and widescreen!) special editions that are also available separately. The movies are 2001: A Space Odyssey (which we didn't receive for review), A Clockwork Orange, The Shining, Full Metal Jacket and Eyes Wide Shut. All the films come with commentaries, and also included in the box set is a new feature-length documentary, Stanley Kubrick: A Life In Pictures — which, again, we did not receive for review, so we can't tell you anything about it. Sorry.
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
My favourite of all Kubrick's films, and one of my favourites of all time. Banned for many years in the UK, it's his most controversial work, and certainly his most violent. And although it was made waaaaay back in the dim, dark days of 1971, it still looks thoroughly modern and fresh today. Its subject matter, too, is as relevant today as it was when A Clockwork Orange was first released. Many people have accused the film of being a right-wing fantasy, but to my mind it's a clever attack on the state trying to control its citizens. Who, really, is the more evil — brutal Alex, or the system that uses torture and mind control to make him conform? It's not an easy film to watch, nor one that could be called enjoyable, but thanks to the best performance of Malcolm McDowell's career, it's a film that deserves to be seen ... and thought about. — Stuart O'Connor
The Shining (1980)
I've always had a love-hate relationship with this one. I love it for the tone Kubrick gives it — the air of menace he brings with a simple camera move, rather than relying on blatant gore like so may other directors when they turn to horror. It is the cinematography, as well as the haunting score by Wendy Carlos, that makes this film what it is. Now on to why I hate it, the main reason being the fact that it is not an adaptation of the book by Stephen King. It was the first King book I ever read, and I've been a King fan ever since, so you can imagine my disappointment when I first saw The Shining. As well as changing major plot points, the biggest problem was the casting of Jack Nicholson in the main role. King's story is about a man who is slowly taken over by the evil in the Overlook hotel, and his slow descent into madness. The problem with Nicholson is that he is clearly mad right from the start, which derails the main crux of King's story. But that aside, it's still a chilling film to sit down and watch. Especially with the lights off. — Stuart O'Connor
Full Metal Jacket (1987)
Kubrick’s definitive war film is an exercise in genre definition. Just as every gangster flick has a Marlon Brando "Godfather" or a Joe Pesci "Goodfella" so every war movie has a hard-nosed drill instructor in the mould of Gunnery Sergeant Hartman. R. Lee Ermey’s barnstorming performance dominates the first half of this film, and sets up the second half perfectly. The Boot Camp training is brutal and serves to explain the inhuman acts carried out by some of the soldiers later on. The film allows all the characters to develop at their own pace, and don’t overlook Matthew Modine's utterly convincing transformation from wisecracking joker to cold-blooded killing machine. It’s often imitated and provides a plethora of "notable quotables", but this is a Vietnam war movie told from an icy distance that remains completely in your face. — Cassam Looch
Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
Kubrick's final work is one that has been critically divisive, and can also be credited with damning Cruise to eternal tacky films and facilitating Kidman's brief foray into 'artier' fare.. or maybe just Dogville. At once the pinnacle of and departure from Kubrick's career beforehand, this film still packs a punch nearly 10 years on. Focussing on a momentary period of erotic jealousy, the narrative quickly spirals into a disjointed and frankly bizarre sequence of events that Bill Harford (Cruise) blunders through. The cinematography differs from the usually vivid style, instead favouring a grainy and natural tone which sucks us into a confused and emotionally taut world which contrasts to the formal, detached worlds the morality figures of his earlier works inhabit. The ultimate example of this shift from his usual distanciation lies in the grating atonal piano music that accompanies much of Harford's journey, signifying the confusion and intensity of events whilst constantly unnerving the viewer. While Eyes Wide Shut is far from his most enjoyable foray, this film remains a must-see for Kubrick fans: if only so you can join in with a polemical opinion of your own! — Michael Edwards
EXTRAS ***** There is loads and loads of really good stuff here. A Clockwork Orange: commentary by Malcolm McDowell and Nick Redman; Still Tickin’: The Return of Clockwork Orange (UK Channel 4 documentary); Great Bolshy Yarblockos! Making a Clockwork Orange; Lucky Malcolm, a documentary about Malcolm McDowell; theatrical trailer. The Shining: commentary by Garrett Brown and John Baxter; View from the Overlook: Crafting The Shining; The Visions of Stanley Kubrick; The Making of The Shining (a 1980 TV feature, with optional commentary from Vivian Kubrick); Wendy Carlos featurette: the composer discusses the music of The Shining; theatrical trailer. Full Metal Jacket: commentary by Vincent D’Onoforio, Adam Baldwin, Lee Ermey & Jay Cocks; Full Metal Jacket: Between Good and Evil; theatrical trailer. Eyes Wide Shut: scene commentary with Sydney Pollack and Peter Loewenberg; the documentary The Last Movie: Stanley Kubrick and Eyes Wide Shut; interviews with Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman and Steven Spielberg; Kubrick award acceptance speech; Lost Kubrick: The Unfinished Films of Stanley Kubrick; theatrical trailer and TV spots.