With the 1957 release of Paths of Glory, Stanley Kubrick confirmed his early promise and joined the ranks of world-class filmmakers. The age of the auteur had arrived, and Kubrick was a prime candidate for inclusion in the pantheon of directors later canonized by critic Andrew Sarris in his influential book The American Cinema. Ironically, this was also the period during which Kubrick left his native soil for permanent residence in England, and from that point forward, the Kubrick mystique inflated to legendary proportions. But if Kubrick was no longer bringing himself to the world, he was certainly bringing the world to his films. From the comfort of his rural England estate and locations never far from London, Kubrick would command cinematic odysseys to isolated Colorado (in The Shining), battle-ravaged Vietnam (Full Metal Jacket), upscale New York City (Eyes Wide Shut), and, of course, Jupiter and Beyond the Infinite (in 2001: A Space Odyssey). Released on VHS and DVD just prior to the July 1999 theatrical release of Kubrick's final film, Eyes Wide Shut, The Stanley Kubrick Collection includes all seven of Kubrick's films from Lolita to Full Metal Jacket--a quarter-century of brilliant, challenging cinema. Authorized by Kubrick prior to his sudden death in March of 1999, the boxed set represents a cooperative effort among the Warner, Columbia, and MGM labels (with Killer's Kiss, The Killing, and Paths of Glory released simultaneously by MGM). All films retain the superior digital mastering of their earlier releases on laserdisc and DVD, and although purists have complained that The Shining and Full Metal Jacket have been released in full-screen format only, this was in compliance with Kubrick's wishes and both films do not suffer unduly from full-screen formatting.
The diversity of Kubrick's work is truly astonishing, even though the director's technical precision and steely perspective on humanity may strike uninitiated viewers as cold and even misanthropic. From the rich, black comedy of Lolita to the bleak heart of darkness explored in Full Metal Jacket, Kubrick's films almost always received mixed (and sometimes scathingly negative) reviews upon their release, only to benefit from glowing reassessment as they grew entrenched in the public consciousness. Here, in all their glory, are the collected films of a genuine master, ripe for study and appreciation for many years to come. --Jeff Shannon
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