New Kubrick SE's (1 Viewer)

[rich_d]

Perhaps. And if R rated, they could have slapped this 'minimalist' artwork from The Shining onto the cover to make for a matched set.

[url=https://static.hometheaterforum.com/imgrepo/8/82/htf_imgcache_15679.jpeg] [/url]

 

[Charles_Y]

TravisR, I realize it's only packaging but for some of us out here this is a subject we may obsess about at times.

I was a Graphic Designer some years ago and I can't tell you how much I groan when I see the weak and truly uninspired design coming out of Hollywood. This has been true for years. I realize the reasons given but that doesn't make it any better for me. I just put up with it.

It makes me all the more happy when a really smart, well executed title comes along. I loved what they did with the LOTR Extended Editions. They looked like old books - clever and classy! It is somewhat rare that a studio's video division tries for such a different approach unless it's part of a Collector's or "Ultimate" Edition (note the Bladerunner editions coming).

If they were just going to box a set of straight forward keep cases as they did here, leaving the general release artwork was the proper approach in my view. Thankfully, I didn't find the final results that objectionable, just extra effort that didn't pan out that well that could have been focused elsewhere.

 

[Simon Howson]

Yes, The Shining for me is the only one that sticks out. Surely Kubrick wouldn't of approved! :-P

But really to me cover art runs a far second to the quality of the transfers and extra features. I like the widescreen transfers, so I've put my old editions on ebay.

 

[Charles_Y]

I will concede this point. Video and Audio transfer is critical to me also. If a newer "remastering" is deemed about the same as a prior release in reviews, and this happens often, then the extras take on more importance for me. The packaging ultimately does not influence my buying decision.

I wonder about those people for whom it does. You would this is all about the movie in the final analysis. I just wanted to get my opinions out there as I felt this release's artwork took an odd and slightly ill conceived direction.

 

[Mark_TS]

---
The covers are not great but the content certainly is.

Im willing to bet that with TWO editions of each film with the same poster art floating about, they wanted to differentiate the new set for people who might pass it up out of familiarity, with just a glance.
And they probably didnt have a large cover art budget in todays economy of $3.50/gal gas-and the dollar slowly dropping in parity to the level of the Peso. ;-)

Its a head scratcher as to why LOLITA and BARRY LYNDON were not at least
given the enhanced treatment and added to the box.

Orphaned.


Since they do exist, having seen both of them, for consistancy, I would like to have them for my set.
Im sure Warner could be persuaded to reward the box-set buyers with this small favor, since they are already printed. They may have put together TS disc set last, and couldnt wait for the 'redrum' covers.

 

[rich_d]

You would lose that bet because there is nothing to glance at. You can't see the cover art when you buy the boxset, only after you open it up.

 

[Jrf2]

I'm not as disappointed in the covers as much as the flimsy box the collection came in. I'll probably dispose of the box at some point.

Now, Warner: just give me 16x9 Barry Lyndon and I will be at peace with my Kubrick library.

 

[stig_j]

I think the minimalist designs are OK, the box art uninspired, wish I could have a consistent "Shining" cover but most of all I'm actually a little relieved that I'm not the only one who received a set looking like this. ;-)

There's something else I wonder about, though: I've read quite a few reviews and a few discussion threads, but I haven't seen that anyone has noticed the weird audio glitches in the "2001: Making of a Myth" documentary – most of them appearing in the voiceover (for example, in the beginning, to the images of Gagarin I think, one sentence inexplicably begins with the words "90 minutes", and no following explanation).

Actually, I found the original documentary on YouTube – and it seems it's been edited for the DVD, from a full hour down to 43 minutes (also, there is a proper orchestrated "Blue Danube" in the beginning of the original, not a weird synth sound-alike).

I suppose there might be good reasons for shortening the documentary, but not in such a sloppy way. I also found it a wee bit strange that the reviews I've seen so far have been so very good for this documentary, which was – well, sure it was good and interesting, but in the latter half or so it became oddly... disjointed and confused. I'd say it's a good bet this is because of the quarter of an hour taken out of the film without even covering the tracks. I'll have to take a closer look at the youtube version ta make sure...

 

[widescreenforever]

Can't say at this point,, as I haven't opened my set up yet,,

If you hadn't reported on Youtube having this full verison I would have said that the edited documentary was all they had as this version of 2001 on DVD is now the third reprint and updated quality., and maybe that was the reason it was never used before..

BTW for Youtube what search words did you use to find that??

 

[Frank@N]

I just bought the old Barry Lyndon snapper.

If you take out the 'Life in Pictures' case, I wonder if the BL snapper could fit in the boxset shell.

My boxset is unopened.

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

I was disappointed in the artwork on the individual covers, as well, but WOW do I love the content, so all is forgiven. I mean the documentaries on Malcolm McDowell and the British re-release on the "Clockwork Orange" disc are worth the price alone if you're a fan of this particular masterpiece. Before, we had NOTHING. This is Kubrick film-lover's nirvana.

 

[stig_j]

widescreenforever,
"2001 the making of a myth" will do just fine. Available in a full version as well as in several parts, although I haven't checked them all out...

 

[Justin W]

is there a reason the box set is impossible to find right now?

 

[Adam_Duncan]

I'll be buying the R2 versions of 201, A Clockwork Orange, Full Metal Jacket and possibly The Shining too. These all come out in March.

 

[BillBR]

Yeah stig_j...I got the boxset for Xmas, and am just now getting around to devouring it. I thought I was going mad when watching the "making of a myth" docu...I kept rewinding bits, thinking I was nuts and imagining audio glitches. A pretty poor edit job, if you ask me.

Not that the initial product was anything immaculate...I couldn't believe how poor the "making of a myth" documentary was. I felt like it kept trying to be impressive, distracting the viewer with bells and whistles ("Look! Here's Kier Dullea recreating the final scene of the film while answering a question!"). I wish it had just relayed the information and interviews in a less annoying manner...it's a shame, because there is a lot of interesting material in it.

 

[Dick]

I apologize if this comment has already been made - I don't have time to wade through all thirteen pages in the thread.

2001, on my 27" 4x3 t.v., exhibits a LOT of aliasing, especially in vertical pans of the moon's surface, or when spaceships cross the screen diagonally. To my eye this is almost as distracting at MGM's earlier release of JEAN DE FLORETTE and EXODUS. Is this likely to vanish if I buy a widescreen LCD capable of playing back anamorphic? Or, any of you who own the BluRay edition, does high def eliminate this very annoying problem?

 

[widescreenforever]

Had to figure out what that word 'aliasing ' meant.. so dictionary.com helped out:

aliasing (ā'lē-ə-sĭng) Pronunciation Key

1.Jagged distortions in curves and diagonal lines in computer graphics caused by limited or diminished screen resolution. Compare antialiasing.
2.Distortion in a reproduced sound wave caused by a low sampling rate during the recording of the sound signal as digital information.
3.When several different identifiers refer to the same object. The term is very general and is used in many contexts.
See alias, aliasing bug, anti-aliasing.
4. (Or "shadowing") Where a hardware device responds at multiple addresses because it only decodes a subset of the address lines, so different values on the other lines are ignored.
5.The appearance of jagged distortions in curves and diagonal lines in computer graphics because the resolution is limited or diminished.
6.The static distortion in digital sound caused by a low sampling rate.

I'd definately say it is your TV set., Maybe take the DVD down to your electronics and have them run it on various television screens.

 

[cafink]

That sounds like exactly the sort of artifact you'd see when watching a 16:9-enhanced DVD downconverted for display on a 4:3 television, especially the part about vertical pans. But if 2001 is the only movie that exhibits this problem, that's a little unusual. My guess is that it's either your DVD doing a poor downconversion job or some quirk of the 2001 video tranfer which doesn't lend itself well to downconverison. In either case, I would expect a 16:9 display to remedy the problem, since no downconversion would be employed. But perhaps someone more familiar with this particular disc can comment on how it appears on their own display?

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

I have both the latest SD DVD and the Blu-Ray edition. For the SD DVD, I have not noticed any significant aliasing when viewing with my 16:9 LCD projector or my 480i tube TV with a 16:9 mode. As an experiment, you may want to switch your DVD player to 16:9 mode to see if the aliasing still occurs when your player is not downconverting the image for 4:3 letterbox.

Regards,

 

[Mark_TS]

How nice.
France gets a 12 disc set with the inclusion of LOLITA and BARRY LYNDON.
they are still 4:3 letterbox but I get the impression BL was remastered.
My French isnt any better than Babblefish. $83 euro -VAT but shipping is a horror (Amazon.fr).

Amazon.fr*: Coffret 2007 Stanley Kubrick Box 12 disc set, includes The Shining - Lolita - Full Metal Jacket - Barry Lyndon - Eyes Wide Shut - Clockwork Orange - 2001: A Space Odyssey + Documentary-Stanley Kubrick-A life in Pictures


I dont understand why WB didnt go the extra half-mile-BARRY LYNDON screams out for 16x9 enhancement and now that the myth that SK prefers FF is debunked, the awkward square frame would look somewhat more like a painting in 1:75 -which Stanley strove for the film to look like