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this sounds fishy... and I doubt that WB would have allowed for as big a hole in the contract as allowing a third party to own the rights to an uncensored cut of a Kubrick film.

miless wrote:this sounds fishy...

It's more than fishy. It's nonsense.

all of those titles were LD titles... and it's from Wiki (which means that it might not be true at all)

When did Criterion stop producing LD titles? because this could have been an example of them licensing it for LD and then abandoning production on the LD format before getting around to EWS.

Warner does not license titles to third parties and never has. When 2001 was licensed to Criterion for laser, it was owned by MGM. If Eyes Wide Shut had been slated for license to Criterion, it would have been unprecedented. If there was a source for the Eyes Wide Shut story besides random rumors and Wikipedia, it might be more compelling.

Jeff wrote:Warner does not license titles to third parties and never has.

Isn't that the case with the director's cut of Natural Born Killers?

GaryC wrote:

Jeff wrote:Warner does not license titles to third parties and never has.

Isn't that the case with the director's cut of Natural Born Killers?

Yup, it belongs to Lionsgate.

flyonthewall2983 wrote:

GaryC wrote:

Jeff wrote:Warner does not license titles to third parties and never has.

Isn't that the case with the director's cut of Natural Born Killers?

Yup, it belongs to Lionsgate.

It's not sub-licensed from Warner Home Video. Oliver Stone worked out arrangement with Warner during theatrical distribution in which he would retain the rights to the director's cut, since they refused to distribute it. Warner and Morgan Creek hold the copyright, but not distribution rights. He licensed it to Lionsgate.

From The Digital Bits:

All right... as most of you Stanley Kubrick fans are no doubt already aware, Warner Home Video has released Blu-ray Disc versions of 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, Eyes Wide Shut and Full Metal Jacket. Universal recently released Spartacus, albeit in a mediocre Blu-ray edition with a substandard quality HD master. Meanwhile, Sony's done a fine job of Dr. Strangelove on Blu, and Criterion is preparing a Blu-ray release of MGM's Paths of Glory on 10/26. So a lot of you have probably been wondering, where are Warner's Blu-rays of Lolita and Barry Lyndon?

Well... that's a question we here at The Bits have been asking the folks at Warner Home Video for months now. And today, they surprised us with an answer! Yes, both Lolita and Barry Lyndon are currently being prepared for Blu-ray Disc release by the studio in 2011. And here's the even better news: They hinted that the films are going to be available both as singles AND as part of a new Stanley Kubrick Blu-ray Collection! We're waiting on more details, and no doubt it will be a while before the release gets officially announced, but it appears that Warner plans to really do their Kubrick catalog up right on Blu-ray in the new year!

What with Criterion having licensed Paths of Glory from MGM for DVD and Blu-ray release, could they have obtained rights for Kubrick's The Killing and Killer's Kiss from MGM as well? And with so much new Kubrick Blu-ray product on the way, might Universal see fit to give Spartacus a fresh high-def transfer and re-release the title in a better Blu-ray edition? (Believe me, judging by the hundreds of e-mails we've gotten in recent weeks, a LOT of you would love for that to happen. Rest assured, I strongly suggested it to the studio on my recent visit.)

In any case, the next year or so should prove to be very exciting for fans Stanley Kubrick who, like us here at The Bits, are eager to see ALL his films in high-definition!

I guess this is why I've seen the available WB Kubrick Blus fairly cheap everywhere. All can be found for $10 and under.

Fantastic news though. Barry Lyndon is going to be a stunner.

God news from WB. First things first: tennis balls are yellow, not pink. I speak of The Shining HD master. That needs correcting.

A full-length documentary on the research that went into the Napoleon project would be a real treat. The Tascher tome was great and though I am a man of means, I had to pass on it as books have a tendancy to gather dust once read twice in my household.

A Nabokov biographer should really be involved in some way with the Lolita supplements. But as the 2001 supplements indicated, that doesn't seem to be Warner's bent in regard to analysis of Mr Kubrick's works.

Finally, Barry Lyndon, being a production of vast preparation, innovation and beauty opens the door too fascinating analysis and insight regarding supplements. Let's hope that this is what is delivered within 12 months.

But all that aside, seeing Barry Lyndon in Blu will be no doubt be a memorable experience.

Person wrote:First things first: tennis balls are yellow, not pink. I speak of The Shining HD master. That needs correcting.

I doubt that WB will release new editions of the films already available on Blu. More likely, they'll just repackage the current editions in a new box set with Barry Lyndon and Lolita. I think we're more likely to see a Blu-ray double dip of The Wizard of Oz before a double dip of Eyes Wide Shut (or triple dip of Full Metal Jacket).

Feego wrote:From The Digital Bits:

All right... as most of you Stanley Kubrick fans are no doubt already aware, Warner Home Video has released Blu-ray Disc versions of 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, Eyes Wide Shut and Full Metal Jacket. Universal recently released Spartacus, albeit in a mediocre Blu-ray edition with a substandard quality HD master. Meanwhile, Sony's done a fine job of Dr. Strangelove on Blu, and Criterion is preparing a Blu-ray release of MGM's Paths of Glory on 10/26. So a lot of you have probably been wondering, where are Warner's Blu-rays of Lolita and Barry Lyndon?

Well... that's a question we here at The Bits have been asking the folks at Warner Home Video for months now. And today, they surprised us with an answer! Yes, both Lolita and Barry Lyndon are currently being prepared for Blu-ray Disc release by the studio in 2011. And here's the even better news: They hinted that the films are going to be available both as singles AND as part of a new Stanley Kubrick Blu-ray Collection! We're waiting on more details, and no doubt it will be a while before the release gets officially announced, but it appears that Warner plans to really do their Kubrick catalog up right on Blu-ray in the new year!

What with Criterion having licensed Paths of Glory from MGM for DVD and Blu-ray release, could they have obtained rights for Kubrick's The Killing and Killer's Kiss from MGM as well? And with so much new Kubrick Blu-ray product on the way, might Universal see fit to give Spartacus a fresh high-def transfer and re-release the title in a better Blu-ray edition? (Believe me, judging by the hundreds of e-mails we've gotten in recent weeks, a LOT of you would love for that to happen. Rest assured, I strongly suggested it to the studio on my recent visit.)

In any case, the next year or so should prove to be very exciting for fans Stanley Kubrick who, like us here at The Bits, are eager to see ALL his films in high-definition!

Sweet. Now bring on "Fear and Desire"!

No problem...as long as LOLITA and BARRY LYNDON are available separately from the box set. I seriously can't bring myself to purchase a fourth Kubrick box of shiny discs, nor do I feel I can justify it to my wife.

Feego wrote:

Person wrote:First things first: tennis balls are yellow, not pink. I speak of The Shining HD master. That needs correcting.

I doubt that WB will release new editions of the films already available on Blu. More likely, they'll just repackage the current editions in a new box set with Barry Lyndon and Lolita. I think we're more likely to see a Blu-ray double dip of The Wizard of Oz before a double dip of Eyes Wide Shut (or triple dip of Full Metal Jacket).

Isn't A Clockwork Orange almost as weak as FMJ, also?

A Clockwork Orange and Full Metal Jacket are generally considered the weakest of the bunch. Not nearly weak enough for WB to justify remastering any time soon though.

"Fear and Desire" playing tonight at the Egyptian Theater in LA. Also, check this out, doc on 2001

I doubt Warners can bring the depth or altitude that most of us here would really like to see from any new SE Kubrick BDs. We're much more likely to get Christopher Nolan-heavy featurettes and puff pieces about Stephen King, space travel, Tom Cruise, Vietnam, and Peter Sellers, should they be making anything new for them.

The last Kubrick BDs lost Warners a gigantic amount of respect. They were dumbed down for a mass market and failed on all levels --- I'm still livid about the appalling redesigned sleeves and pisspoor non-Kubrick arbitrary fonts on FMJ, SHINING, CLOCKWORK... and the failure to remaster any other important content in HD (Kubrick's masterful trailers, etc). Endless interchangeable, recycled EPK talking heads purgatory. No editorial taste or flair.

It all felt like a cynical dirtying of the finest crockery, to make way for a better set a few years later...

What's really needed is a scholarly hardcore treatment and presentation; killer original artwork (we know Kubrick obsessed over it); Jon Ronson's extended international version of STANLEY KUBRICK'S BOXES; some inspired commentary tracks; HD remastering of Vivian's THE SHINING documentary; HD remastering of all of Kubrick's trailers; HD remastering of Vivian's FMJ making of footage.... etc etc

...but we won't get that, we'll get an annoying foldout digipak in an ill-thought out lenticular box which gets easily damaged in transit and arrives with all discs loose; an 18-page hardbacked book which has 16 pages of photos and a specially written paragraph by Tom Cruise; a leatherette pouch containing a reproduction of a film strip, and 8 postcards.

All this are a real shame, really.
As much as I like Kubrick's Warner movies, I don't want to buy them 5 or 6 times. So, I ended up buying the latest SD boxset (as I wasn't HD ready yet, and as I had it for a real bargain), which I find to be pretty good. But I don't have both picture ratios. That's one thing.
It's not a HD boxset, so I will have to buy it in BR once I'm OK with buying HD and selling the SD versions I had (some trouble I want to spare me so far).
Then, as you said, the extras are not OK, far from that.
And for the packaging, well, I'm kind of OK with that.

But the real problem, I believe, is that Warner probabley have other movies to deal with instead of doing their 8th boxset of their Kubrick's movies (soon 4 in DVD, 2 in HD-DVD and 2 in BR !). That's something that really bothers me. And still, it's not perfect.
You would thing that at the 8th attempt, it would be at least close, like they just have to port their previous edition on BR and it would be perfect.
But no. Not even close. That's the real shame.

It really is. Coincidentally, I just sold my Kubrick Collection (the latest edition) today. I've still got the really old box, and though the transfers in the more recent SD box were overall pretty good, it's so far from complete. So I decided to hold onto the more complete (Barry and Strangelove) older edition, chunked the newer one, and will use the cash to pick up the 2001 BD and maybe one other. I'll buy set whenever it gets here, I suppose.

That said, it does get tiresome re-buying this stuff over and again. Nick's list of would-be extras above would make such an incredible collection I'd gladly pay for yet again. If anyone deserves it it's Stanley. Doubt it will happen.

If they ever released a truly definitive set, it would be much harder to release it again. I hope that some of the lower profile titles- Barry Lyndon, namely- will slip through to Criterion at some point, but I have no idea of how realistic that is.

Adam wrote:Also, check this out, doc on 2001

This morning's digitalbits update said WHV scrapped this.

I don't follow release news very closely these days, but just saw last weeks update on the Digitalbits that Lolita and Barry Lyndon (!) are getting blu releases in May in UK. A later report confirms this and adds that they will be released stateside as well. It appears that a larger Kubrick campaign is in the works. I figured this would have been mentioned in this thread - does anyone have info regarding Lyndon?