criterionforum.org

September 19th

PATHS OF GLORY, Stanley Kubrick’s First World War masterpiece starring Kirk Douglas, as part of the Masters of Cinema Series on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK on 19 Sept 2016.

A shattering masterpiece by one of the medium’s greatest artists, Stanley Kubrick’s Paths of Glory announced the definitive arrival of a towering figure in cinema.

In the French front lines of World War I, after giving the order for an impossible and disastrous mission to capture a nearby stronghold, the upper ranks move to save face by having three randomly selected soldiers held and tried for cowardice under pain of death. Their leader, Colonel Dax (in a powerhouse performance by Kirk Douglas) a former lawyer in civilian life, handles their defence against overwhelming odds.

A stylistically astonishing, emotionally overwhelming anti-war drama, Paths of Glory is one of the screen’s most brilliant condemnations of the power structures guiding warfare. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present a new Blu-ray edition for the first time in the UK, with a plethora of special features!

SPECIAL FEATURES:
• High-definition digital presentation
• New video interview with Kubrick scholar Peter Kramer
• New video interview with filmmaker Richard Ayoade
• New audio commentary by film scholar Adrian Martin
• Original theatrical trailer
• English subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired
• Isolated music & effects track
• PLUS: A booklet featuring the words of Kubrick, and more!

That is a double dip-worthy slate of special features.

It's a bit too bad they're releasing it so late on BD : I watched the Criterion BD a few weeks ago and the restoration is rather dated now and it shows.

The Giddens commentary on the Criterion is excellent and worth holding on to, imho.

Pity it doesn't seem to be a new transfer or I'd have replaced the Criterion. Still, a fantastic choice from MoC.

DVDBeaver
Blu-ray.com

Eureka are hinting at a 4K release coming in February

I do hope they'll include a remastered BD along it.

Well, that's the Criterion BD and Kino UHD going into the pile to sell off to Orbit! I hope they have not requested another floating heads collage from Tony Stella. Tony is capable of so much more than those, yet Eureka seem to always commission the same type of artwork.

I will keep the Criterion, cause there's good extras on there for sure, and a pretty good commentary unique to their edition. hopefully can fetch decent coin for my slipcovered KLSC disc...

tenia wrote: Tue Nov 14, 2023 1:45 pm I do hope they'll include a remastered BD along it.

I could be wrong but I think all of their UHDs have been 4k only so far. Caligari, Police Story 1-3 and Touch of Evil had no BDs included.

Finch wrote:

tenia wrote: Tue Nov 14, 2023 1:45 pm I do hope they'll include a remastered BD along it.

I could be wrong but I think all of their UHDs have been 4k only so far. Caligari, Police Story 1-3 and Touch of Evil had no BDs included.

I think that THE SEVENTH SEAL was the only UHD BD / BD set.

The Seventh Seal was from BFI, not Eureka.

yoloswegmaster wrote:The Seventh Seal was from BFI, not Eureka.

Sorry, of course.

SYNOPSIS
A shattering masterpiece by one of the medium’s greatest artists, Stanley Kubrick’s Paths of Glory announced the definitive arrival of a towering figure in cinema.

In the French front lines of World War I, after giving the order for an impossible and disastrous mission to capture a nearby stronghold, the upper ranks move to save face by having three randomly selected soldiers held and tried for cowardice under pain of death. Their leader, Colonel Dax (in a powerhouse performance by Kirk Douglas), a former lawyer in civilian life, handles their defence against overwhelming odds.

A stylistically astonishing, emotionally overwhelming anti-war drama, Paths of Glory is one of the screen’s most brilliant condemnations of the power structures guiding warfare. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present a new Ultra-HD Blu-ray edition for the first time in the UK.

SPECIAL FEATURES
Limited Edition O-Card slipcase featuring new artwork by Scott Saslow [2000 copies]
4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation, presented in Dolby Vision HDR from a 4K scan of the original camera negative
Audio commentary with film scholar Adrian Martin
Video interview with Kubrick scholar Peter Kramer
Video interview with filmmaker Richard Ayoade
Interview with critic / author Richard Combs
Optional English SDH
Original theatrical trailer
Isolated music & effects track
A collector’s booklet featuring writing by Glenn Kenny, the words of Kubrick, and archival imagery

Seems like Amazon will license some MGM titles to UK labels for 4k at least, given that we're getting Paths of Glory from Eureka, Carrie from Arrow and The Amityville Horror from 88 in Q1 2024. Makes me glad I didn't buy more of the Kino MGM UHDs at this point!

Finch wrote: Thu Nov 16, 2023 8:25 pm Seems like Amazon will license some MGM titles to UK labels for 4k at least, given that we're getting Paths of Glory from Eureka, Carrie from Arrow and The Amityville Horror from 88 in Q1 2024. Makes me glad I didn't buy more of the Kino MGM UHDs at this point!

Yes, this and Thelma & Louise from Criterion UK too. Good news as I was starting to think that well was running dry! Be interesting to see who gets what going forward, and I hope it's not just all upgrades (would love to see some alternative editions to the recent Kino Lorber and Criterion US monopoly on MGM licensing; both The Dollars Trilogy and The Great Escape would suit MoC perfectly, for example).

Unless the encode's substantially better (and maybe if the commentary's great), I'll probably stick with my Kino UHD and Criterion BD.

Only 4 copies of the LE are left on the Eureka/MOC website.

Upd: down to one!