The Ultimate Gift for Film Lovers? Criterion’s New Stanley Kubrick Box Set

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For the film buff who already owns every Criterion release worth having, the boutique home-video distributor has made holiday shopping a little easier this year.

Released Oct. 20, “The Complete Kubrick” is a sprawling, 30-disc box set featuring all 13 of Stanley Kubrick‘s feature films and three early shorts, restored in 4K. The collection, which carries a $599.95 list price, spans nearly five decades of the director’s career, from his 1952 debut “Fear and Desire” to his final film, the Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman-starring “Eyes Wide Shut” (1999).

Among the titles included are some of the most influential films of the 20th century, including the Cold War satire “Dr. Strangelove” (1964), the groundbreaking sci-fi epic “2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968), the dystopian crime drama “A Clockwork Orange” (1971) and the Stephen King adaptation “The Shining” (1980), starring Jack Nicholson. The collection also features the Kirk Douglas-led antiwar drama “Paths of Glory” (1957), the Oscar-winning historical epic “Spartacus” (1960), the Vietnam War film “Full Metal Jacket” (1987) and the period drama “Barry Lyndon” (1975), celebrated for its candlelit cinematography and use of specially adapted lenses.

For cinephiles interested in the filmmaker’s earlier, lesser-known work, the set includes the noir thriller “The Killing” (1956), the boxing drama “Killer’s Kiss” (1955) and his adaptation of Vladimir Nabokov’s controversial novel “Lolita” (1962). Three documentary shorts — “Day of the Fight,” “Flying Padre” and “The Seafarers” — round out the collection, offering a look at Kubrick’s filmmaking before his transition to Hollywood features.

Beyond the films themselves, Criterion has assembled more than 25 hours of supplemental material, including documentaries, interviews, screen tests and behind-the-scenes footage. Highlights include a newly restored version of Vivian Kubrick’s documentary “Making ‘The Shining,'” previously unseen screen tests featuring “Lolita” stars James Mason and Sue Lyon, and rare footage from the production of “Full Metal Jacket.” The set also includes Kubrick’s international cut of “The Shining,” which features additional footage not included in the shorter European version.

New audio commentaries come from filmmaker Lee Unkrich, who edited a book devoted to the making of “The Shining,” and Michael Benson, author of “Space Odyssey: Stanley Kubrick, Arthur C. Clarke, and the Making of a Masterpiece.” Archival interviews feature collaborators and admirers including Douglas, Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese.

The collection is also designed as a display piece, with deluxe packaging modeled after the archival boxes used to store Kubrick’s personal materials. Inside are rare photographs, artwork and documents bearing the director’s handwritten annotations, along with an essay by author and critic Nathaniel Rich.