Stanley Kubrick fans can save 30% on their preorder for The Criterion Collection edition of Eyes Wide Shut. The legendary filmmaker’s polarizing final movie arrives on 4K Blu-ray for the first time November 25. Preorders for Eyes Wide Shut’s 3-disc 4K Blu-ray edition are discounted to $35 (was $50) at Amazon. Criterion is also releasing a new 1080p Blu-ray edition the same day, and it’s also on sale for 30% off, dropping the price to $28.
Arguably Kubrick’s strangest–and certainly the most sexually explicit–film, Eyes Wide Shut was a major box office hit, but it proved to be too unsettling and weird for some critics and fans back in 1999. These days, though, many critics and fans alike consider Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman film to be a masterpiece. While it’s only the second Kubrick 4K release from Criterion–Barry Lyndon became the first in July–nearly all of Kubrick’s movies are now available on 4K Blu-ray from other distributors.
$35 (was $50) | Releases November 25
The 4K release of Eyes Wide Shut is a three-disc set with one 4K UHD disc and two 1080p Blu-ray discs. Like other Criterion releases, this version is designed to be as close as possible to Kubrick’s thoroughly meticulous vision for how it should be presented. While the famed director passed away in 1999 less than a week after screening the final cut for Warner Bros., Criterion’s restoration was supervised by the movie’s director of photography, Larry Smith. Since the 1080p version is based on the 4K restoration, it should also be an improvement over the current Blu-ray edition.
Notably, Criterion restored the international version–the aforementioned final cut–not the US theatrical edition, which was censored in order to attain an R rating.
On a technical level, this release offers support for Dolby Vision HDR and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround sound.
For the bonus materials, new interviews have been filmed with Smith, photographer and second-unit director Lisa Leone, and Stanley Kubrick archivist Georgina Orgill.
There are also archival extras from previous Blu-ray releases of Eyes Wide Shut, like interviews with the actors, a documentary examining the unfinished films of Kubrick, and more. All of these are available to watch on the bonus standard Blu-ray disc. The standard Blu-ray edition is a two-disc set with the same bonus features.
Inside the display case you’ll also find a booklet with a 1999 interview with Kubrick and actor Sydney Pollack as well as a new essay by author Megan Abbott.
Eyes Wide Shut: The Criterion Collection Features
- 4K digital restoration supervised by director of photography Larry Smith
- 3-disc set: 4K Blu-ray & 2 standard Blu-rays
- Dolby Vision HDR
- DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
- New interviews with Larry Smith, second-unit director Lisa Leone, and Kubrick archivist Georgina Orgill
- Archival interview with Kubrick’s wife Christiane Kubrick
- Never Just a Dream: 2019 interviews with producer Jan Harlan, Kubrick’s daughter Katharina Kubrick, and his personal assistant Anthony Frewin
- Lost Kubrick: The Unfinished Films of Stanley Kubrick
- Kubrick Remembered: Interviews with Steven Spielberg and actors Todd Field and Leelee Sobieski
- Kubrick’s 1998 acceptance speech for the Directors Guild of America’s D.W. Griffith Award
- 1999 press conference with executive producer Jan Harlan, Tom Cruise, and Nicole Kidman
- Trailers
- English subtitles
- Booklet with essay by author Megan Abbott and a 1999 interview with filmmaker and actor Sydney Pollack
Loosely adapted from Arthur Schnitzler’s novella Dream Story, Eyes Wide Shut follows doctor Bill Harford (Tom Cruise) and his wife, Alice (Nicole Kidman), as they confront their unconscious desires, jealousies, and fears inside of a version of New York City that feels a step removed from reality.
As mentioned, Eyes Wide Shut is only the second Kubrick film to receive a 4K Blu-ray edition from Criterion–most of his films, however, are available on 4K from different distributors. Barry Lyndon, Kubrick’s superb 1975 historical drama following a conman who infiltrates high society, is available for $31.64 (was $50) on 4K Blu-ray at Amazon. Barry Lyndon is a three-hour visual feast thanks to decadent cinematography and lavish costume designs. It was awarded the Academy Award for Best Cinematography.
It seems likely that Criterion will release more 4K Blu-rays of Kubrick’s work in the future. Barry Lyndon has been in the distributor’s catalog on standard Blu-ray since 2017. Criterion has standard Blu-ray editions of a few other Kubrick films, including Dr. Strangelove and The Killing.
The Shining: The Film Vault Limited Edition Steelbook (4K Blu-ray)
Kubrick fans will need to look outside The Criterion Collection to watch most of the director’s popular films on 4K Blu-ray, including The Shining, A Clockwork Orange, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Full Metal Jacket. The Shining just joined The Film Vault, a collection of limited-edition 4K Blu-rays designed by Vice Press in partnership with Warner Bros., with a gorgeous new Steelbook Edition (shown above). Walmart is taking preorders for The Shining Steelbook Edition, and orders will begin shipping October 3. You can also get a Steelbook Edition of Full Metal Jacket for only $30 at Amazon.
Amazon also has a nice deal on the Stanley Kubrick 3-Film 4K Collection that drops the price to $43 (was $85). This box set includes The Shining, Full Metal Jacket, and 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Stanley Kubrick Movies on Blu-ray
Not all of Kubrick’s films have been restored on 4K Blu-ray. The 1956 film The Killing and Kubrick’s 1962 adaptation of Vladimir Nabokov’s novel Lolita are only available on standard Blu-ray. We’ve included a list of Kubrick movies on 1080p Blu-ray below. In a few cases, the standard Blu-ray edition is considerably cheaper than the 4K edition. Just be aware that many of the 4K editions also come with standard Blu-ray discs. In addition to standalone editions, there are a few Kubrick Blu-ray box sets, including a fancy Amazon-exclusive edition dubbed The Masterpiece Collection–it’s out of print and fairly expensive–and a region-free 9-film collection that’s very reasonably priced at just $37.
Stanley Kubrick Books
Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining (Taschen)
If you love Kubrick’s films, you owe it to yourself to check out a few of Taschen’s superb books about the director’s work. Most recently, the premium art book publisher released an enormous two-volume hardcover set about The Shining. This exhaustive deep dive by J.W. Rinzler is based on hundreds of hours of interviews and mountains of research. It’s the definitive making-of account on Kubrick’s most popular film. The second book is a scrapbook with never-before-seen documents and photography from the production. The nearly 1,400-page box set is pricey at $125, but it’s simply incredible in scope. We’d highly recommend it.
We’d also recommend Taschen’s The Stanley Kubrick Archives, which is available in a large coffee table book edition and in a more budget-friendly, compact edition for $21. Taschen’s The Making of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey is sold out, but Michael Benson’s Space Odyssey, published by Simon & Schuster in 2018, is a stellar read, too. For a Kubrick biography, you have several options, including the highly rated 2024 book Kubrick: An Odyssey.
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