The Complete Kubrick
Barry Lyndon
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Synopsis
A titan of cinema whose influence extends across visual art, philosophy, politics, technology, fashion, and beyond, Stanley Kubrick created an unprecedented string of masterpieces, from Paths of Glory to Dr. Strangelove to 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, The Shining, and Eyes Wide Shut. Bending disparate genres to his will, he imbued his creations with a cuttingly ironic worldview and an iconographic, mesmerizingly precise visual style, probing the anxieties, enigmas, and horrors of the twentieth century with a coolly devastating eye. Tracing his evolution from independent maverick to Hollywood rebel to visionary transnational auteur whose every film from the mid-1960s on became a manifesto of a radically new sensibility, The Complete Kubrick brings together the entirety of a body of work that opened popular cinema up to new realms of moral profundity and metaphysical mystery.
Collected here for the first time are Kubrick’s thirteen features and three shorts, all restored in 4K, with their original soundtracks alongside the 5.1 mixes, restored and remastered; over twenty-five hours of interviews, documentaries, and behind-the-scenes materials; and deluxe packaging illustrated with rare photographs, artwork, and documents annotated by Kubrick himself, all housed in a singular box inspired by the director’s legendary archive.
Picture 9/10
The Criterion Collection ports their 4K UHD edition of Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon into their director focused box set, The Complete Kubrick. As with their 4K UHD from 2025, the film is presented with Dolby Vision on a triple-layer disc in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.66:1. The set also includes a standard dual-layer Blu-ray featuring a 1080p presentation of the film and a single-layer Blu-ray featuring all special features related to the film, with both of those discs being direct ports of Criterion's 2017 Blu-ray release. The 4K disc is the exact same one used for the 2025 release (save for the disc art), and utilizes a more recent 4K restoration from a 4K scan of the 35mm original camera negative.
All films but two in the set received new encodes for their respective 4K discs, with the exceptions being Eyes Wide Shut and this one. Fidelity in Motion is responsible for most of the encodes in the set, including Eyes Wide Shut, with NexSpec being responsible for this one. Thankfully, the disc was released during a period where their encodes were getting much better (though not as good as their recent ones), so this still holds up rather well. Yet still, when compared to the other discs in the set, what few shortcomings there are do seem to stick out a little more.
The 4K presentation ultimately still looks quite good overall, and still delivers a notable improvement over Criterion's previous Blu-ray, even if—again—it's not as dramatic as expected. That said, grain still looks quite healthy, cleanly rendered with a natural texture. This allows for sharper detail when the photography permits it, with some shots of course, coming off intentionally softer, especially the darker interiors lit only by candlelight. Colors come through beautifully, from the lush greens of the landscapes to the red British uniforms and the blues of the Prussian ones. Everything feels more vibrant here. Restoration-wise, the film is in excellent shape, though that was true of Criterion’s previous disc (and even Warner’s earlier Blu-ray looked solid in this area).
By far, though, the wider dynamic range available through this presentation is its biggest asset, especially when it comes to the candlelit sequences and the hazier interiors of the Lyndon estate later in the film. Dolby Vision and HDR enhance the way light breaks through dust and smoke in those interior scenes, and the contrast in candlelit shots, from the bright flame to pure black, looks incredible. While Criterion’s and Warner’s respective Blu-rays handled these sequences admirably, this is the most filmic the movie has ever looked on home video by a fairly wide margin.
The only real shortcoming, really, is in the handling of highlights, particularly the strong light pouring through windows into dim interiors. While the encode beautifully captures how the light plays across the shadows, the window highlights themselves clip noticeably, wiping out detail and grain in those spots. In the grand scheme of things, it is a minor issue, still nowhere near the level of problems as it was in Walkabout, where blocky artifacts became apparent. But now, up against the new encodes in this set for Kubrick's other Warner titles, like The Shining, A Clockwork Orange, and especially Eyes Wide Shut, it just sticks out a bit more.
It's a shame a new encode wasn't seen as worthwhile, but it's far from the end of the world. This still looks lovely, and by far still the best presentation I've seen for the film.
(The screen captures were taken from the 2025 release.)
The Complete Kubrick - Screen Captures
Audio 8/10
The audio options are the same ones Criterion presented previously, the release featuring both the film’s original monaural soundtrack, presented in lossless PCM, and the 2000 remastered 5.1 surround mix, presented in DTS-HD MA. The mono track still comes off very sharp with a surprising amount of range between the lows and highs. Dialogue and music both sound great and there are also still no signs of heavy damage.
The 5.1 track remains unchanged. As noted before, Leon Vitali has said Kubrick had expressed interest in a surround mix for the film at the time of its release but didn’t like the idea that only certain theaters would be equipped to play it back. As Vitali also points out, the surround mix is ultimately just the mono track spread across additional channels, and that sounds to be the case still. Most of the dialogue and effects remain front-focused and don’t sound drastically different from the mono version. The most noticeable difference lies in how the film’s music is presented: it's spread across the channels and mixed at a higher volume, offering significantly greater range while better enveloping the viewer.
I don’t actually mind the surround mix and think it’s a solid effort overall, but it’s nice that Criterion includes both options. And both, in the end, sound very good.
Extras 10/10
The third disc related to the film in the set houses all of the supplements related to it, and is the same one included with the 2017 Blu-ray and 2025 4K UHD, meaning all supplements have been ported over.
Leading things off is an extensive 38-minute making-of documentary featuring interviews with executive producer Jan Harlan, assistant directors Brian Cook and Michael Stevenson, actors Dominic Savage and Leon Vitali, location scout Katharina Kubrick, Stanley Kubrick Archive senior archivist Richard Daniels, and Stanley Kubrick himself via archival radio interview. The feature covers a wide range of topics, including Kubrick’s research using period paintings, the loosely structured script, filming with candlelight (covered in even more depth elsewhere), etiquette and posture (Kubrick apparently consulted the Queen), and costume design. The best parts, though, are the various anecdotes about the production. I especially enjoyed Vitali’s recollection of the duel scene, where Kubrick had him act out a sequence leading up to his character vomiting, culminating in what Vitali claims was the only single take Kubrick ever allowed. There are also fond memories of working with O’Neal, along with plenty of stories illustrating Kubrick’s exacting nature and how the cast and crew adapted. For those unfamiliar with the production history, it’s an invaluable (and unexpectedly funny) feature.
Expanding on the topic of candlelit cinematography is the documentary Achieving Perfection, featuring focus puller Douglas Milsome, gaffer Lou Bogue, and archival audio from cinematographer John Alcott. It dives into the challenges of filming under such low-light conditions, including the procurement of the rare NASA lens needed to shoot in such conditions and the process of adapting a camera to use it. The lack of depth-of-field required a setup involving CCTV cameras and monitors to measure distances and allow Milsome to pull focus accurately. The participants also recount other challenges: protecting historic ceilings from heat damage, managing wax drippings, replacing candles between takes for continuity, and dealing with the oxygen being sucked out of the room by so many flames. They also touch on daylight sequences and Kubrick’s signature use of zooms. It’s all fascinating, but the candlelit details are the highlight.
Next, in the 14-minute Timing and Tension, editor Tony Lawson discusses cutting the film and offers captivating insight into Kubrick’s editing methods. He outlines Kubrick’s rudimentary, yet effective, system for assembling scenes from the countless takes he shot, comparing it to an early form of digital editing. Criterion includes visual aids to help illustrate how Kubrick would construct even simple scenes from massive amounts of footage. Some sequences took a significant amount of time to complete, with the final duel, for example, taking six weeks to edit. Though technical, Lawson’s clear explanations and Criterion’s helpful visual aids make it all very clear.
In Drama in Detail, Sir Christopher Frayling explores the work of production designer Ken Adam and his often rocky relationship with Kubrick, especially on this film and Dr. Strangelove. Adam had initially sworn off working with Kubrick again after Strangelove, but was lured back for this historical epic. Though reluctant, he signed on, and the experience ultimately led to a nervous breakdown. Frayling details how Kubrick’s constant questioning frustrated Adam, as did his preference for real locations over sets, limiting the Adams' and the crew’s control. Still, despite the tensions, Adam played a crucial role in dressing the sets and protecting the locations from damage. At just 13 minutes, it’s a brisk but highly engaging piece.
Leon Vitali returns for Balancing Every Sound, a 10-minute feature on the film’s sound design and 5.1 remix. Acknowledging the criticism around the remixes, Vitali explains Kubrick’s long-standing interest in multi-channel sound, though limitations of the capabilities of theaters at the time led to him never going forward with it. When Warner expressed interest in revisiting the soundtracks for DVD (following their poorly received original box set), Kubrick approved of sound mixer Chris Jenkins and supported the remastering efforts. Though Kubrick passed away before completion, Jenkins finished the job (with Vitali sounding to have acted as co-supervisor). Presented in 5.1 (Dolby Digital), the feature includes A/B comparisons of the mixes and explains the rationale behind them. Criterion includes both mono and 5.1 options with the film, so the feature helps contextualize what was attempted and why.
Following that is a 5-minute archival interview with costume designer Ulla-Britt Söderlund from a 1976 episode of Le rendez-vous du Dimanche, where she discusses how she joined the production and crafted the wardrobe (including the use of some authentic garments), along with her career trajectory.
Two academic features round out the video supplements: an 18-minute interview with Michel Ciment and a 15-minute one with MOMA assistant curator Adam Eaker. Ciment looks at Barry Lyndon within the context of Kubrick’s career, discussing recurring themes like his sympathy for victims and satire of authority. Eaker focuses on the artwork that influenced the film’s visual style, offering comparisons between its compositions and works by William Hogarth, Thomas Gainsborough, Sir Joshua Reynolds, George Stubbs, and Johan Zoffany. Going through these samples, the influences become very obvious.
The disc closes with two theatrical trailers.
The previous booklet has been excluded; the set instead features its own large booklet encompassing the director's life and career.
In all, still a terrific set of material covering the film, more than making up for Warner having previously overlooked it through the years.
Closing
Though the set makes use of the same discs from Criterion's 2025 4K edition, slight issues aside with the highlights, it still delivers an exceptional presentation and a wonderful set of supplements.
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