Any idea if the documentary "A Life in Pictures" will be available individually?

Are you certain that FMJ/Shining were not filmed in full-screen format?

I will have these on day one!

Both films were shot in full-frame, 4:3 aspect ratio. In their original theatrical presentations they were projected as 1:85:1 in the US and 1:66:1 in Europe. Kubrick preferred the full-frame presentation for these films on video because he found the black bars distracting.

I'd imagine that if Stanley were alive today, he would advocate the matted presentations of the film for HD and those of us with widescreen TVs -- after all, pillarboxing can be just as distracting.

I've got the current HD DVD edition of FMJ and caught a widescreen presentation of The Shining on HD Net Movies a while back; you shouldn't worry about the framing of these films affecting them adversely, there is a lot of extra room at the top and bottom of the frame in the full frame editions that was never shown in the theater to begin with. :)

I'd definitely be interested in HD, but will get these even if they're only SD just for the chance to see some of Kubrick's movies in widescreen.

This quote is from the HTF, and a chap that worked on 'The Shining':

According to the DVDEmpire page, The Shining is gonna be 1.66 anamorphic.

Clockwork's gonna be 1.66 an. and EWS's 1.78 an, too.

What does that mean to us with widescreen tvs and not much understanding of aspect ratios and all. They will fit the screen or have small bars on the top and bottom?

There shouldn't be any black bars visible at all if you have a widescreen tv.

^Imail724, I don't own a widescreen TV, but:
Your widescreen TV's dimensions are most likely 16/9 (aka 1.78:1). So a DVD with a 1.66 ratio should have very slight vertical bars.

The two most common widescreen formats for DVDs are 1.85 (very slight horizontal bars) and 2.35 (noticeable horizontal bars).

Depending on your overscan, you might not have any at all.

^ Right. Overscan should kill any traces of black bars on a 1.66:1... If not, it's probably not set right. It should be ~ 5%.

Am I the only one a bit disappointed with this? Where is Lolita, Barry Lyndon, and Dr. Strangelove? What's the point of not making them a part of the set?

I was pretty disappointed, but it was pointed out to me that Lolita and Barry Lyndon aren't being included because they're likely to be the same DVDs from the old remastered release (they won't be getting new transfers and won't likely have any extras due to low sales). So they're being left out of the box because those who already own the older discs won't need to repurchase them in the new box. Warners doesn't own the rights to Dr. Strangelove so I reckon an agreement couldn't be worked out with Columbia/Sony or Warners already recognized that without SEs of Lolita and Barry Lyndon, this wasn't going to be a definitive Kubrick box set anyway.

See, BL and Lolita are the two that I don't own, so putting them in the set would have made this a must buy for me. Right now I'm a bit iffy. I REALLY wanted a definitive set. It almost makes me want to buy the old box set.

I'm only disappointed that Barry Lyndon and Lolita aren't getting the special treatment. Other than that this set is pretty good. It's good it's being sold as a box because they should cut down on the price, but I'll probably ditch the box as it's not really definitive or even have all the Kubricks from Warners.

If true, that does indeed suck about BL and Lolita.
BL especially, I adore that film. At least it won't be a title I'll have to rebuy, though that doesn't make me too happy. :(

I'd like to see BL and Lolita get new SE's, but I'm among the few that doesn't own either title, so I'll happily buy them in their new packages.

In regards to the overscan question on the ratio of ACO, how can you adjust the overscan on a widescreen set? I thought I knew all of the available options on my Sony Grand Wega but I don't recall seeing any labeled as 'overscan'. I do see small vertical bars when watching a 1.66:1 transfer.

What also sucks about the non-reissue of Lolita is that I know there was at least one extended scene on some of the VHS versions from 1999 (not on the DVD), so there is material out there for extra footage.

P.S.
The Lolita and Barry Lyndon reissuez will at least come in keepcases... right?

This is not a user-adjustable setting on most televisions. You'd need to have a professional calibrator come in.

The less overscan you have, the better. So if you're seeing the pillarbox bars, that's a good thing. It means you're not losing picture off the sides of other movies.

Any details on the presumed re-release of Full Metal Jacket on that same date?

Yes, they should.

They don't even make snappers any more, right?

Nope.