|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Frequently Bought Together
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Product Details
|
Product Description
Additional Features
EDITOR'S NOTE: According to a Warner Home Video technician involved in the production of The Stanley Kubrick Collection, Kubrick authorized all aspects of the Collection, from the use of Digital Component Video (or "D-1") masters originally approved in 1989, to the use of minimalist screen menus, chapter stops, and (in the case of 2001: A Space Odyssey and The Shining on DVD) supplementary materials. Full-screen presentation of The Shining and Full Metal Jacket was also approved by Kubrick, who recomposed his original framing, reportedly believing that those films looked best on video in the full-screen format. (In fact, the original theatrical aspect ratio of The Shining was 1.66:1, meaning that a relatively small portion of the image is lost.) Kubrick also chose mono over stereo, believing that inconsistencies in theatrical sound systems resulted in loss of control over theatrical presentation. In every respect, the Warner spokesman said, the films in the Collection remain as Kubrick approved them. Any future attempt to remaster or alter them would have to be approved by an appointee of the Kubrick estate.
Amazon.com essential video
When director Stanley Kubrick released his film adaptation of Vladimir Nabokov's controversial novel about a hopelessly pathetic middle-aged professor's sexual obsession with his 12-year-old stepdaughter, the ads read, "How did they ever make a film of Lolita?" The answer is "they" didn't. As he did with his "adaptations" of Barry Lyndon, A Clockwork Orange, and, especially, The Shining, Kubrick used the source material and, simply put, made another Stanley Kubrick movie--even though Nabokov himself wrote the screenplay. The chilly director nullifies Humbert Humbert's (James Mason's) overwhelming passion and desire, and instead transforms the story, like many of his films, into that of a man trapped and ruined by social codes and by his own obsessions. Kubrick doesn't play this as tragedy, however, but rather as both a black-as-coffee screwball comedy and a meandering, episodic road movie. The early scenes between Humbert, Lolita (a too-old but suitably teasing Lyons) and her loud, garish mother (Shelley Winters in one of her funniest performances) play like a wonderful farce. When Humbert finally fulfills his desires and captures Lolita, the pair hit the road and Kubrick drags in Peter Sellers. As the pedophilic writer Clare Quilty--Humbert's playful doppelgänger and biggest threat--Sellers dons a series of disguises with plans of stealing Lolita away from her captor. It's here more than anywhere that Kubrick comes closest to the novel. He extends Nabokov's idea of the games and puzzles played between reader and writer, Quilty and Humbert, Lolita and Humbert, etc., to those between filmmaker and audience: the road eventually goes nowhere and Humbert's reality is exposed as mad delusion. Perhaps not a Kubrick masterpiece, or the provocative film many wanted, Lolita still remains playfully fascinating and one of Kubrick's strongest, funniest character studies. --Dave McCoy
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
Who is the manipulative one here?,
By
This review is from: Lolita (1962) (DVD)
I haven't read the book, yet, but I always thought Lolita was the manipulative one. Her stepfather seems the be one forcing the issue -- manipulative, creepy, obsessive. He is the one driving all the action, & she rides along semi-passively for most part. I imagined her the experienced seductress. She's more of a teenybopper half-heartedly playing mind games because she can.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Kubrick's controversial film given mediocre Blu-ray release,
By
This review is from: Lolita [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)
Lolita (drama, romance)Directed by Stanley Kubrick Starring James Mason, Peter Sellers, Shelley Winters and Sue Lyon Warner Bros. | 1962 | 154 min | Released May 31, 2011 Video: Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video resolution: 1080p Aspect ratio: 1.66:1 Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 French: Dolby Digital 1.0 German: Dolby Digital 1.0 Italian: Dolby Digital 1.0 Portuguese: Dolby Digital 1.0 Spanish (Castillan and Latin): Dolby Digital 1.0 Subtitles: English SDH, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Portuguese, Portuguese (Brasil), Spanish (Castillan and Latin), Swedish Disc: Single 25GB Blu-ray Disc Stanley Kubrick was capable of working in any genre, ranging from historical epics to futuristic science fiction. He gave us serious drama and dark comedy. Lolita certainly has its serious moments, but it's also filled with dark humor and is arguably his most controversial film. Vladimir Nabokov's book was about a 12-year-old girl and would have been an even more controversial film if Kubrick had kept Lolita at that age. In the film, Lolita (Lyon) is a 14-year-old and it changes the overall tone somewhat. Professor Humbert Humbert (Mason) is a British author looking for a home in New Hampshire. He visits Charlotte Haze (Winters) who is looking to rent a room. Humbert is on the verge of leaving and looking elsewhere, but sees her daughter, Lolita, sunbathing in the garden. He decides to stay and becomes obsessed with her. From his viewpoint, Lolita is flirting with him. She kisses him and plays with her hula hoop right in front of him. Meanwhile, Charlotte is hoping to start a relationship of her own with Humbert and doesn't notice the attention he gives Lolita. Humbert's obsession grows and he keeps a secret journal about his feelings, but he's dismayed when Charlotte sends Lolita to summer camp 200 miles away. Charlotte then writes a letter to Humbert declaring her love for him and issues an ultimatum. She tells him to leave, or stay and marry her. He finds the letter hilarious and has no interest in her, but marries her to be close to Lolita. This act shows the extent of his obsession. After the marriage, Charlotte decides to send Lolita to boarding school. Humbert fantasizes about killing her and spending the rest of his life with Lolita. Charlotte discovers his diary and true feelings and decides that she can't live with the knowledge, leaving Humbert to pursue his plan. Another key character is that of Clare Quilty (Sellers). The opening scene of the film shows Humbert tracking down Quilty and shooting him. The remainder of the film shows the events leading up to Quilty's murder. Sellers plays the part well and tries to manipulate Humbert by pretending to be several different people. In Dr. Strangelove, the characters he portrays actually are separate individuals, but that's not the case here. Sellers writes plays and wants Lolita to appear in one, but seems to have an ulterior motive. We see everything from Humbert's point of view and he's also the narrator at times. Was Kubrick trying to make us empathize with Humbert's feelings by placing us in his position? Was he trying to get us to root for Humbert and hope that he would somehow end up with Lolita? The film is long at 154 minutes, but never seems to drag. Although we know that Humbert shoots Quilty, we don't know why until we see the preceding events. Kubrick makes some of Lolita's actions deliberately ambiguous so that we're left wondering whether she was flirting with Humbert. The overall impression is that she's not as innocent as she may appear. The film is mainly about obsession and its impact on people's lives. Humbert's thoughts are far from pure. He wants Lolita and, although he doesn't kill Charlotte, he certainly considers doing so. The choice to make Lolita 14 helped avoid some of the controversy, but this is still a film that will be emotionally upsetting for some. Much of its impact depends on our imagination and will vary from one viewer to the next. Mason is particularly effective as the polite Englishman, while Sellers and Winters also play their parts well. Lyon doesn't get much time on screen considering she's the motivation for everything that Humbert does, but she's believable in the role. With the release of Lolita and Barry Lyndon, and The Killing announced for August (with Killer's Kiss among the special features), all of Kubrick's films will be available on Blu-ray with the exception of Fear and Desire which he disowned. Video Quality 3.5/5 Lolita looks a little disappointing on Blu-ray. The 154-minute running time is contained on a single-layered disc with a modest bitrate, making me wonder whether the quality was compromised. The black and white presentation is lacking in detail and generally looks soft. It doesn't hold up well alongside a title such as Psycho. Grain is light and some scenes do look quite impressive, but I hoped for more. It's still a clear upgrade over the DVD of course. Audio Quality 4/5 The DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 track is a definite upgrade. The mono presentation packs quite a punch and dialogue is clear throughout. We can also hear background effects such as water filling Charlotte's bath. There are no disturbing pops or crackles. The sound quality couldn't have been much better considering the limitations of the source. Special Effects 0/5 With the exception of a 1-minute trailer in SD, there's nothing included apart from the film. Lolita demonstrates the variety of Kubrick's subject matter and challenges the audience. I would recommend the Blu-ray to any Kubrick fan as I believe it's one of his best films. It has drama, a sense of mystery and a lot of humor. It's an easy decision for fans of the film with Amazon.com's asking price of $14.99 at the time of writing. For those new to the film, be aware that the presentation is merely adequate. The story won't be for everyone and could drag if you aren't familiar with Kubrick's style. I'm delighted to have it in my collection, but did hope for a release with better video quality and extensive special features. Overall 4/5
4.0 out of 5 stars
Pretty great,
By adriana "alisa" (Los Angeles,CA,USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Lolita (1962) (DVD)
Do yourself a favor-and see this version of Lolita before you, or if you ever do get around to watching the 1997 film.This movie captures the novel's essence a whole lot more; not to mention, it's superbly acted and written, and feautures an array of great scenes.James Mason is wonderful as Humbert Humbert. Stiff and charming and doomed all at the same time, he conveys his characters' feelings perfectly.Shelly Winters is an absolute riot and adds all the spunk and humor to the first part of the film.Peter Sellers works in some great lines as the pathetic Quilty, and Sue Lyons; well, she's not much of an actress, and she's a tad too old for the part.But the age gap is hardly noticeable, and one doesn't need to be much of an actress in order to convey the part of Lolita-she's more like a backdrop to the movie than an actual character. Yes, things get a bit drab in the end-the movie is certainly a whole lot more fun and irresistable in the beginning,due partly to the presence of Shelly Winters. And this film lacks the emotional impact, although I'm pretty sure it was intended as more of a dark comedy than a drama. I don't think this movie is worthy of classic status or anything, but it's quite a great film.It's got great performances, and the script is absolute perfection,a marvel, I can't tell you how good it is(written by Nabokov himself).It's definately worth a watch, whatever your tastes.Don't expect to be blown away, but do expect to be fairly pleased, as all in all, this is a fine film.And if you're really,really curious, well then read the novel, which is more dense and difficult than one would imagine.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Want to see more reviews on this item?
|
Most recent customer reviews |
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
