Stanley Kubrick’s science fiction masterpiece was released 50 years ago and will this year be rereleased in a remastered version for UHD Blu-ray, according to a report and Amazon.
50th Anniversary
2001: A Space Odyssey was released in 1968, meaning that 2018 marks its 50th Anniversary. The news of the remastered 4K version was first reported by The Digital Bits, citing “retail sources”, and Amazon now has it listed for pre-order.
The film is one of many masterpieces by writer, director, and producer Stanley Kubrick. It was shot on Super Panavision 70 (65mm film), which should enable Warner Bros to significantly improve picture quality over the existing HD Blu-ray version.
Hollywood studios have a treasure trove of catalog titles that are fit for the format. A handful have already been released on UHD Blu-ray, iTunes or Vudu in 4K and/or HDR but Stanley Kubrick’s collection is arguably one of the more exciting releases.
The studio has yet to send out any official announcement so we will have to wait for the technical specifications and further details. The remastered version has not been confirmed for online distribution either but we suspect that it will be available – perhaps even weeks before the UHD Blu-ray release.
The Digital Bits says that “our sources suggest a planned late March or early April”. Fingers crossed. Update Amazon confirms that it will be released on May 8.
- Source: The Digital Bits, Amazon
