Blu-ray

While his earlier Fear & Desire and Killer's Kiss both contain flashes of brilliance, it was Stanley Kubrick's third feature that saw him mature as a filmmaker. A tense thriller, The Killing tells the story of a group of thieves who come together with the perfect plan to rob millions from a race track, only for human foibles to bring things crashing down around them.

While the plotting here is as intricate as we came to expect from Kubrick's later movies, what's even more interesting is the demonstration of his talents as a visual storyteller – The Killing is as eye-catching and stylish a piece of cinema as 2001: A Space Odyssey or The Shining. Something that this Blu-ray release has no difficulty reinforcing…

Picture: Sourced from the same 2K master created by The Criterion Collection for its 2011 US Blu-ray, Arrow's hi-def release of The Killing is pure old school eye-candy. The black-and-white 1.66:1-framed 1080p encode showcases plenty of shadow detail thanks to crisp delineation, while contrast remains stable.
Picture rating: 4.5/5

Audio: The Killing's LPCM mono soundtrack does what you'd expect for a film of this vintage. There is some light background hiss, but it doesn't particularly detract from the other aspects of the Blu-ray's audio, such as the clarity of the dialogue and the intensity of Gerald Fried's sinister score. 
Audio rating: 3.5/5

Extras: Chief among the Blu-ray's bonus features is the inclusion of a 1080p presentation of Kubrick's second feature Killer's Kiss (pictured below). Another film noir, this 67-minute thriller revolves around a washed-up boxer who falls in love with a nightclub singer. Using an HD master supplied by MGM, the 1.33:1 image quality isn't up to that of The Killing, but looks decent on your bigscreen. Audio for Killer's Kiss is presented as LPCM mono.

Other extras take the form of optional 'Isolated Music & Effects' tracks (LPCM 1.0) for both films; a video essay about Kubrick's evolution as a filmmaker; an interview with Sterling Hayden from a 1970 French TV show; an appreciation of Kubrick's films by Ben 'Sightseers' Wheatley; trailers for both films; and a 40-page booklet containing three fascinating essays about the films as well as a selection of archival reviews.
Extras rating: 5/5

We say: Two restored Kubrick films for the price of one, plus plenty of bonus features. What's not to love?   

The Killing, Arrow Academy, Region B BD, £25 Approx
HCC VERDICT: 4.5/5