We’re lucky to live in a world of wonderful, collectible boxsets for our favourite films in various formats but my favoured one is definitely 4K UHD, and here I’m taking a closer look at this exceptional new release from Warner Bros.

Hitting the shelves in celebration of Warner Bros. Discovery’s 100^th Anniversary, this is their 30-film Studio Collection Boxset, which features 4K remastered versions of their most iconic films on 4K Ultra-High Definition, taking us back to the 1930s, all the way through to 2022 – and it’s quite beautiful to behold.

Upon arrival, the box comes with a little cutout space for the WB Shield, and it revels in the associated gold as the colour for the entire packaging on the outside, offering a sincerely solid affair – so you can feel this has been properly considered, and alongside that the literal weight is especially noticeable, and very welcome at that.

The WB Shield doubles up as a magnetic-clasp to sealing the set together, and once you open that up, it reveals further gold and within the rectangle, you’ll discover four seriously solid Layflat books in gold, blue, black and silver, all of them complete with images from the films included on the front and back, like a gallery, and what each set contains down the spine.

Again, these individual Layflats are heavy bound, in a good way, so they feel like they deservedly hold the weight/bulk of each selection you’ll then able to open up, very much like a big rectangle book. Three of the four Layflat Books hold ten 4K discs, these are split into different eras which includes Classic Hollywood (1930s to 1960s); New Hollywood (1970s to the 1980s); and Modern Blockbusters which covers 1990s to Now. Because there’s 3 rectangles of film greatness, we’ll initially focus on the general arrangement of each Era and that commemoration – and of course the aesthetic.

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Volume 1 – Classic Hollywood

Volume 1, the book for Classic Hollywood, opens up to uncover ‘100 Years of Warner Bros’ and they seek to celebrate every story in some form. The opening page works as a chapter introduction, listing the ten 4K UHD’s ahead beginning in 1939 with The Wizard of Oz, before taking us through to 1941’s Citizen Kane from Orson Welles, and The Maltese Falcon (a film I studied back in school), followed by the iconic Casablanca (1943), the always gorgeous Singin’ in the Rain (1952).

You then venture into the James Dean duo East of Eden (incredibly its first time in this format) and Rebel Without A Cause (both 1955), plus Howard Hawks’ 1959 release Rio Bravo, then 1967’s Cool Hand Luke with Paul Newman and George Kennedy, plus and then Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey from 1968 – a WB restored version that I review right here.

The Volume 1 book also offers a timeline of WB’s history, which continues is each Volume (see the pic above for an example), but here starts in 1923 (with a reminder that ticket prices were $0.25!) all the way through the Kubrick’s visionary 2001, alongside with notes on Academy Awards and a selection of other film history morsels.

The 4K discs themselves are held in a stronger card-backed pages complete with an in-book print of the original cinema one-sheet posters and still from the film – from behind which you can simply slip the disc out to enjoy over 61 hours of film excellence. Remarkable really.

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Volume 2 – New Hollywood

Volume 2, which is the blue Layflat book, continues the same setup yet with another selection of iconic films, as this is New Hollywood. Interestingly, some of these I’ve actually been re-watching this week, and so many of these titles remain both hugely influential with the true meaning of the word ‘iconic’. We kick-off with the incredible duo of 1971’s Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory (with a timeless Gene Wilder) alongside Kubrick’s controversial A Clockwork Orange.

The hits keep coming at 1973 sees us match up Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon and William Friedkin’s genre-shaping The Exorcist (perfect for the season), then onto 1978’s Superman: The Movie (check out Pete’s review of WB’s recent boxset right here), before walking the halls of the Overlook Hotel in 1980’s The Shining, the visceral, neo-noir soaked Blade Runner (1982), 1985’s eternal adventure with The Goonies, before finishing off with Tim Burton’s visually brilliant (and exciting) pair of Beetlejuice (1988) as well as the game-changing Batman (1989) with Michael Keaton in both titular roles.

I mean, that’s proper showtime!

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Volume 3 – Modern Blockbusters

Volume 3 is the black book for the Modern Blockbusters, and if you’re looking for ten 4K films that stir the senses with their own unique film palettes, well, this is a seriously impressive lot. Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas (1990) begins the drive (see my review of the restored WB version here), before 1992 finds Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven with that quartet of top talent turning up. One of my forever favourites, The Shawshank Redemption takes us into 1994 (a world of character and ‘hope’), and then it’s The Wachowskis major movie-changing The Matrix (1999) complete with Bullet Time. 2001 sees the superb Training Day with Denzel Washington, and Antoine Fuqua directing, before 2012 offering us Ben Affleck re-moulding his career with the excellent Argo.

2015 saw George Miller return with the primeval yet prevailing Mad Max: Fury Road (Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron equals a true force), and then it’s your time to be truly scared with 2017’s IT – which remains terrifying and gives that important reminder of the genius of Stephen King. 2018 sees A Star is Born arrive with a new version, but the heart and depth persists with Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga making it timeless and contemporary, before finishing off the final set with the striking Elvis from 2022 – Austin Butler take a bow.

Volume 4 of the Layflats is slightly different, and a bigger silver box, that opens up two flaps to reveal some Premium Extras, just for this boxset. You can pick out the first shiny envelope and within that is a fold-out poster with all the titles included, and a booklet that offers trivia and production notes also on every film included – a nice additional to your film watching. Beneath those is an absolutely lovely (almost secret) bonus, which is a delicious set of 8 Warner Bros. Pin Badges of the WB Shield that takes us through the studio’s logo history – I’m an enormous fan of these, and they’re top quality – I personally love that progression through the years, as they reflect the era they were designed in.

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Summary

For me, I think it’s important to note that some fellow film fans might wonder why ‘this film…’ or ‘that film…’ isn’t included but you can’t deny the treasures you receive within these 30 films, and it’d be extremely difficult to include every single film that everyone wants. I think each of the Eras covers a wonderful blend of genre through fantasy, musical, thriller, mystery, comedy, western, horror, drama and all the in-between. And this component is what makes the variety exquisitely exceptional…. Would I want more films included? Of course, but I think there’s an excellent equilibrium.

Somehow Warner Bros have succeeded in offering out an equal measure of film history alongside this celebration of their timeless films; it’s a perfect way to look back through their 100-year history, and either re-revisit classic films for repeat viewings, or even catch some titles for the first time – as I’d never seen East of Eden or Rio Bravo before, just as cases in point. Also, for those who’ll definitely want to know, the new 4K films for 2023 are: The Maltese Falcon, Rebel Without a Cause, Cool Hand Luke, The Exorcist, Enter the Dragon, East of Eden, and Training Day.

Pick it up, savour it, even give it a display area all of its own, this Warner Bros. Discovery’s 100^th Anniversary: The Studio Collection Boxset is a glory to behold!

The Warner Bros. 100 Year Studio Collection is out now: https://amzn.to/3s8Aobe