Eyes Wide Shut: Stanley Kubrick's Swan Song
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- čas přidán 25. 02. 2022
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What exactly is wrong with Eyes Wide Shut? Let’s find out!
Music is from Epidemic Sound
SOURCES:
Seth Abramovich. “Searching for Shelley Duvall: The Reclusive Icon on Fleeing Hollywood and the Scars of Making ‘The Shining’” The Hollywood Reporter (2021).
www.hollywoodreporter.com/fea...
Georges Bataille, Erotism: Death and Sensuality, City Lights Publishers (1986).
Roger Ebert. “Eyes Wide Shut” (1999).
www.rogerebert.com/reviews/ey...
Kevin Filipski. “Jan Harlan Keeps His Eyes Wide Open On New Ideas” Times Square (2007).
web.archive.org/web/201202261...
Michael Herr, “Kubrick” Vanity Fair, (2000).
www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/...
James Israel. “Kubrick Apparently Thought “Eyes Wide Shut” Was A ‘Piece of Shit’?” Indie Wire (2006).
www.indiewire.com/2006/10/kub...
Robert Kolker and Nathan Abrams, “The Elusive Jewishness of “Eyes Wide Shut” - Stanley Kubrick’s Final Film” Forward (2019).
forward.com/culture/423562/th...
Audre Lorde, “The Uses of the Erotic” Sister Outsider, Crossing Press (1984).
Stefan Mattessich, “Grotesque Caricature: Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut as the Allegory of Its Own Reception” Postmodern Culture, Volume 10, Number 2, (2000).
Amy Nicholson, Eyes Wide Shut at 15: Inside the Epic, Secretive Film Shoot that Pushed Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman to Their Limits, Vanity Fair (2014).
www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/...
Paul O’Callaghan, “Eyes Wide Shut, 20 years on: how does Stanley Kubrick’s last testament stand up?” BFI (2021).
www.bfi.org.uk/features/eyes-...
Stephen Pizzello, “A Sword in the Bed: Eyes Wide Shut” American Cinematographer (2020).
ascmag.com/articles/a-sword-i...
Ed Power, “Eyes Wide Shut: 20 years on, Stanley Kubrick’s most notorious film is still shrouded in mystery” Independent (2019).
www.independent.co.uk/arts-en...
Jonathan Rosenbaum & Peter Loewenberg in Depth of Field: Stanley Kubrick, Film, and the Uses of History, University of Wisconsin Press (2006).
Schnitzler to Theodor Reik, December 31, 1913, Schnitzler Briefe, 1913-31, 35-36.
Lee Siegel, “EYES WIDE SHUT: WHAT THE CRITICS FAILED TO SEE IN KUBRICK’S LAST FILM” Harper’s October 1999: 76-83.
Linda Ruth Williams, The Erotic Thriller in Contemporary Cinema, Indiana University Press, (2005). - Zábava
Guys I don't actually think org*es are bad lmao. I was trying to be hilarious.
LOL
Lol that's good 😂🤣
As long as you think ogres are bad.
I do 😳
My grandmother always said that if you can’t describe one of those as a “big bad,” you didn’t have enough fun.
…it seemed like a strange thing to say at my first Communion, but facts are facts…
The way Kubrick's actors speak so highly of a man who often made them miserable reminds of when I was a freshman in college, performing in this play being directed by someone I now realize was having a mental breakdown. (We spent 6 hours of tech rehearsal on the first page alone.) Many of my castmates remember her as an abusive tyrant, and she probably was, but in a fucked up way it's one of my favorite acting experiences. Most of my actor/director relationships have been pretty formal and professional. Clock in/clock out kinda thing. With her, there was something intimate about the way she expected us to pour out our deepest vulnerabilities and mix it in with hers. Her obsessiveness made that play The Most Important Thing In Our Lives for a few months, and I'll always feel connected to everyone who worked on it in ways I don't with most other artistic collaborators.
I don't mean to defend tyrannical behavior. She was fired shortly after and totally deserved it. Just thinking aloud about some confusing feelings those kind of stories always dig up for me.
Great work, as always!
Yeah I really think two things can exist at once in these contexts! We're allowed to have complicated feelings about complicated experiences/people. I have similar feelings about my old acting teachers and directors!
I had a teacher who was a bully but also really good at what she did and our course loved her at the end of our three years including me and other people who she made cry in class several times
As an actor, I agree so much! I had a few theatre experiences that I only much later realized were not completely ethical or that some directors/mentors were people with deep psychological problems that didn't have any respect for people's boundaries. But still, some very specific things that we managed to reach, happened only because of their extremist personalities. It's a strange, double edged sword. Even later, I can simultaneously both hate and respect some of them for their ways of working. Most of the time, the extremism is really not worth it, though.
Relatable! I worked with a director on an adaptation of Hans Christian Anderson stories. We rehearsed for months and way longer than the union would have allowed; there were intense arguments with designers DURING REHEARSAL, which I (the youngest castmember) sometimes had to break up so that we could get work done; and once he tied me to a chair as an acting exercise. We were completely alone when this happened.
The show was fantastic though. Truly amazing work. And I never want to do it again. ☺️
It's because we all, as human beings, crave intimate relationships with other human beings. The more intimate a relationship is, the more we share with each other, the more we feel connected and part of a greater whole (and therefore "stronger"). The flip side of that is that we also become (or anyway feel) more vulnerable, more exposed, so the more we care about something, the more it scares and worries us (as any conscientious parent or lover can attest). The deeper a relationship gets, the more complex it becomes, and our certainties evaporate or are replaced by feelings over which we have little control, and can often be or appear contradictory.
To quote Anthony Hopkins as CS Lewis in Shadowlands: "This is a bloody awful mess, and that's all there is to it".
I watched this film many years ago and completely forgot about the plot (besides the BIG BAD), but I still vividly remember the uncomfortable, weird feeling I had afterwards, like I had accessed a secret part of my brain..
Whats the bug bad?
That's cuz it invokes the insidious aura of the elites. If you had seen what else he had in store before his murder, that post of your brain would've been unleashed
@@Chronz what did he have in store as you say
@@stargirl8444 I'm still watching this vid but she just mentioned the conspiratorial aspects. I'm from that community, but my memory is hazy on the specifics. I will try to find the reference material to give specific theories but Kubrick was revealing alot more that never made the film. The very date of the theatrical release is in itself conspiratorial (anniversary of another big event). The " big bad" scene had more than just group sex in it. The toy store scene was supposedly cut differently. In short, it had alot more insight into the world of guys like epstein. I remember this time period was abit before my community began to expose the epstein saga. Decades later their absurd theories were vindicated.
Never forget the meme, epstein didn't kill himself. Understand that it carries a dual meaning, he was murdered or alive and well today
@IntrepidTit hmm I gotta look that one up, Kubrick was big on anniversaries and one of the big motivating factors for him working so hard was so he could release the movie on this specific date. This was the 30th anniversary of the Apollo 11 launch. Heard the first "nuke" was dropped around this time frame and depending on your conspiratorial background, those 2 days hold different meanings for you. Many of these elites/weirdos are big on numerology/gematria and will utilize our position among the stars to enact their plans
The movie suffered from celebrity backlash. But they were both great in it.
Tom Cruise's quiet and still inner rage as he hears her fantasy is amazing acting.
Tom Cruise has kind of been typecast as action heroes since this movie came out. I think it was his choice but it means that we rarely see him in roles that are drastically different from each other. However, Bill Harford is NOTHING like any of Cruise's other characters. He's not a badass, he's not an action hero, he's certainly not a character who would do life threatening stunts for an adrenaline rush, he's just a regular guy who has a complex relationship with his wife. Eyes Wide Shut shows that Cruise is a more versatile actor than people give him credit for.
I half agree: Tom was his utmost best. Nicole, not so good, as usual.
I think it was more than a fantasy, Nicole was in the mask club
EWS suffered from poor casting. Watching Tom Cruise act is like listening to Kanye West using autotune ad infinitum. Alec Baldwin would've been a far better choice.
Celebrity backlash?
I feel like EWS is the most realistic horror film thats ever been made. the real horrors of the world. the club none of us are in
It's more like the club we are all born into, and cannot find a way to leave.
I read the book in school in German prior to watching the movie and all the things the critics said about the movie was exactly what the book felt like. The movie perfectly brought the feeling to film, it was a pretty good adaptation. It managed to make me uncomfortable but yet keep me hooked.
I'd questioned the casting of Tom Cruise as the Doctor, but when I read the book I saw that Tom Cruise was a good choice. He was mostly as described. The only thing I could say wasn't right, is that the German Doctor had studied fighting and when those college students harassed him he really wanted to fight them. He didn't because he'd probably get hurt and that would affect his work. Tom Cruise didn't capture that sense of retaliatory violence.
Yes it joins with The Matrix,They Live as an eye opening film.
@@nicholas23nycpoo
Eyes wide Shut gives me the exact same feeling i get when watching The Shining , no other two films have that feeling
Yeah it's like I'm missing something and I can't stop thinking about it
Clockwork Orange has that...but FASTER
blue velvet
@@psychesoap CO at least had moments of comic relief throughout to give you a chance to feel comfortable. EWS and TS both refuse to let you find your footing. You are at the mercy of the film and have to just go along for the ride until the end.
Watch Lee Chang Dong’s ‘Burning’.
I disagree entirely that Tom retreated into action films after eyes was shot. I think the work he did in that next 5 to 6 years was actually the most interesting work of his career. With films like Magnolia and vanilla sky and minority report and the last samurai and collateral. All of which his characters have no resemblance to each other. I think it’s the best streak he ever put together
Vanilla Sky is fantastic, and was the first movie I saw of his that actually cemented in my mind how great an actor he truly is. I never really liked him prior to that. I didn't see Eyes Wide Shut until AFTER Vanilla Sky for what it's worth, but the two have become my favorite two movies of his, and two of my favorite movies in general.
agree. I think eventually Tom wanted to do action cause they were fun.. and a lot ofnmovies he did during that period were heavy asf.
@Ninja Tony he's a good actor. he's very good at connecting.
Tom Cruise is now in his "action phase".
Tom gets a lot of criticism but you can see his loves of movies on his choices, a lot of interesting movies in it
I loved the whole cultish scene and will never forget how eery it made me feel while watching it. There was this certainty behind it. It had this feeling that you’ve stumbled upon something and you are going to have to work very hard to stay alive.
Which is totally accurate on all accounts. That shit def goes on n I'm pretty sure Hillary "killemAll" Clinton or some other famous megalomaniac is the cult leader Red mask depicted in the film with the staff and smoke
I had no idea eyes wide shut was so hated by critics. I watched it when I turned 18 and I didn't like it but I couldn't stop watching. Now I rewatch once a year lol, and as I get older I feel something new
I also watched it around that age for the first time. I think I was 17. And I didn't get it either. Of course. But I'm very grateful to my parents that they were irresponsible enough to let us watch movies that were very emotionally complex and just out of our reach. I had to really grasp what it was that was being expressed, having barely ever been in love with a girl, let alone a woman. It really made me want to keep going for this adult themes just out of reach.
Because Critics hate the truth as the good obedient corporate pigs they truly are.
Critics are only reactive and rarely ever are ahead of the curb in regards to viewers trends and tastes. They are usually the last to recognize a great film or innovative filmmaking in general.
Most Kubrick films got mixed reviews upon their release, only to be hailed as classics a few years later. Although the film blew my mind on first viewing, in theaters in 1999, his films only get better with repeat viewings.
I hate it because of Nicole Kidman. The woman cannot act. Otherwise, I love the rest of this film.
I think Tom Cruise's scoiciopathy is what makes him such a good actor
Totally
Christian Bale has said he based his performance of Patrick Bateman on Cruise, a broad smile that never meets the empty eyes.
Agreed.
100
Tom Cruise is a great actor as long as he doesn't have to pretend to be human haha
Someone (Maybe Matthew Bodine, I'm not sure) once said, "Stanley wasn't obsessed with sex. He was obsessed with peoples' obsession with sex."
This film always lingers in the back of my mind. A man who feels unworthy of his wife's desire because she had a fantasy. I feel like Kubrick would look himself in the mirror throughout his life and he didn't like what he saw. I think this movie speaks to intrusive thoughts and how we fight back with sexual fantasies that we get lost in
I think Kubrick saw evil in those around him and wanted to warn us about them. He removed the mask, so to speak.
Whether he was part of this club at one time is not known. He definitely wanted to expose it before he died.
Hmm. Good interpretation
I had the fantasies too, and I lost my friends because of higher expectations. So bad
There was also talk that Kubrick cast the then-married couple as a sort of inside joke--exposing the phoniness of their marriage (as rumors had insinuated for years). They DID divioce a year later, so.......
That's not what its about at all.
I can understand not liking the film, but I cannot imagine coming away from EWS thinking it’s “empty of ideas.” What a bizarre critique.
Its always important to keep in mind that most critics aren't very smart.
It's overflowing with ideas. Most of which work. And the ideas you don't fully understand still seem to fit together nonetheless. It's thrilling if you like to think about your movies.
She knows, the truth of exposing them hurts her
Nicole Kidman. I skip through all her scenes. I love this movie otherwise.
most people can only see reflections of themself
The mythos of the director is so interesting considering like you said filmmaking is an insanely collaborative experience. There is no movie, there is no culmination of the lofty artist’s ‘vision’, without the dull menial work of production who is scheduling the shoots, stapling the scripts, feeding the crew, measuring the set. Not to mention the countless unsung artists like the set designer, stylist, makeup artist, or even those who shape the film through lighting, sound, camera angles. Yet the movie is credited all to the director rather than the people on the ground doing the physical or boring tasks that make the product happen.
Even the act of putting the film together a lot of movies are truly formed by the editors yet they’re not given their credit. Learning that a lot of editors were women and that the female editor of the original Star Wars trilogy made that pop culture staple what it was was very eye-opening. As an artist I never want to discredit art or those who make it but it’s so typical of an individualistic culture likes ours to laud and reward directors that retain oppressive, singular creative control while leaving nothing for the community or people behind him. All regard is reserved for the idealized loner artist toiling away in his office with no thought to the wife or mother cleaning his laundry and wiping the asses of his children.
Very good comment. It brings several things to my mind in response. 1.) In recent years cinematographers have been getting more attention independent of the director, simultaneously however you now see more auteur directors co-crediting themselves as cinematographers, or just no cinematographer credit (PTA, Soderbergh, Pawel Pawlikowski, watch out for Yorgos Lanthimos and others this year) 2.) Reflecting the trend with cinematographers, production designers may start to garner more attention for their contributions (the 100% overlap in the two categories in this year's Oscar nominations underscores the dependence of one department's work upon the other's) 3.) Yes, editors are typically unsung, their contributions harder to 'see', but here too there may be an increasing number of auteurs working as their own editor.
So, even if there is even a fairly strong shift, a greater inclination from critics to acknowledge the collaborative nature of film production, the traditional concept of the auteur is tenacious, with some of those individual auteurs themselves actually doing more to preserve it.
But all that aside, you say the mythos of the director is interesting, and several other commentators say it's fascinating, and it is. Ultimately, I do buy into the premise that there are individual directors who are filmmaking geniuses, that the director is the X-factor whose contribution is ultimately responsible for the elevated quality of a film. Why do I think that? I'll give just one example, the film 'Spencer'. It is an international co-production: English writer, composer and principal cast, American lead, French cinematographer, Chilean editor and director. However it is basically a German film. The majority of people who actually contributed to its production were Germans, it was principally shot in Germany. But when was the last time that a domestic German production with a German director produced a film even close to the quality of 'Spencer'? With all due acknowledgement to all those already mentioned, writer etc., Pablo Larrain is the X-factor ultimately responsible for its elevated quality as a film.
A final note: oftentimes this male auteur cinema is at its strongest when it is interrogating the idea of bourgeois (or elite) male entitlement - as Eyes Wide Shut is doing - and there are many other examples - I would say it is absolutely one of the most common themes or tropes of international auteur cinema. Some examples from the contemporary period: 'The Square' (Ruben Östlund), 'The Nest' (Durkin 2021), Pablo Larrain's 'Ema', many films by Paolo Sorrentino, Yorgos Lanthimos, Carlos Reygadas.
Well, you can have all that happening and end up with a bad or even worse, a generic film if there isn't a director with a vision to unify the whole production.
It is collaborative, but in the service of a central figure's vision.
You can get together with as many people in the world as you like and make a movie. It won’t be anything near a Kubrick film.
@@AllTheArtsy based
Like all his films Eyes Wide Shut is about many things but the one thing that I think people haven't recognised is that the film is a critique of the middle-class professionals who although educated are like prisoners on an Island detached from their overlords on the top or those below them living a narrow spectrum of "safe" emotions where anything a bit risque shakes the foundation of their reality.
Yes, thank you! That's the true nature of our society is too ugly to look at, but once you truly see-you cannot truly un-see it again.
@@toyajackson556 Sorry, my comment was made three months ago and I don't see any relevance between what you say and what I was commenting on which was what most people don't get about Eyes Wide Shot.
It is up to you to see if my observations match those of yours.
Ooh. Good point. And their kid is their (the overlords) victim too.
@@manbearpig7521 The kid is interesting in the scene where the mother is helping with homework and it is about money. It is more about women's concern about a good provider and her power to manipulate the child that in case of men is a source of misogeny. You can also hear it Pink Floyd's song about mother. She is a protector but also a manipulator, meddlesome, creator of feelings of guilt. That stays with the child and in case of boys is their 1st memory of being manipulated. Hence distrust in women that can develop into misogeny.From an ethical point of view it is unfortunate but it is what it is: part of evolution that doesn't care about ethics.
jist when ubthink ur at thr top, there's another group on top of you and another on top of them... and humans can't help be be curious "what if.."
19:28 "A bit eerie"? I actually find that scene pretty scary with the backwards music and the creepy masks. It's the best part of the movie for me for sure.
Yes and knowing those sort of ritual and satanic people are real.
This movie reminds me a lot of Martin Scorsese's After Hours. Man goes into the underworld and is tormented by a fever dream of dangerous and mysterious women. But it may be exactly what he needs to rouse him from the continual waking dream he is in.
True, but with the difference that After Hours is fun. Eyes Wide Shut is terrifying and has a lot more layers imo (don't get me wrong, I love After Hours)
@@kalle3879 It’s After Hours with a tone closer to The Shining
Would you recommend that movie?
@@manbearpig7521 it is hilarious.
Oh thank goodness someone is finally going to explain this movie to me.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Here's the explanation:weird crap happens. The end. J/k...actually, part of the movie is a dream, like "mulholland drive".
A man is obsessed with the idea that his wife could cheat on him, so he attempts to cheat on her in a series of weird encounters. Finally, he decides he doesn’t need to cheat, and his wife says “let’s have sex”. The end.
@Pamela Lansbury it shows different fantasies and then the consequences.
@Pamela Lansbury that’s basically it. Eyes Wide Shut is an adult film, in that it’s meant to be about adulthood, fidelity and losing confidence in your relationship and sense of self for a moment. Few movies are allowed to be made for adult understanding
This might be a small detail, but so often in this movie characters repeat lines of dialogue. The Russian costume store owner says something, then Cruise slowly repeats the line back to him. I've heard this is a trick sometimes used when the person repeating the line is trying to come up with a creditable lie. I'd love to know why Kubick used this throughout so much of the dialogue in Eyes Wide Shut.
I noticed that the first time I watched it and it annoyed me greatly. LoL
conditioning and grooming. jiat like the theme is repeated over and over again.
it also reflects thr monotony and repetitive of life... u kinda understand why someone would have thr temptation to cheat or explore an under world.
to be faithful and good is very very hard. that's what I got from this.
@Miss Rose and then eventually it haunts u. lol. and then u get use to it. and then u understand hoe people become desensitized
Interesting! In the news article showing the woman’s death, several lines are repeated twice. 😮
Also if you pause in the scenes in which Tom cruise is reading newspapers certain lines are repeated twice one example is the dead model having important and influential friends in the entertainments and fashion industrys
I worked on what was to be Kubrick’s next movie after Eyes Wide Shut, the movie Ai. Since Kubrick died, the directing role was taken over Ai’s producer, Stephen Spielberg.
I think that - because of my immense respect for his genius - Kubrick’s last opus should be seen more in the way that musicologists see Beethoven’s last works, The Last Quartets. It is said of the quartets that they were not in Beethoven’s latest style, that they had gone far beyond what he had done previously. That they were ahead of their time. That nothing like the theory behind the last quartets would be done again until 80 years later by Bartok. Kind of like when I was told that there is in the last movement of Mozart’s last symphony - No. 41 (The Jupiter), which is one of the last 3 symphonies that Mozart wrote during a 70 day period when one of his children died of typhoid and he didn’t have a pot to piss in and he never heard performed - that there was a 12 tone row (serial music), which wouldn’t be done again until Schoenberg in the 20th Century.
So funny story, the main reason I decided to check this film out was because of a meme chart I saw a while back basically asking the question of what technically "counts" as a "Christmas movie"; it was the end of 2020 and my usual plans had been completely derailed by everyone having to quarantine. I wasn't really in the mood for anything cute or feel-good so I decided, hey, what the hell! I knew the movie had dark themes, but the fact it apparently took place on the most family friendly holiday of the year just put me over the edge in my intrigue, lol.
Not really having any context for it at the time I gotta say it still really stuck with me regardless. The weird dreamlike haze everybody's in, combined with the feeling of constantly being on edge, reminds me a little of the direction they took the video game Silent Hill 2; everybody just sounds mildly disoriented and acts a bit "off" to sort of echo the overarching theme of being in between reality and the subconscious/imagined. I think both that and this movie definitely nail that vibe. Both SH2 and Eyes Wide Shut also deal with unspoken sexual tension, power/control and unfulfilled desires within long term relationships. The comparisons mostly end there but I thought it was worth bringing up!
As far as "the big bad" goes (lmao) the subject matter of EWS itself hardly scandalized me since I've worked in the retail sex industry for a few years now/live maybe half an hour away from actual sex clubs? but I agree that for an erotic thriller the point of it isn't really to arouse or titillate on any level. I kind of see it as more of a psychological drama, really. I think it's about how, despite how much you think you know a person and indeed do, you will never truly *know* them on an omniscient level, and that it's sort of a story about coming to terms with that knowledge.
It's interesting to learn that the originating piece had more to do with themes of being an outsider; in casting a then-well known Hollywood power couple it almost subverts that. In a way it's kind of like saying, hey, even *these* ultra exclusive people that we deem untouchable are still totally inconsequential in the grand scheme. There's always going to be powers that are bigger than you regardless of how far up the ladder you are, socially or economically. You don't have to go full conspiracy theory to know that, that's just one of life's unsettling facts most of us try not to think about. Changing the setting from what was essentially a lavish swinger's party to a cult ritual just feels like an easier way to get that message across to an audience, IMO, rather than being a hidden expose on anything; although I will say it definitely takes on a new meaning altogether in a world post-Epstein and the MeToo era.
Maybe any director in that prolific position of power, or hell, just anyone in Hollywood who's worked in it long enough I think, they all "know", to some degree, about the seedy exploitative underbelly of showbusiness. Compare this to the circumstances of the movie's blindfolded pianist: he knows something unsavory is "there", knows it's happening just out of sight but also has no true control over the proceedings and is largely just serving as a cog in the machine. He's only there to do his part and to not ask questions, an insider and an outsider simultaneously. In this context the movie title is both as literal as it is a figure of speech: he and the protagonist have their "eyes" open wide, wanting to know more, but they're constantly shut out from the bigger picture.
I really appreciate the deep dive and background on Kubrick himself, his process and the story's origins--makes me want to check out the rest of his filmography and see how it compares to his final work. Thanks again for the content!
Excellent observation.
i remember leaving the cinema incredibly disappointed and disgusted, but i couldn't stop thinking about the film for days until i realized that the way it left me feeling was completely intentional. and i was no longer disappointed. i thought it was brilliant, it was unprecedented, and never done again to this day. in my opinion it is an absolute masterpiece of deconstruction at the largest possible scale. would i want to sit through it again? maybe 😂 but i'm glad that i did the first time.
Interestingly, Steven Spielberg, a friend of Kubrick, when he saw a screening of "The Shining" before its release, absolutely hated it. Afterwards, he could not get the film out of his mind. He then subsequently re-watched it several times, until he grew to not only appreciate it, but liked the film.
"Eyes Wide Shut", as with all of his films, continue to grow on you with each subsequent viewing until you come to appreciate it, and like it.
amazing how all the critics saying that it wasn't sexy enough are a perfect example of what the film was trying to convey
@@drewd2939 agree!
What does it deconstruct tho?
@@donaldhysa4836 The human psyche on the deepest levels.
"Stanley Kubrick's most controversial film."
Like, no. He made Lolita and A Clockwork Orange.
They probably meant controversial in the production/critical reception sense of the word not thematically!
I think the word they meant to use was divisive.
You know your Shit
Clockwork orange was very controversial at the time. I hated it. Couldn't watch except 15 minutes.
Kubrick’s intention was never to faithfully reproduce a story. It was to embed his hidden story within the illusion of someone else’s.
Agreed. Kubrick did the same thing with "The Shining" - he made subtle changes and made the story his own.
This is very interesting to watch as someone who’s never watched or heard of Eys Wide Shut. I only know of Kubrick from The Shining and the abuses Shelley Duvall experienced at his hands during filming. The image of the (usually male) ‘auteur’ and how their obsessions are viewed or given leeway by the public is always fascinating.
You have to watch Eyes wide shut, a Clockwork Orange, and 2001 A Space Odyssey. But you can start with dr. Strangelove, so you'll discover Kubrick's weirdly comedic side!
@@vins1979 you forgot Paths of Glory and his best film Berry Lyndon.
@@toothbrushfromnisemonogatari I did not forget them, I just suggested the ones I prefer, following my own personal taste. :-)
@@toothbrushfromnisemonogatari that's a second from me on Barry Lyndon! Masterpiece!
@@anima6035 He just wanted her to stop doing blow.
I can't begin to express how this film really says things to me at a creative level in all of its aspects. It's so difficult to express it, but the easiest way is for me to simply say that this is my holiday film every year, making sure that I decorate half of my rooms in blue and red lights. It tries to explore people at a level that is uncomfortable but so intensely insightful. I've credited it as an inspiration in my own writing, because very few adaptations really try to dig deeper into their source material while getting creative with the film medium.
YES! This is one of my Christmas movies! Love your decorating with the lighting theme. The film is certainly a masterwork in what cinema is capable of, both aesthetically and philosophically.
I completely agree. In my opinion all of Stanley Kubrick's movies evoke such a range of complicated emotions it's truly almost impossible to put into words. I love the colors and angles he plays with it is always an experience. It's a visual symphony that is meant to have us feel , not just a script, a plot, throw in some hollywood actors and voila. He truly created masterpieces with film:)
I love this comment.
It's incomplete and admittedly flawed, but I think it's one of my faves. I'm not married myself but I like the exploration of certain relationship topics like jealousy, boredom, feelings of inadequacy, and the importance of honest communication. I also just personally dig the dreamy, intoxicated vibe it manages to pull off.
Its one of the most honest movies ive ever seen.
it may feel incomplete because the Hollywood pdf files deleted all the scenes with the least subtle bits.
EWS is not incomplete. Leon Vitali and Catherine Kubrick have said that the release was as he intended.
Speaking psychologically a lot of things can happen when your relationship is on the rocks Through jealousy, anger, grievance and such. And with this movie, it seems as though Tom Cruise's character was taking a trip to hell and back.
And we can also see this within the psychological community . (Clients should I say), who may be on the verge of a nervous breakdown will also witness such things happening within their lives also. Just because they've become so sensitive to the outside world around them.
I'm increasingly interested in the idea of the artist's genius. Someone who elevates themselves and their work into something nearly mythological
A concept Kubrick apparently resented. His family always said he was the least pretentious, egotistic filmmaker in the industry.
@@deckofcards87 it must be difficult to be so gifted. luckily he married a very nice person who was also an artist.
eyes wide shut is one of my favorite movies of all time. kubrick is my favorite director and have seen all of his films multiple times, but this is the one i am always eager and excited to rewatch. brb gonna go rewatch.
Me too!I believe he was a genius and this film was showing what goes on in the behind the scenes of the so called elite.It is showing predictive programming and just a glimpse behind the curtain.
One of the greatest films of all time. I've changed the way many of my friends and family think of movies by showing them EWS and breaking it down for them... _true art,_ as you put it.
I was only 13 going on 14 when this film came out, and later took a Stanley Kubrick Films course in 2006 while I was an undergrad at UNC-Asheville taught by my Mass Communications Department advisor (my Major was actually in Literature, but MCOM was my Minor). While this may not be my personal top favorite Kubrick Film (which is 2001, followed by SPARTACUS, ironic considering that he didn't have direct control over that as a hired gun and later disowned it), EWS didn't strike me as a complete failure - I was equal parts puzzled, impatient and fascinated by it. While it didn't exactly grab me, I can definitely say I can understand why Kubrick wanted to make it. That said, after watching this and learning more about the source material, it makes me wonder how the subject would have been done differently by someone else, say, Ken Russell or Martin Scorsese. The orgy, while not necessarily exciting, was haunting, and the choice of music was pretty inspired. And I do think that the casting of Cruise and Kidman as the two leads at the time was pretty appropriate.
This was the first Kubrick movie I saw and I loved it. The uneasiness and dreamlike athmosphere reminded me of Mulholland Drive which is another movie people like to overanalyze and make up endless theories about.
You underanalyze and don't theorize enough
Lynch and Kubrick had a lot in common, though it was NOT in terms of style or execution, but more themes.
@@curiositytax9360 Just because you don't like to use your brain doesn't mean others don't.
@@ulfingvar1 They are my two favorite directors. Mulholland Drive touches on some of the same themes as EWS, but in a different way.
One of the best films of the 1990s. A film that opens perspective from relationships to a world underneath of what we see.
It's a horror movie. The end with the toyshop, and them having to hand over their child to the old men as compensation to the cult, is terrifying. What is more terrifying is even though people watch the movie, they don't notice it, because their eyes are wide shut. Literally people cannot see it, even though its there in front of their eyes... Even in UHD
✅
Agreed
What in the world are you saying
@@adikravets3632 😂😂😂😂
I literally commented this same thing on a different video about eyes wide shut.
This is genuinely one of the most beautiful video essays I’ve ever seen. You’re so talented.
Analysis as layered and complex as the film itself. Well done.
I think this is one of your best videos, loved every minute of it! also, now i wanna watch Eyes Wide Shut, im really curious what emotions it will make me feel
I've watched a lot of CZcams video analyses on Eyes Wide Shut (one of my favorite movies of all-time) and this is by far one of the BEST I've watched. Excellent job!
What I love about this film is that it shows a side to human nature we don’t speak about as much as we should. Why we are never happy with what we have and always want to have more. We don’t desire it as we want to be able to have new things endlessly in our life’s.
This story is more about how two people learn to except what they have together and that they both have desires and dreams of what if they could have done things different.
That is what dreams are, our window into what we want to bring into the 3D.
And after creating a documentary on the life of James Joyce with Ulysses being his most famous book.
If you look at the story line of Eyes Wide Shut you may find that it was a lifestyle many lived in the 1920s with James Joyce and Nora Joyce both having a difficult relationship and there wishes and dreams creating endless drama between them and that Ulysses is about this same subject with covering the human need to have more at any cost.
And the fear of losing what we have to gain more with living our dreams.
I’m going to link my upcoming documentary below:
czcams.com/video/jHYXjOyY3Fo/video.html
so happy you made a video about this ! just saw this movie for the first time this past vday at a local theatre and i was blown away !! i was surprised to not find too many big youtube channels bringing any light on this film! thank you :)
Look in you tube Jay Dyer who does an interesting unveiling of the film.
38:56 =Frankly... I get him. You have this grand project you took 3 decades to make then when you view it in close detail, you start to see way too many flaws in what you thought was a perfect work, you start to doubt if it really was perfect. This led to that phone call 2 weeks earlier to his death. Then as you near your death, you realize that maybe it wasn't that bad at all... Unlike your previous works, this was the most you spent on a project to date- time, money, attention, details- then how could it not be the Magnus opus?
Both events can be true & humane... Admittedly, I relate to his obsession to detail as he works along as I have the same quirk of wanting everything to be perfect & as I imagined it. Then I fail to achieve my own standards which irks me & made me hate my work... Then I admire some of it as it was the most I did...
Wow, such a great in depth study of this fantastic and bizarre piece of Kubrick's catalog. I love Eyes Wide Shut even just for the odd tone all throughout. Sometimes it doesn't matter what purpose it serves or the 'real' meaning behind it. We can just enjoy this film simply as it is. I know it's not technically true, but I somehow also like to view A.I. as Kubrick's last film, as it serves to throw a wrench in this same theory you explore here. Even though at best, it's Spielberg doing Kubrick. But it is also an odd enough film to be (in my book at least) his last. Or should have been included in his sorted and varied catalog. You're right though, this movie does well as his swan song for all that you reveal about his personal connection to it. We'll never know his intent or true feelings around it, but that almost makes it more enjoyable. I still revisit this film every few years or so, and it's never comfortable. But what a true master Kubrick was to take us to such a place. Liked and subscribed! great video!
This is one of the best movies ever made. I loved it when I first saw it years ago and it always repays rewatching.
When Tom Cruise was younger he was absurdly beautiful.
Perfect example of being overrated and underrated for all the wrong reasons. If David Lynch directed it and it was a little weirder it would’ve had a good reception. Always enjoyed it as a weirdo but clever campy film in its own right
It does have that dream atmosphere permeating through the story (which i guess makes sense, since the book it's adapted from is about dreams and the subconscious) which is similar to the movies David Lynch has made since Fire Walk With Me. But i think Lynch goes full dream logic and Kubrick kept it a little more grounded.
It does feel a bit David Lynch-y! That’s a great comparison.
Underrated, indeed... Overrated, Mmm not too much
Sorry for a late reply, but I am here because responding to a reply I received yesterday, so.... I love the film. Nevertheless it is hard to argue with some of the negative takes. What can be said though, is that the most negative assessments came at the time of release, and the fact is that we are still here talking about the film and that means something. But here is a critique from an IMDb review from opening week, which is on point, though I value the film much more than this reviewer:
Fearing becoming David Lynch, he turned himself into Adrian Lyne. Kubrick clearly took pains to make a movie that wasn't "clinical," sex-negative, girly-objectifying. But he also seems to have lost what he wanted the material to say. What's left is an "erotic thriller" paced like a late Rossellini movie.
Interesting point, because it's been said that Kubrick's favorite film was "Eraserhead." The story goes that Kubrick would show it to all his friends at his home theater.
I loved, loved, loved this movie right from the start when I saw it the first time in 2001! While friends of mine hated the end, I thought the end was the only logical conclusion. After going through this mind f*ck for days that seemed like years, the only thing that can save a marriage is to get back to the basics and just f*ck!
I was very curious as to what the end would be. Thought it was good but maybe not perfect
@@drts6955 Do you have an idea about an alternative ending...?
@@Symbolsysteme Nothing better comes to find to be honest...
Found your channel because of this video. Thank you for taking the time to make and share this! 🐇💮🌧️
This theatre nerd fully appreciates that you used the correct term: pulling on the strings like a *marionnette*
Rather than a ''puppet''?
@@rigelb9025 On a puppet you use your hand and fingers, inside the puppet.
@@emoxvx Ok I see! That makes sense.
This very much explains why all the more emotional scenes in A.I. Artificial Intelligence (which I personally think, serves as a great epilogue to Kubricks career and a nice complement to Eyes Wide Shut with him wanting to do it for a long time too and being the project he worked on right before EWS) were written by Kubrick. I always wondered why that was and knowing he apparently made himself more vunerable in his art in his later life is very interesting. One could only imagine, what Kind of movies he would have made afterwards.
AI is one of my favorite movies ever. I agree that it was a good epilogue. I was surprised that a lot of the concepts that people assumed were Spielberg's' actually weren't.
I read that AI was a joint venture that Kubrick wanted to go in a different direction than what Speilburg wanted. So we got the children's version
@@henrimatisse7481 The Pinocchio-esque story was planned from the beginning. But Kubrick's version of Rouge City was a lot nastier, I think.
My favorite bit of Kubrick trivia with that movie is that he originally tried to have an actual robot boy play David when he was first developing it way back in the 70s but obviously the technology was not there.
I enjoy reading about Kubrick's works and life. Sometimes even more than watching his movies! What a fascinating guy!
I saw it when it came out. Then I saw it many many years later. My first impression upon the second viewing was, it was one man’s dissent into many men’s ultimate fantasy, which subsequently turns into one’s ultimate hell. Then, I started seeing it as a quasi-retelling of the Adam and Eves story. With a redemptive ending. There is also a “Barry Lyndon” aspect to the character Tom Cruise plays. His character is lured into a world, which is out of his depths. Not only is it a revealing of that world, but it’s also a revealing of his worldly status, regardless of his position of employment. Is it as immense and epic as “ 2001 a space Odyssey” or as artistically involved as say “ a clockwork Orange”. No. But I still regard this film as remarkable and in a small way, a fitting book end, to a remarkable output of film.
Pretty good video, though I'd argue that A Clockwork Orange is clearly by far his most controversial film. It was so controversial in fact that he himself banned it from public screenings in the UK after death threats, copycat crimes, and relentless bad press began to cause chaos in his private life, possibly endangering his own family. Eyes Wide Shut on the other hand was more controversial in the sense of being widely considered a failure by critics, than for its actually rather chaste sex scenes. [/film nerd mode]
I’m probably gonna have the ceremony theme stuck in my head for decades
this was amazing!! made me appreciate the film so much more and the way you compiled this was so good!! i never usually comment on stuff but this was so inspiring and intelligent
Oh yeah yeah
Eyes Wide Shut came out when I was in college and I first saw it on one of the movie channels on the campus cable service that played the same movie on a loop for a week. I probably saw the whole thing in bits, out of chronological order, mostly late at night, before I watched it altogether from start to finish in a single sitting. It's a way of watching that really allowed me to appreciate the dreamlike nature of it even though I was 19 or 20 at the time and generally loath Tom Cruise. It remains my favorite pure Kubrick film to this day.
I loved this film when I watched it the first time, I thought it was going to be boring, but it felt like a trip
To me this movie is the epitome of the term flawed masterpiece
I think if you want to understand Kubrick's films, you should more heavily consider Jung than Freud. He's referenced in almost every film of his.
I also think you should refer to EYE SCREAM and consider the layered subversion of his films. That's something Rob Ager has also talked about
EWC is a multi-faceted film with hundreds of hints and insights into a world rarely spoken (or known) about. A masterpiece.
Yes.
some "people" would say the same of eyes wide shut
I havent watched this video yet but I love this film- it's so powerful, and I always come back to it for some reason it inspires me when I write
Such a great video for such a great film. The first time I watched it when I was 17 or 18 I was mesmerized by all those elements that I could not understand and that I believe I still don't fully grasp 20 years after. However, the feeling I got from the very first moment was that human relationships are really complicated and a thing to deal with care and communication. So, for me, Kubrick delivered as usual haha.
I can't tell if Kubrick's idea of Lolita staring Woody Allen is perfect or too on the nose
It's a borderline documentary
He didn't. Kubrick's idea was to have Woody Allen star in a 60's adaption of Traumnovelle which would later become Eyes Wide Shut, not Lolita.
I loved it when I first saw it when it came out.. and I love it now.
And I never understood people who didn't like it. It's great.
The perfectionism that directors like Kubrick get lauded for seem to me to be more the indulgence of obsessive compulsion. Without the aura of genius surrounding him, I don't think anybody would have put up with Kubrick. The actors lauding his methods after the fact are kind of obligated to do so partly as a coping mechanism. Why else would you have put up with that shit unless it was for high art? Kubrick seemed to elect the path of most resistance when any other probably would have yielded similar results. Afraid of flying to NYC? Take a boat, or fucking work on that issue.
Even if you could tell that the fire hydrants on the NYC set were several inches off from the Greenwich Village street its meant to depict, would you really care? Were those other 95 takes complete shit compared to the one that made the final cut? Moreover, if you feel like you have to abuse an actor to get the performance you want, how about hiring an actor who can do it without being abused? These things that the director obsesses over are things that nobody cares about except for the people who populate the IMDB trivia page.
Yeah, I agree that it's impossible to separate the art from the artist with this film, but for me that didn't make it feel deeper. It honestly made me feel more alienated from the story, because it was so clear to me that it was full of concepts that an obsessive, stubborn, individualistic "genius" white guy found to be significant. It would almost strike me as funny that he demanded such high attention to detail and so much time repeating scenes, because it truly doesn't make a difference to the average person just watching the film, but the cost was the mental wellness of his actors (and probably everyone else behind the scenes). Was it all worth it to actualize this one man's vision?
The thing is art matters most to the artist who creates that. It's the compulsion, urge or self satisfaction whatever you name it, to get the thing right whatever it takes. I think Kubrick was a person who was very much concerned with people perception about him. That's why he didn't do any tv interview or made any public appearance after 2001. These interviews gives us a little bit of insight what a person is like. So only thing by which people can get to know him, was his movies. And he tried his best to not leave any flaw in his work for people to point out. In some quotation of him, he said he didn't cared about critics. But according to Jan Harlan, his brother-in-law, he used to have reviews of his movies piled to read.
@@margaretcummings4146 "white guy"
He was Jewish.
And to answer your question, if you were to buy into the belief that the whole movie was a way to fuck with Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise's marriage(Kidman's dad was a child molester who never got real punishment for it) I would say, yeah in this particular case it was definitely worth it lol
He's a sick f***. He made kidman hold up in a hotel room with male models practicing fifty something different sexual positions. No wonder their marriage ended after this piece of absolute garbage. The emperor has no clothes in my opinion.
I misheard “the big bad” as “the Big Bang”. It made sense in my head.
My first introduction to Stanley Kubrick Was A Clockwork Orange. My ex who lived in Burlington Vermont told me that he watched the film in school. When I watch the movie as a full-grown adult I was completely overwhelmed and confused and I fell in love with Kubrick ever since
TY for putting the time and effort into this. This film made a huge impact on me, and this analysis only adds to its grasp on my affection and intrigue. Well done!
The best book about EWS is by the French critic Michel Chion in the BFI series. He considers it K's most perfect film and explains... basically the meaning of everything in it, LOL.
Thank you for the hard work you have done on this video: I learned a lot of new stuff (like K cutting out the Jewish angle of the story). The video is basically a mini-documentary!!!! And I totally agree with you when you say: "this is true art..." Perhaps this movie is perfect in the sum of its imperfections???
Barry Lyndon is his greatest cinematic masterpiece every scene looks like an actual painting . I’ve never seen anything like it
I am glad you brought up the fact that Kubrick was not finished with this film as Warner Brothers had run out of patience and sent a special currier to England to retrieve Stanley's work print, which didnt even have much of the sound looped in yet and Kubrick said he wanted to cut 20 minutes. Anyone who understands how Stanley put his films together can clearly see that EWS has several scenes which need to be either trimmed or cut entirely. Of course, Warner Brothers insists that the film is 100% complete. We will never know what EWS could have been if Kubrick had finished with his edits.
currier?😂
«Anyone who understands how Stanley put his films together can clearly see that EWS has several scenes which need to be either trimmed or cut entirely»; okay, what scenes needed to be trimmed or cut? 'Cause you're just assuming that this is some general consensus by Kubrick fans, when it's not, or you're either implying that if you don't agree with that then you're wrong. Which scenes actually need to be cut or trimmed? This seems much more a matter of personal taste that you believe to be objective, because it isn't. Personal preference or opinion, most of the time, doesn't equate to actual truth.
I learned about this film in my photography course in my first year of university and watched it shortly thereafter. It definitely feels like it’s intentionally supposed to give you an off vibe. I know my prof dove really deep into this movie as well as 2001 and Barry Lindon and he definitely looked at them separately for the different techniques they pioneered. I remember thinking this movie was regarded highly from that perspective, I don’t think I realized there was all this nuance with it being tied into his death and being compared directly against his other works. This was very interesting
Love your film review-esque content
The points about eroticism is just perfect. And that's why Eyes wide shut always have been my favorite kubrick movie.
I loved Eyes Wide Shut. Visually it’s a stunning film. The cinematography, the lighting, the attention to detail. The camera work makes you feel anxious and tense. The mystery of the secret society was intriguing. But what kept me engaged was watching two people in a long term relationship separately wrestle with l'appel du vide- “the call of the void”. Of course the expression refers to the inexplicable urge people feel to jump from high places.
People often experience a similar urge to stray when they have been with someone for a long time. In both instances, the urge both shocks and intrigues you. You know you have the power to destroy your life as you know it. It’s simultaneously exhilarating and terrifying. Bill and Alice felt the call and teetered on the edge but ultimately didn’t jump.
I don’t understand the hatred this film received. Of course I wish Kubrick was able to finish the film the way he envisioned. It’s one of my favorite Kubrick films.
This divulging analysis was so enticing. Your use of language is so intelligent. Look forward to more of your videos!
To be honest, I've never liked any of Kubrick's films save for Doctor Strangelove, which if memory serves, wasn't his favorite. So keep in mind my bias when I say that I don't care how good you are at cinematography; If you can't interact with and get performances out of your human actors without resorting to absurd and often abusive nonsense, you're not actually a good director. It's why they're called "Directors" and not "Puppeteers."
I agree wholeheartedly
In German, as opposed to French, the e's at the end (e.g. in Novelle) are not silent.
Really enjoyed watching this, thank you for making it!
I am so glad I stumbled on your channel!! Amazing insight into movies. I never listened to critics when it came to Kubrick films, most of his films weren't liked initially by critics. This film is a great piece of work.
I'm really not an authority here, but I wonder if the erasure of Jewishness from this work might be a reflection of the changing views of Jewishness in a current context. I've seen a lot of discourse on the "whiteness" of Jewish people, and whether or not they belong in that category despite their history of oppression at the hands of a hyper stratified whiteness. I'd love to hear some thoughts on this from those who have a more personal perspective.
Yes for sure, there's a hierarchy to whiteness. The Italians and many others weren't even considered white back in the day for example. Same with many white Latinos etc. And now it's broadened. But still in neo-nazi groups they have a hierarchy of whiteness to this day where Scandinavian whiteness and Anglo whiteness is at the top of the pyramid and so forth, and some still don't consider some whites really "white". However, now there's been a shift, and I think it ties very much into capitalism, whiteness can be bought in a way. And it also has to do with multicultural socities too, in order to organize society there has to be more simplicity and a feeling of identity so now the groups that weren't considered white are white for now and sometimes unfortunately they discriminate against the "bottom levels" of society because they don't want to go to the bottom again. It's a long and complex topic, these are some points out of many.
These categories depend also on how homogeneous and isolated the country in question is. I'm Austrian and the country is almost entirely white and catholic (similar to southern Germany). Minute differences are perceived as much more significant than they would be in a society with a larger percentage of poc. Eastern Europeans and Southern Europeans, clearly Caucasian by American standards are viewed as different and foreign and by some people as less than. Jewish people are also considered different, these antisemitic fraternities are still going strong, as is antisemitism over all. In New York Jewish people probably are considered more white just because there are more of them and the contrast to other racial groups is stronger. I grew up in a world where I was bullied for speaking a different dialect than the other kids (while being blond and blue eyed) and my mom was seen as an outsider in our tiny village for having German parents who moved to Austria. People always find ways to make each other miserable, if there were only white Scandinavian people on earth they would discriminate against certain ear shapes.
@@c.w.8200 I agree with everything you're saying except the South Germany part, I've lived in a couple of cities and I find they're quite multicultural, and most Germans I meet are not religious - but of course it could be because I usually meet them in a university setting. However, it's more like there's this invisibility of poc because they're still trying to figure out the changing demographic and how to structure the cities - or they're still straight out in denial and trying to live out a narrative that is long gone, but poc influence is everywhere. And what's interesting is that it happens here too, quite of few of eastern Europeans and even Turkish people who are in all honesty looked down upon by some/many depending where, discriminate against other minorities who are "more hated". So just by observation this phenomenon is universal and yes people would kill each other just for having different ears. Because humanity.
I think Kubrick was desperate to be, and to be seen, as an absolute individual with a singular vision, and acknowledging his Jewish heritage in his work would force him to acknowledge that his existence stemmed from a culture, a history, a force much much bigger than himself. He was also raised by American-born parents in an entirely secular household, so the fact of his Jewishness may have felt distant and immaterial from the start.
They're white when it's convenient. They're not the true jews tho
It amazes me the lengths people will go to create elaborate personas to infiltrate secret group chats but find the idea of rich people with their infinite resources, having secret get togethers to scheme too conspiratorial 😔
Don't fret stranger, the truth community was mocked to no end before epstein became a meme, perhaps, a living meme. And he's just the tip of the ice berg. Give it time, we will be vindicated yet again and the normies will have to rethink their world view
@IntrepidTit yes but the programming is failing, words like conspiracy theorists are losing their derogatory weight. Only the most indoctrinated still rely on labels (anti Semitic is another one) to shame our legitimate views.
@IntrepidTit it’s not anyone’s fault that the ones who have had such power in the world, such as the Rothschild and Epstein, Harvey Weinstein, happen to also be Jewish. The funny thing is if that they were Christian everybody would make jokes about it, but since they’re Jewish anything is called antisemitic. As Malcolm X once said, “But let’s not forget the Jew. Anybody that gives even a just criticism of the Jew is instantly labeled anti-Semite. The Jew cries louder than anybody else if anybody criticizes him. You can tell the truth about any minority in America, but make a true observation about the Jew, and if it doesn’t 't pat him on the back, then he uses his grip on the news media to label you anti-Semite.” I’ve never seen any other minority in the world afforded the luxury of the benefit of the doubt than Jewish people. This antisemitic call is what they use when you talk about the pedos in Hollywood, the existence of Israel, the power of Israel in America, the Rothschild, the mossad, the “coincidence” that the majority of ceos in the tech world, media world, pharmaceutical all happen to be Jewish as well? If you still fall for the “antisemitic” trigger word they use, then that’s on you, I have no sympathy for them now.
Favourite Kubrick film for me. Got to see it in cinemas as it came out in 1999. Truly haunting experience. Thanks for this video.
Great review/analysis. I remember seeing the movie for the first time 20+ years ago, and being somewhat disappointed by slowness and the resolution of it. Knowing more of its genesis, and a bit about Kubrick's motivations provides some context for the oddness of the various situations in the plot, and the jarring twists and meandering pace. The accounts in interviews with Tom and Nicole suggest that Kurbrick was both very intentional, but open to spontaneous discovery through methodically reenacting a scene. Kubrick viewed film making as an organic process, relying on input and ideas from the actors, but they had to be coaxed into the right frame of mind for those sparks to emerge, hence the long, repeated shoots. Evidently, Cruise and his wife were both fond of the director, and seemingly he grew fond of them too. I suspect that part of casting them was to add that "Hollywood power couple" relationship in the formula of developing the main characters. Maybe this was manipulative on Kubrick's part, but everyone seemed happy to participate. As to the theme, the most succinct moment in the whole story comes from Ziegler, ironically, speaking to Bill: "Let's cut the bullshit........Someone died, it happens all the time. Life goes on; it always does, until it doesn't. But, you know that, don't you." Ziegler had disdain for practically everyone, even for Bill who was "way out of (his) league for the past 24 hours". Ziegler was the voice of the baseline predator, the man driven by his carnal impulses, shrouded behind a veneer of financial success and power. All the trappings of social interaction, ceremony, and rules are what people fixate on, when underpinning human agendas is some Freudian construct around the lizard brain.
Kubrick's films are always fascinating and definitely very, very rewatchable. But it's hard to deny there's a side of him that's just a damn creep. What he did to Shelly Duvall was just wrong. And what he attempted with a married couple seriously suspect. They divorced right after this movie.
I called it the weekend it was released. I remember The Shining getting planned by critics and Full Metal Jacket taking a back seat to Platoon. At work we were talking and I said it will be considered a classic in 20 years.
very interesting! i hadn't really given consideration to kubriks private life, i've had countless discussions about the concept of the autour, especially as a Hitchcock fan, and i do see how this last movie would seem out of place linearly, however the relevance of what you mentioned, Kubrick accepting and embracing that his work would be misunderstood, also makes me think that maybe in a way he used to believe he had to break his subjects personally as much as he had to pander to the critics, when clearly he could've always welcomed participants as unreasonably devoted to the art as he was, the illusion of control is a nasty drug for sure...
i had initially reconciled that view to what i think was always the connective concept between his pieces, the inescapeable darkness in every aspect of life, yes the outsider failing to completely belong, but i think also the virtuous, or i guess the morally straightforward losing its purity when set in a greater context, odyssey for example is as firm about the heights of technological advancement while containing the limits of it hidden in the shadow of human arrogance, yes space and the unknown are seductive, but being tempted to it doesnt mean its actually ours to have, the monkeys and the tools have that baked-in contradiction, in the same way this movie about immoral fantasies or whatnot isnt satisfied with calling something bad and shunning it, how togetherness is probably a more psychological state of being than a corporal one, thus the big bad is hyperbolically impersonal, and so on for all themes he adressed, the family isnt safe by beling self-contained, rising from poverty to opulence doesnt actually equal a victory over injustice, feeliing sympathy for the adverse experiences of an evil person doesnt make them less evil, humans ability to influence each other and act as a group isnt an inherently pro-social capability :/
This was truly your best analysis so far! I am so impressed
Hands down my favorite Kubrick film.
Arguably the most erotic part of the film is Alice's retelling of her fantasy with the navy lieutenant, a dream within a dream, then, and yet the most real because it is the driver towards Bill and Alice's deeper understanding of each other and ultimate reconciliation. Bill's cold and detached journey leads to his understanding that warmth is to be found with his wife, not with the (potential) for sex.
And it all folds into itself in the last line of the film, where Bill had detached the act in an attempt to heal his bruised ego, before realizing that coming back to his wife would heal them both.
This is the only actually good video I have found on youtube about the movie. Thank you
This might be my fav film, salute for this! Love your work
According to Kubrick's wife and Jan Harlan, Kubrick did finish editing the film and that it was exactly the way he wanted it. Its Martin Scorsese's favorite Kubrick film and its mine as well that gets better the more you watch it...
And having just killed her husband, I'd say that too!
Some 20 to 30 minutes was cut out of the film before it's release. So, it's not the finished product he wanted.
@@missrose1983 Not true. That was a rumor started by someone. People,close to Stanly have already verified that
@@DelightLovesMovies I think I've been on this earth long enough to trust my gut instinct. I think your eyes are wide shut.
@@missrose1983 Ill take Kubricks wife word over yours any day. And Jan Harlen was his producer. Its funny u think u know more about it than they do...haha
Easily my favorite film. Have watched it 25 times, and feel like I've only just begun my journey with it. Not necessarily the greatest film of all time -- you can certainly place The Godfather above it, or Come and See, or maybe even Barry Lyndon. EWS is the kind of film you won't fully get or appreciate until you're 40 years of age, or older. History will be kind to EWS. Its star will continue to rise. Artistry abounds in every frame.
I love these type of film analysis, I follow a bunch of channels that explore tv and film but this is the first time you popped up in my feed and I sure am glad you did because now I have a bunch of new videos to watch. 5 minutes in on this video, already completely enveloped looking forward to more.
Great video! I recently watched Eyes Wide Shut for the first time having no knowledge of the plot or source material. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time and by the time it was over I felt like I was half asleep and/or drunk. Kubrick was an absolute genius and his like will never be seen again.
Been loving your vids, keep up the good work!
It's a pretty brilliant movie. The 'faults' of the film often feel, in hindsight, like Kubrick trying to tell us a secret.
It has its own symbolism. For example, I think the use of motley rainbow colors ('Christmas lights' being just one of the means here) represents the bridge towards the underworld.
I don't agree with a strictly psychological interpretation. It is also about culture.
The rainbow and Christmas lights represent paganism. But maybe you already know that, but don't feel comfortable saying that.
To me, it’s a commentary on Tom Cruise’s star status. The public sees Tom Cruise one way (and this was before Scientology became a huge part of Cruise’s image), the Tom Cruise behind closed doors & the Tom Cruise having to navigate his way through it all, through all the craziness.
I think many people realize it's occult implications and elite rituals. Apparently Kubrick would die 6 days after the films release and around 20 minutes were edited and deleted from it.
The fairy lights were the best bit about it. That an the sex worker who takes him to her home. And the last scene when the sinister old men talked the kid away and the parents don't notice. I saw it, hated it, but love reading reviews of it.
maybe it feels faulted because Kubrick died before he was finished with it
Well done, Broey Deschanel. Satisfying video. Thank You for sharing
I felt that same sense of unease and lack of connection with this film that I did with The Shining first time I saw them.
It’s taken me 20 years of rewatching the Shining to appreciate its brilliance and really get creeped out by it.
With both these films I needed to see many clips and absorb all the nuances in smaller bits and then put them back together.
Kidman and Cruise’s dialogue scenes were brilliant, I know because I had that same sinking into quicksand feeling that I would in difficult relationships 😕