There was a fragile consensus about "Eyes Wide Shut" when it debuted back in 1999: that it was a bit of a letdown. Audiences had expected to see married co-stars Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman play out erotic fantasies and were disappointed to experience Stanley Kubrick's oneiric odyssey instead. But while the effect of that disappointment still lingers, as with all Kubrick films, time has seen "Eyes Wide Shut" gain more respect as a multi-layered exploration of sexual desire and naivety.
The film defies precise definition with its mix of dark humor, drama, and erotic imagery. It's based on Arthur Schnitzler's 1926 novella "Traumnovelle" ("Dream Story"), shifting the events of the book from early 20th-century Vienna to late-'90s New York City. Tom Cruise plays Dr. Bill Harford whose wife, Alice (Nicole Kidman), sends him reeling into the New York night after revealing she'd considered having an affair. The...
The film defies precise definition with its mix of dark humor, drama, and erotic imagery. It's based on Arthur Schnitzler's 1926 novella "Traumnovelle" ("Dream Story"), shifting the events of the book from early 20th-century Vienna to late-'90s New York City. Tom Cruise plays Dr. Bill Harford whose wife, Alice (Nicole Kidman), sends him reeling into the New York night after revealing she'd considered having an affair. The...
- 1/14/2023
- by Joe Roberts
- Slash Film
“Eyes Wide Shut” is one of Stanley Kubrick’s most divisive movies, but it does contain one of his most iconic sequences: The orgy scene. Vulture critic and writer Bilge Ebiri has published an oral history on the sequence in which assistant director Brian Cook, choreographer Yolande Snaith, composer Jocelyn Pook, and more weigh in on its months-long making. One of the biggest revelations in the oral history comes from Leon Vitali, Kubrick’s assistant who gained fame in front of the camera as Lord Bullingdon in “Barry Lyndon.” According to Vitali, Cate Blanchett had a never-revealed cameo in the famous orgy scene as the voice of the mysterious masked woman, played on set by Abigail Good.
“It was Cate Blanchett!” Vitali said of the voice. “We wanted something warm and sensual but that at the same time could be a part of a ritual. Stanley had talked about finding...
“It was Cate Blanchett!” Vitali said of the voice. “We wanted something warm and sensual but that at the same time could be a part of a ritual. Stanley had talked about finding...
- 6/27/2019
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
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