Eyes Wide Shut

Kubrick hat wegen existenziellen Fragen mehrere Weltraumreisen unternommen. Während der letzten hat er verstanden, dass das Einzige, was im Leben Sinn ergibt, richtiger Sex ist. Die Frage ist, ob er recht hat. Seine Genialität, das fortgeschrittene Alter und die erhebliche Bedeutung dieser Botschaft (es ist die letzte) bestätigen, dass es so ist. Eine dreistündige psychologische und stilistische Ekstase. (17.04.2003)

I had my eyes really wide open, but the film failed to win me over. Yes, it’s technically precise, it couldn’t be otherwise with Stanley Kubrick, Cruise and Kidman were perfect, the cinematography was impressive and the musical score was evocative in places (the simple piano notes really worked and fit the atmosphere), BUT… there was no emotional or intellectual experience for me. The film is very cold and shallow in its message. It's also possible that I misunderstood it, and I don't really care in this case. I'm not sorry that I wasn't invited to the Kubrick’s last party this time, because I have fond memories of the previous ones. So Arrideverci! Sir, I have enjoyed all your creative life. (26.10.2004)

Lies, hypocrisy and uncertainty in a thousand ways. People, Kubrick new them very well… (31.05.2010)

I was waiting to watch this movie for an awfully long time. And when it finally happened, I had a hard time to accept its poetics for the first twenty minutes of the movie. The storytelling is slow and intensive but after half an hour it gets faster and it turns into a decent psychological flick with a mysterious atmosphere of 90s thrillers. After all I have to admit it was pretty clear that this is Stanley Kubrick’s film. Sometimes I felt I was not watching Eyes Wide Shut but The Shinning sequel. The camera shots or an intensive piano music confirmed that this film is again a completely unique experience for the audience. The end could have been a bit more daring and it didn’t have to end with simple ‘fuck’ but otherwise it was great. True Kubrick. It’s hard to find similar directors nowadays… (22.06.2018)

Der wunderbare Abschied des Meisters von der Welt des Kinos und der Welt im Allgemeinen... Was hinterlässt er eigentlich als Testament? Ein spannendes, erotisches und geheimnisvoll ergreifendes Essay, eine Parabel über die subtile Krise einer Beziehung zwischen zwei Menschen, die sich durch einen Traum, ein Gefühl, vorübergehend entfremdet haben. Das faszinierende Duett zwischen Tom Cruise und Nicole Kidman zeichnet sich vor allem durch die optische Überlegenheit des einen, aber die größere Überzeugungskraft der anderen aus. Dr. William Hartford, ein im Grunde glücklicher, zufriedener und selbstbewusster Mann, erfährt eines schönen Abends von seiner zugedröhnten Frau von einem unerfüllten amourösen Abenteuer, und diese Geschichte, die eher einem unerfüllten Traum gleicht, gibt ihm den Anstoß zu einer surrealen und unwirklichen Suche nach Versuchung, nach der Linderung des schmerzenden männlichen Egos. Auf dieser Reise hört er langsam auf, er selbst zu sein und wird zu einem Mann, der eine Maske trägt... umgeben von Vergnügen, Perversion und allgegenwärtiger Versuchung wird er schließlich in ein seltsames Spiel voller Gefahren und Unbekanntem verwickelt. Und selbst eine Maske kann ihn nicht vor dem Unvermeidlichen schützen. Kubrick ist beunruhigend und suggestiv wie immer, die Atmosphäre des vorweihnachtlichen New Yorks verleiht seinem Film grelle Farben, die schöne weibliche Nacktheit ist ergreifend und die Geschichte hat eine enorme innere Kraft. Jede Aufnahme ist ein Genuss. Sinnlich, fesselnd. Die schauspielerischen Leistungen... fantastisch. Die Musik - minimalistisch, passend. Eine meisterhafte Parabel mit einer einzigen Pointe... Ficken. Realität. Ein Traum. Eine geschärfte Wahrnehmung. Tiefes Träumen. Augen weit geschlossen. (26.10.2004)

This desire truly burns the viewer and most importantly, it matures within them. It may have been a long time since I saw the film, but the suggestive feeling of presence at the ritual or paranoid thoughts of Bill still remain. Cruise and Nicole are brilliant, and Kubrick's construction of atmosphere with the help of minimalist musical accompaniment is also exceptional. (15.09.2006)

Unlike the rest of his filmography, Kubrick's latest film was controversially received. Remarkably often, five-star enthusiastic reviews full of superlatives are alternated with two-star reviews, where displeasure with the film's sexual openness and disgust with the vulgarization of the subject of romantic relationships prevail. I won't take either side in the dispute. The truth is that Eyes Wide Shut impressed me noticeably less than Kubrick's other dramas. It's not that his venture into the world of desire didn't evoke any feelings or questions in me, but they were sins committed in different places and of a different kind than the director intended. The bored, fresh widow (already a much worn-out topic these days) Nicole Kidman doesn't evoke sinful desires in me. Her beauty is the detached beauty of a runway model, not that of a sensual woman inciting sinful thoughts. Beauty and erotic allure are less related than commonly believed. Alice's flirtation with the aging beau at the party doesn't come off as erotic, but rather awkwardly lascivious. Alice and Bill's relationship is not driven by sexual fantasies and is instead a study of marital alienation. Kubrick should learn about desire, passion, and pleasure from Polanski. Animality belongs to desire, playfulness to eroticism. However, the game that Bill unknowingly enters into feels strange, overstrained, and overconstructed after three sexual revolutions. I don't even understand how Bill identified the masked beauty from the party with the dead woman in the morgue, and I don't understand many other things either. If anything, the film sparked an interest in the source material by Arthur Schnitzler in me. I will be wiser after reading it. My overall impression is 65%, with the understanding that my review is aided by Kubrick's traditional ability to work with images and master the technical aspect of the work. (31.12.2021)

An unusual and fascinating story. Perfectly filmed and really gets your brain working. In fact, it’s the first movie from Kubrick I’ve ever seen and I’m pleasantly surprised. Really good. It poses questions that I had never thought about and does so masterfully. An amazing work. (28.06.2006)

Die Geschichte einer außergewöhnlichen Ehe, die in der Nacht spielt. Das Trio Kubrick-Kidman-Cruise hat sich gesucht und gefunden. Zwar in letzter Minute, aber ja :) Ich möchte nur hinzufügen, dass der Charme von Lestat, d. h. sein schauspielerisches Maximum, in Tom ab und zu aufblitzte. Und ich bin inspiriert, einen BH zu tragen wie Nicole - es gibt so viele Möglichkeiten, einen BH zu tragen, und Kubrick war wahrscheinlich der Letzte, der ihr da reingeredet hat. Bei einer ernsthafteren Betrachtung hätte ich noch bei dem Haus voller Masken gestutzt, aber das hätte den Rahmen dieser Seite gesprengt. (27.03.2010)

Stanley Kubrick's best film, it defined human sexuality in the 21st century. (26.10.2004)

Heavy calibre. As a wise old saying goes, "It's not art to tame pelican once, but to ride it" (okay, not that old), and I don't know of a better film that could so flawlessly put that into practice. The story, brimming with sexuality, keeps you in check the whole time, and you not only can't let go under the weight of the hypnotic dialogues and atmosphere, but you won’t even want to. What is the story about? About unfulfilled desires in life, about a crisis of sexual identity, about the nature of the universe? I can’t say, and honestly, I don’t care, because when someone can so grandly captivate you with the very tone of the narrative and delight you with the most amazing filmmaking art in history, you don't even want to dig deeper into that captivating splendour. The best imaginable epitaph for a brilliant artist and visionary. The erotic séance sequence is more suspenseful and thrilling than the vast majority of horror films ever made. Bravo! (18.05.2018)

Finally! I finally fulfilled my last debt to my favorite Stanley Kubrick. I avoided this movie, maybe because of the subject matter. And I'm glad I finally watched it. It's not Kubrick's best film, but I simply like its visual and acting aspects. And I'm not talking about naked women. This is about getting into someone's head, and it's not a nice journey, even though it's bloodless. That makes it even more depressing. (27.11.2015)

I once saw a bit of A Clockwork Orange in a summer camp movie theater, but otherwise I had been virtually uninitiated in Kubrick up until that point, save for a few documentaries and trailers. It was the master's last (and ironically my first) film that I saw in its entirety :)) and it must be said that it is a well thought out and functioning film combining elements of a psychological thriller and drama with an erotic touch and featuring a strong above-average performance by Tom Cruise (although I don't like Tommy otherwise, here he proves again that he is capable of acting really well under capable direction – just like in the case of Magnolia) and incredibly seductive Nicole Kidman. The slightly lighter soundtrack from the opening half hour is then replaced by a four-note (or five-note, I'm not sure now :))) piano motif, which at times gives you chills and gets under your skin quite unpleasantly.)) Otherwise, I can't remember a film in a long time that has so many memorable scenes (Alice's haunting monologue, the billiards scene, the opening dance with the "Hungarian", where the sexual tension between the two actors is masterfully captured). Before I got my first and Kubrick's last film home :)), I read somewhere that Kubrick's films resemble chess games – at the beginning they play with you, then they attack you quite sharply and thoughtfully, and at the end they might show you their method, and while you still feel only total defeat, you are totally fascinated (as in my case :)). So I have to say in conclusion that there is something to the chess comparison :)) 100% (03.02.2010)