Eyes Wide Shut (1999) First Time Watching! Full Movie Reaction!!
Added 2024-12-21 05:25:36 +0000 UTC
Comments
I've always loved Kubrick, but his worldview is generally pretty cold and mean. Most of his movies are black comedies about how awful people are, which is not everyone's cup of tea.
Neal Romanek
2024-12-30 11:48:49 +0000 UTCAnd can we get a "Hail!" for Spartacus too?
Neal Romanek
2024-12-30 11:45:16 +0000 UTCNot my favorite Kubrick movie, but it's been a while since I've seen it. I'll need to rewatch it - with you guys!
Neal Romanek
2024-12-30 11:42:43 +0000 UTCEyes Wide Shut is based on a novella titled Traumnovelle, which loosely translates to Dream Story. I think this is what Kubrick was going for in the film. Even the events of Bill’s evening has a dream or nightmare-like quality. We never really have a reliable narrator, so we don’t know who’s telling the truth. Ziegler could have been lying at the end. We and Bill will never know. I also was reminded of the line in Alice in Wonderland, “curiouser and curiouser.” It’s a puzzling and haunting film, and I think that’s why I like it. It also reminds me of David Lynch’s work. Kubrick died four months before the release of EWS, and he agreed to release an R-rated film, so that’s why there were digitally inserted people during the orgy scenes. There is an unrated cut that I prefer. It makes those scenes much more unsettling. One more thing. Do you think at the end of the movie, Bill’s eyes were wide shut or wide open in terms of what he had been through? Great commentary to a very strange movie. Cheers!
Robert Boyd
2024-12-24 23:56:03 +0000 UTCHe actually considered Steve Martin first, met him in 1980 and pitched the idea to him. I think it would've been more of a comedic take. Now that is something I'd pay to see!
Shehab Dawoud
2024-12-24 16:02:31 +0000 UTCKubrick's first choice to play Tom Cruise's character was Harrison Ford. Now, THAT would have been interesting to see.
penoyer79
2024-12-24 00:55:34 +0000 UTCYes, this is an odd one, but I have great fondness for abstract stories that are hard to pin down. Kubrick made vast changes to the original novella, which added to the more vague elements. One aspect that I love the most is Kubrick’s emphasis on lighting, set design, and powerful use of color. All of that adds to the otherworldly feel. It’s amazing that everything was shot at Pinewood Studios in England, except for a couple of wider shots of NYC, which were 2nd unit. All of the NYC street scenes were sets. Even the broader outdoor shots of NYC were projected behind Cruise in the studio. Far be it from me to criticize Kubrick, but the only thing that I think might have been better, would have been to end it with him telling her “I’ll tell you everything.” And her looking across at the mask and asking “Where did that come from?”. The few minutes that followed didn’t really add anything, but more or less diluted the intensity of the bedroom scene. But that’s just silly me.
David Wilkins
2024-12-23 21:02:21 +0000 UTCI could imagine that such orgies are not purposefully Antichrist-summonings or what not, but the folks doing it are so warped and empty inside that they would THINK of such stuff in their brains.
David W.
2024-12-23 15:21:58 +0000 UTCWell he never denied there WAS an orgy, just that it was nothing but Safe Sane Consensual.
David W.
2024-12-23 15:20:12 +0000 UTCWould be hypocritical if Die Hard is ok but this ain’t.
David W.
2024-12-23 15:19:21 +0000 UTCI’ve been reading this! -Sam
TBR Schmitt
2024-12-23 05:02:56 +0000 UTCNicole Kidman is one of my favorite actresses! Magnolia is definitely on our list! It’s always interesting to see an actor have multiple movies in a year and just imagine what it would be like working on them so close together! I’ve thought the same going through Tom Hanks’ filmography! Thank you for sharing! I’m excited to revisit this one and see how things change on subsequent viewings! -Sam
TBR Schmitt
2024-12-23 05:02:34 +0000 UTCWhat a compliment! Thanks so much! I can certainly understand why this would require at least a few watches to really take it all in! Thank you for this comment! Love to hear how you feel watching it! -Sam
TBR Schmitt
2024-12-23 05:00:27 +0000 UTCIt would be so interesting to know what he originally had in mind! -Sam
TBR Schmitt
2024-12-23 04:59:11 +0000 UTCThank you for this comment! I agree, this will probably take a few viewings to really decipher it because it was a lot of the shock factor in the first time viewing, with just no idea what to expect! The dream/fantasy take sort of reminds me of Jacob’s Ladder a bit! But I don’t think it was, I feel like it was Bill going through all of his emotions and putting himself in some crazy scenarios. I definitely saw a lot about the Kubrick conspiracies around this film too which is wild! A rabbit hole I’ll definitely be going down! -Sam
TBR Schmitt
2024-12-23 04:58:25 +0000 UTC😳
TBR Schmitt
2024-12-23 04:53:58 +0000 UTCReading afterwards about the different cuts and potential vision that Kubrick had is very interesting! -Sam
TBR Schmitt
2024-12-23 04:53:51 +0000 UTCMy vote is with Die Hard! -Sam
TBR Schmitt
2024-12-23 04:53:02 +0000 UTCThat’s okay! Not every film is for everyone and I feel like based on what we’ve seen from Kubrick, there is so much difference film to film, in just his work alone! Definitely excited to check out more of his work! -Sam
TBR Schmitt
2024-12-23 04:52:47 +0000 UTCVery interesting take on this! I’m loving reading all these comments after having some time to sit with this film! -Sam
TBR Schmitt
2024-12-23 04:51:36 +0000 UTCAfter editing out all the sex and nudity, the YT version of this reaction will be about 37 secs long!!! LOL
Chris Bruneau
2024-12-22 21:34:29 +0000 UTCI love the way Bill believes his doctor ID and a wad of cash is enough to open any door and get anything he wants from someone. He glides through life with the unexamined confidence of someone who has always believed himself to be one of the elite, but this night teaches him that there is a whole level of wealth and power that remains off-limits to him. First he has his faith in his perfect marriage tested, and then he has to reconsider his place in rich society's pecking order.
Henry Graham
2024-12-22 17:07:58 +0000 UTCSomeone recommended it as a "Christmas film"? Oh lolol
Tinderbox
2024-12-22 08:40:46 +0000 UTCThis was one of the longest film productions of all time. Cruise & Kidman divorced two years later. I really like the scene with Cruise & Pollack, also a prestigious director. Thanks for reacting to it good luck getting the edit on YouTube. ✌️
Eugene
2024-12-22 05:43:50 +0000 UTCTwo more essential Kubricks (besides Barry Lyndon) are Paths of Glory, and The Killing. Regarding the underaged daughter storyline in the costume shop, you might want to check out Kubrick’s underrated film Lolita. I’ve watched Eyes Wide Shut three times and I come out of them with different impressions each time. I now think the conspiracy thread still remains at the end of the film, regardless of what Ziegler says. I mean - he would say that it was all imaginary given his participation in the ‘Fidelio’ society.
Michael SCH
2024-12-22 05:12:50 +0000 UTCfor me, this film is about a person who (in a jealous rage) tastes the forbidden fruit, and regrets it deeply. Remember, curiosity killed the cat! Also, the piano music is soooo creepy, its got "shining" vibes, and that is very effective
Chris Bruneau
2024-12-22 00:38:29 +0000 UTCThat's Todd Field playing the piano player. He went on to direct 'In the Bedroom' in 2001 and 'Tar' in 2022. Cait Blanchett is amazing in 'Tar' but 'In the Bedroom' is one of the most powerful family dramas I've ever seen about loss. I hope you guys get to react to it one day. I remember having an argument with a friend over whether or not Alice was secretly at the mansion on the same night as her husband and saw everything that happened. He thought she was there without a question, but not me. In a normal erotic thriller that's exactly the kind of twist they'd be going for. I think it's possible that Kubrick wanted the audience to suspect it, knowing that people would have seen countless erotic thrillers in the 80's and 90's. The thing is... this is definitely not an erotic thriller, but if you watch trailers and commercials from 1999 it was sold that way. Especially when you compare it to actual erotic thrillers from the 80's and 90's like Body Heat and Basic Instinct, or even the crappier ones like Color of Night. I think this movie is more like an extremely dark comedy. A butthurt attractive man wanders off on a sexual odyssey where every time he's about to get laid, something goes wrong. It culminates when he scams his way into a rich sex party where everybody is anonymous and he even screws that up. Comedy. It's entirely possible that Mandy OD'd on her own and it's not like Nick the piano player's body washed up on a riverbank with a knife in his back. Besides, for a movie filled with nudity, it's actually pretty UNsexy. Only rich elites would make a sex party seem so boring with how overly elaborate everything is... but maybe that's just me. With Alice's story about the navy officer, I think she's trying to say that she realized that having an affair would be throwing away her family's future and considered it anyway. With men, it's assumed that they want to stick it in every woman they see, it's even joked about, but they never openly realize what an affair would be throwing away. When she confesses her dream of being with so many men, how would a man behave in that dream? Laughing and having a great time being literally covered in naked women. The next day they'd be telling their friends, "dude you won't believe the amazing dream I had." Yet with Alice, the whole scenario is framed like a nightmare. Bill is less forgiving about Alice's dreams than Alice is about Bill's real life indiscretions. All it took was some weed and an argument for Alice to confess her darkest desires. For Bill, he had to go through a deep dark sexual conspiracy nightmare to finally be reduced to tears and confess his own. Consider Ziegler's behaviour in the film and how Bill doesn't judge him for it. Bill and Alice arrive at the party to be greeted by Ziegler and his wife. After this, we never see Zeigler's wife again and less than 10 minutes later he's with a completely different woman ODing in a bathroom. Bill doesn't tell Alice about this event during their argument because it would completely expose the hypocrisy.
Brandon
2024-12-22 00:17:57 +0000 UTCoh it's much deeper than that.
penoyer79
2024-12-21 21:25:00 +0000 UTCit's safe to say whatever Kubrick was trying to expose with this movie scared the shit out of hollywood executives
penoyer79
2024-12-21 21:18:56 +0000 UTCIndeed, if we start counting non-consecutive shoots, check out the story behind the great Bollywood film Pakeezah!
Henry Graham
2024-12-21 20:01:32 +0000 UTCI'm not sure if any woman in history has ever looked as beautiful as Nicole Kidman in this. I also don't think Tom Cruise has ever made two better films than this and Magnolia, both released in 1999 - two films that fascinatingly played on and subverted his star persona, and I don't think he ever again subjugated his ego and entirely gave himself over to a director's vision in the same way. I first saw this film as a teenager, when I was largely baffled and bored by it, but I what did I know about sex and relationships at the time? Over the subsequent 25 years it has only grown richer and more resonant; parts of it grow clearer while in other areas the mystery deepens. I see it as a truly great film about desire, fantasy and marriage. I attend a repertory screening of it every Christmas, and few films captivate me so completely.
Henry Graham
2024-12-21 19:59:11 +0000 UTCI love this film, and I honestly don't know why. I hated it the first time I saw it, but many watches later it's my favourite Kubrick film. I watch it looking for something, but I don't know what exactly, a little like the way Tom's character walks the New York streets looking for something, and never finding it. This film feels like I'm in a cycle of dreaming someone else's recurring dream. I love how this film makes me feel, even if I don't understand what it is I'm feeling or why. Getting a reaction to Eyes Wide Shut on this channel was like an early Christmas present, so thank you so much for having it on your schedule! You are the only reactors I'd want to watch this film with!
Future Boy
2024-12-21 17:09:31 +0000 UTCThis came out after SK’s death. The shooting was done I think, but not the editing, or at least not all of it. So there is a lot of doubt about whether the end product lines up with his vision, which is a shame.
Eric Gerdts
2024-12-21 16:21:21 +0000 UTCSo, it seems like you guys were struggling with what to take away from the film. That's totally fair. It is by far Kubrick's most complex film. You definitely need to watch this more than once to get a proper appreciation. But one thing that is wonderful about Kubrick's films is how layered they are and how some of them will mean different things to people. However, what he always tries to do is explore and even dissect human nature. You can look at this film two ways and I'm sure by now you've already done your YT and Reddit research. One is the more surface level and what Kubrick is trying say about us as humans. How we all have (hidden) desires, lust, secrets, jealousy. But also how some people choose to blindly ignore what is right in front of our eyes, hence our eyes being wide shut, as was the case with Bill early on. As harsh and awful as his wife's confession was, it might've been necessary to wake him up because he was living in a delusion for far too long. Then there is the possibility that much of it was a dream/fantasy. You picked up on the dialogue, how slow and sensual it was. Just the pace of the movie is very slow, hypnotic, almost dream-like. Maybe everything after the argument is Bill trying to live out his own fantasies. Then we get into the conspiracy side of it, which is not unusual with Kubrick. As others have pointed out, there is a belief out there that what Kubrick was trying to do with this film was expose the elites, especially in Hollywood, and the kind of depravity and debauchery they're into. There is also the insinuation of child trafficking, which is represented in the shop owner's daughter as there's no way he could overtly show that. This is all just speculation of course, as is the supposed 24 minutes that were cut from the film, and the elite having Kubrick killed before he could finish it. I love this kind of stuff but I always take it with a grain of salt. I absolutely love this film because of how unique it is. I watch it at least once every year and always pick up new things. I think you should watch every Kubrick film since he didn't make that many. They're the last of their kind, we'll never have another Kubrick film again, even if someone tries to make one.
Shehab Dawoud
2024-12-21 14:47:56 +0000 UTCAin't no party like a Diddy party!
Shehab Dawoud
2024-12-21 14:22:42 +0000 UTCIt's unfortunate that the US cut of this movie hacked it as much as it did. The European version is more comple and makes more sense and is a much better product in the same way Kingdom of Heaven's director's cut is
Smooticus
2024-12-21 13:17:26 +0000 UTCOne of Cruise's most underrated movies
Odd Thomas
2024-12-21 11:28:48 +0000 UTCYou guys should check out Tom Cruise's movie Vanilla Sky. Even though the story is in no way like this one, it also leaves you with a "what did I just watch" type of vibe...
Nicotti
2024-12-21 09:54:11 +0000 UTCSo which is more Christmas, this movie or Die Hard?
Nicotti
2024-12-21 09:37:50 +0000 UTCI used to feel kind of bad about not liking half of Kubrick's filmography in a way that anyone who claims to love cinema "should." I eventually made peace with the fact a lot of what that guy does is NOT. FOR. ME. Eyes Wide Shut is one of those. There are several made before Dr. Stranglove that are very good, less "Kubrickian" than what came later. I'd recommend The Killing and Paths of Glory.
Paul Cox
2024-12-21 09:28:58 +0000 UTCThe guy that plays Nick Nightingale the pianist is Todd Field who has made a few remarkable movies namely “In the Bedroom” and “Little Children”. Highly recommended.
Daniel N
2024-12-21 07:19:44 +0000 UTCIt did. I meant continuous with no breaks.
Ellie Miller
2024-12-21 06:49:15 +0000 UTCDidn't Boyhood shoot for 12 years?
Kevin Charley
2024-12-21 06:48:37 +0000 UTCOne of the greatest last lines ever. This movie shot for 15 months. It has the record for longest continuous shoot for a single movie in the history of movies. (Please forgive the length of this comment) To me Eyes Wide Shut is really about Nicole Kidman's confession when she was high. I think that's what Kubrick was most interested in. Look how he lights her with that very particular blue light behind her. Back in 1999, the idea of a woman being so tempted by a man she just met that she would leave her husband, I'm sure it has happened with many men and women, but we never really saw that in a movie. Certainly not a big one with Tom Cruise. We rarely saw couples having sex in TV and movies pre-Sopranos (which also came out in 1999). Movies (especially then) often try to be moral examples of how to behave. The lead characters are usually "good" people. Movies want to show that bad people are punished and good people triumph. When clearly, this isn't true in life. People do terrible things everyday and go on with their lives just fine. We all are guilty of justifying some kind of sin we've committed. I think Kubrick is interested in this question: Do you really know everything about your spouse? You may have lived with them for years and years, but do you really know what they're thinking about? Do you know what they fantasize about? They can't possibly tell you every little thing. We like to assume that our spouses (particularly wives) are moral and loyal and love us more than anything. Again, clearly this isn't always true. On a side note, Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman got divorced after this movie came out. Kubrick wants these issues out in the open. Not to assume everything's fine. Not to assume our romantic partner has some kind of perfect purity. And yet, we can still choose to love the other person despite their "sins". Forgiveness is underrated. And lastly, are we liable for our thoughts? They're not actions, but they can do a lot of damage. What about our dreams when we sleep?
Ellie Miller
2024-12-21 06:07:07 +0000 UTC
