All in all, much like many of Mr. Kubrick's other films, this is not the kind of movie that can be fully digested in one sitting.
Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:117
Fresh:91
Rotten:26
Average Rating:7.3/10
Consensus: Kubrick's intense study of the human psyche yields an impressive cinematic work.
Runtime: 2 hrs 59 mins 42 secs
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: Stanley Kubrick's final film is a mature, highly intelligent, thrilling masterpiece of sexual obsession and marital (in)fidelity. Tom Cruise stars as Bill Harford, a doctor who becomes obsessed... Stanley Kubrick's final film is a mature, highly intelligent, thrilling masterpiece of sexual obsession and marital (in)fidelity. Tom Cruise stars as Bill Harford, a doctor who becomes obsessed with a sexual fantasy that his wife, Alice (Nicole Kidman), confesses to him. Although the fantasy (involving a naval officer) occurred only in Alice's mind, Bill can't get it out of his own head; his obsession leads him through a series of potential sexual encounters, each one surrounded by the specter of death. His whole world threatens to unravel as he falls deeper and deeper into a web of mystery, lies, and deceit. Kubrick's film breathes with vivid blues, reds, and blacks, the threat of illicit sex and death lurking around every corner. Cruise and Kidman, who are married in real life, are utterly convincing as a happy couple suddenly forced to reexamine their faith in each other. Sidney Pollack, Todd Field, Julienne Davis, Marie Richardson, and Vinessa Shaw sparkle in minor roles. Based on the novella TRAUMNOVELLE by Arthur Schnitzler, EYES WIDE SHUT is a brilliant examination of the psychological nature of sex and marriage, of faith and faithlessness, of obsession and desire. Kubrick said that his last film (he died shortly before the film opened) was "my best film ever;" while that is debatable, there is no doubting that the film is a splendid finale to a glorious career. [More]
Starring: Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Sydney Pollack, Todd Field
Starring: Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Sydney Pollack, Todd Field, Rade Serbedzija, Leelee Sobieski, Vinessa Shaw
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Screenwriter: Stanley Kubrick, Fredrick Raphael
Producer: Stanley Kubrick
Composer: Gyorgy Ligeti, Franz Liszt, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Dmitri Shostakovich
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Reviews for Eyes Wide Shut
[O]ne of the best things about Eyes Wide Shut... is that it isn't a film of the 90s in most respects but something closer to what movies at their best used to be.
The coda to Kubrick's career has some delightfully Kubrickian moments, but not enough to fill this shallow shell of a movie.
It's grandly surreal stuff, counterweighted with Kubrick's unerring sense of chiaroscuro.
There are some surprising problems with the film but it is not without its moments of delight.
In a way, Kubrick is like Dante. He is the guide on a journey through one particular circle of Hell, but he safely brings us back to where we started.
[I]t's a tedious, preposterous story about how men use, misuse, and misunderstand female sexuality.
Kubrick, Cruise, and Kidman's end is to create a probing and painfully real examination of a marriage, relationships in general, and basic human desire and nature.
A failed effort from that great director, a movie that has lots of admirable technical elements and performances, yet not enough conviction to make it fully stir the loins or the brain.
This valedictory production is a victory for its maker's unending quest to make his reach exceed his grasp.
Eyes Wide Shut turns into a series of haphazard revelations that come to very little.
It's the most brilliant, most glamorous, yet subtlest movie about sexual desire and sexual jealousy.
The elegance and spontaneity dazzle and enliven, and the flattening out of space and emotion guarantee the film as a provocation to the Hollywood game and a statement of its maker's independence.
It's a powerful movie without always, or often, being a very good one; watching it is a bit like being inside the twistings and conniptions of a control freak who longs to lose control, only to pull back tighter than ever.
Brilliantly illuminates his strengths as a filmmaker while also spotlighting his shortcomings.
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| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 66% 66% | Public Enemies |
| 83% 83% | Harry Potter and the H… |
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| 75% 75% | Julie & Julia |
| 32% 32% | Terminator Salvation |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 90% 90% | District 9 |
| 86% 86% | 500 Days of Summer |
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| 78% 78% | It Might Get Loud |
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