Eyes Wide Shut and 9/11

[David Guyatt]

I think very few people have viewed his last film...it is a bit obscure and a 'disappointment' for anyone hoping to see a continuation or even something along the lines of 2001 - or any of his earlier films.

Plenty of people saw the film on original release; the casting of Cruise/Kidman and the director's untimely death created a huge amount of publicity, it also has a significant following both within and outside the wider Kubrick 'fanbase'. As to where it sits alongside the rest of his work; themes of dehumanization, mind control and the abuse of power by ruling elites are common in his works from Paths of Glory onwards. Even something like Barry Lyndon (ostensibly a costume drama) is really the story of a lower-class upstart who pays the price for attempted social mobility. Also, something that often gets overlooked with Eyes Wide Shut in this kind of analysis, are it's literary roots in Arthur Schnitzler's novella Traumnovelle which, despite being set in 19th century Vienna, the film is a fairly faithful adaptation of. So the themes and symbols are not entirely Kubrick's own anyway.

I have read that he had an iron clad contract with Warner Bros for full editorial control over EWS, and that Warner's had agreed not to edit or change it one iota under that contract. According to the piece I read, once he was dead this contract ended and Warner removed some unidentified scenes.

I don't know if this is some BS conspiracy theory put out or if it has some truth to it.

Kubrick had final cut on all of his films with Warner Brothers, so it was nothing unusual. In the case of Eyes Wide Shut, some of the shots during the orgy sequence were digitally obscured for the original U.S release (simply to avoid a commercially damaging NC-17 rating), this version is no longer the one in circulation and was never released internationally.

Thanks for clearing that up Mathew. I have watched Eyes Wide Shut multiple times and still find it one of the most fascinating films around, and one that tells an important story on many levels.