I was channel surfing and HBO was playing this movie for millionth time, and I thought, “Who is watching this movie so much that they need to replay it every week?” It truly is an awful picture; even die-hard fans of Tom and Nicole seem to think so. Stanley Kubrick may have been a brilliant director, but it’s too bad this was his final film. Thoughts?
Great movie. I caught parts of it tonight, too, and I’m glad I did; I have the UK DVD and my present DVD player is Region 1 only.
Thoughts? Well, I think in thirty years it will be as highly regarded as A Clockwork Orange is now.
I didn’t think it was all the great… but it’s hard to argue with anything that has Nicole Kidman in it (especially if she’s out of her clothing!
)…
The only part of Eyes Wide Shut that I liked at ALL, and actually I liked it quite a bit, was Alan Cumming’s scene with Tom Cruise.
He was the marvelously flirty desk clerk at the hotel.
That movie was absolutely dreadful, IMO, except for this hypnotic little scene. I heart Alan Cumming.
Though I gave my EWS DVD away, I didn’t hate it. It was food for thought for a while afterward, and that’s more than I can say about a lot of movies I’ve seen lately.
If it was the only thing to watch on TV, I’d watch it. But I wouldn’t go out of my way to see it.
And the desk clerk reminded me of Pee Wee Herman.
Hear, hear to that. I thought it was brilliant and I think it will eventually recognized as such. I did not think it was particularly enjoyable. Watching it verges on the tensely unpleasant. But it was highly original, had a lot to say and was extraordinarily well shot and acted.
I’d like to be on record with this so that when it is recognised as a masterpiece I can say I told you so. (and if it isn’t, no one’s going to remember I ever said this, hee, hee).
What a horrible movie.
Who would think that Kubrick + Sex + Naked Kidman + Rated X = Boring?
Never seen it but my wife did not appreciate it at all.
There.
Have Alan Cumming fans ever been made aware of his earliest incarnation as half of the torchsong couple Victor and Barry, a popular comedy act around Glasgow and Edinbuirgh some ten years ago, or more?
He was Barry, I think. Highly amusing. And note the “Glasgow”. HE’S OURS. WE OWN HIM! AND ALL THE SUBSIDIARY RIGHTS!
It was a dang good movie, and what I’m saying has nothing to do with the nudity or sex. Very Kubrickisque, maybe it’s an acquired taste.
I don’t normally like Tom Cruise but he was good in this movie, maybe his best role. Kidman does nothing for me, but Kubrick made a lot of people uncomfortable because they were married and a lot of people found their sex scenes together weird, at least that’s what I read.
People looking for Spielberg movie or XXX, etc. will be disappointed.
Incredibly dull.
I was pretty disappointed. I think the whole movie could be summarised as follows : weird shit does happen.
Tom and Nicky were unconvincing as parents, part-time stoners and even as a couple. It had all the tension of a piece of old pantie elastic, i think the most menacing part may have been the soundtrack. But it was an interesting , somewhat original concept at least.
Weeeelll - odd you should bring this up. I just mentioned my totally odd reaction to this movie in another thread. I didn’t love it, didn’t hate it - but I did entirely lose my sense of time. Normally, movies are built-in clocks - even if you have no sense of time normally, you’ll have one during a movie, because you know roughly how long each part will take. You know where you are, so you know what time it is.
In EWS, I thought we were still in the first 15 minutes, and then the LO poked me and said “We’ve been in here an hour and a half!” Only movie that’s ever done that to me.
And it was mildly thought-provoking. Though unintentionally hilarious in parts.
My conclusion? Not a turkey, not a classic. I loved the look and feel of the movie, but - oh, how I wish they’d cast a different actor. IMHO, this was way more than Cruise could handle - he looked like he’d been replaced by a cardboard cutout most of the time - and he was on screen way too much.
Oh, and one thing that continues to bother me about the movie: Cruise flashing his - what, AMA membership card? - everywhere he went, like it was a cop ID or something. What was up with that?
When I saw it in the theater, I had no comment other than, “huh.” When a friend rented it on video, I mentioned, “Such a strange but somewhat interesting movie.” When yet another friend rented it I still went over to watch it.
I would never call this movie “good,” but somehow I feel I should. I am always prone to watching it.
The story sucked. The direction and cinematography were excellent.
But I’m sorry - I can’t ever enjoy a movie in which the lead character makes one stupid decision after another. I’d rather have a tooth pulled.
Yes! Thank you, bughunter, that’s part of what I was trying to say. (Along with the weird script things - like the AMA card or whatever it was.)
Btw, did anyone else think that Cruise had more chemistry with the the piano player than he did with Kidman? I, myself, would’ve found it much more believable if the first two had been a couple.
I liked seeing a lot of kidman nipple.
My husband and I liked it a lot. We’ve only seen it once, in the theatre. At the time, we predicted that a lot of people wouldn’t like it. I think people were expecting non-stop sex and nudity, and when it didn’t happen, they felt cheated out of something.
Then again, that’s just MHO.
Biggest build up to absolutily nothing this side of Eye Of The Beholder.
Like The Ninth Gate, this movie is all pretension, with no soul. Tom Cruise’s character is a dumbass, and I didn’t buy the whole conspiracy thing for a minute.
*I did not like Eyes Wide Shut.
I did not like Tom Cruise the slut.
I would not watch it with Chandler Bing
I could not stand that piano TING!
I did not like the golden mask
Watching this crap was a daunting task.
Not watching it drunk, nor for free,
Don’t try and pay me, just let me be!
I did not like Eyes Wide Shut.
I’d rather eat at Pizza Hut.**
*I’m talking about an anchovy and onion pizza here, yo.
I enjoyed it
but then again you should remember that when “A Clockwork Orange” came out in 1971 it was hated by everybody and is now revered as a classis - IMHO I expect that Eyes Wide Shut will take a similar course.
Tyklfe
sorry make that classic