Eyes Wide Shut 1999
7.5 / 10
Eyes Wide Shut
After Dr. Bill Harford's wife, Alice, admits to having sexual fantasies about a man she met, Bill becomes obsessed with having a sexual encounter. He discovers an underground sexual group and attends one of their meetings -- and quickly discovers that he is in over his head.
After Dr. Bill Harford's wife, Alice, admits to having sexual fantasies about a man she met, Bill becomes obsessed with having a sexual encounter. He discovers an underground sexual group and attends one of their meetings -- and quickly discovers that he is in over his head.
Videos & Photos
All 3 Videos & 50 Photos
cast
Full Cast & Crew
... Dr. William Harford
... Alice Harford
... Victor Ziegler
... Marion Nathanson
... Milich
... Nick Nightingale
User reviews
See All 1 Reviews31 Aug 2022 by Filipe Manuel Neto
**It doesn't matter if it's Stanley Kubrick's best or worst. It's a movie that makes you think.** Stanley Kubrick is one of those filmmakers who didn't make a lot of films. Over the course of his forty-year career, he only made thirteen feature films. Very little... However, if we look closely, almost all of them are familiar and immediately entered the pantheon of cinema. They are not perfect films, nor was Kubrick perfect no matter how methodical he was, and there are films of his that are unpalatable (I've already written that in some of them). But each of them, for its reasons, is its own, a very different work. In this film, he makes a case study around desire, sexuality and how we, individually or as a couple, deal with it. The script follows a doctor and his wife. An apparently happy couple who, after a party where they both flirted with other people (without consequences), have a fight where she, perhaps to take away his self-confidence, confesses that she wanted to have another man, some time ago. The revelation leaves the doctor speechless. That night, he doesn't seem to know what he wants: he desires other women, but refuses their advances. But when a pianist friend tells him about a strange party, full of beauties, where he has to play blindfolded, he wants to see it up close. Yes, the party was a gigantic chic orgy, with touches of unholy religious ritual to accentuate the sense of sin and lust. Of course, the unwary guy ends up being discovered and unmasked… and from there, the film becomes denser, with the character increasingly afraid of what might happen to him. The film makes us think a lot about sexuality, monogamy, the importance we give to marital fidelity. I don't know what it was like in 1999, but today it's common to see couples in open relationships, or relatively discreet saunas and swing clubs that throw liberal parties with some regularity. There is still a universe apart – private parties, organized by social networks and for guests only – and it is true that the rich and famous are much more demanding with the reservation of their intimacy, especially when they do naughty things. But what the film proposes to us is, not so much the refusal of monogamy, but that we think about the way we give up all other sexual partners when we really fall in love. The notion of personal sacrifice runs through the entire film (a woman who gives up an erotic fantasy for love, another who proposes to die in order to save an innocent, a man who refuses sex because he is married) and indicates that the best bonds we create in life involve choices and sacrifices in exchange for something greater. In fact, to be happy in a marriage, you need to keep your eyes wide shut to temptations. With a very good and well written story, the film develops the characters very well and allows us to get to know them. For that, the film doesn't mind taking a slower pace that can leave some audiences exasperated. Decisive was the choice of Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman for the main roles. At the time, they were Hollywood's pretty couple, and there's no doubt that Kubrick knew how to exploit their enormous personal and intimate chemistry, transporting it to the characters and the film. In fact, this may not be Kubrick's best film (that's relative!) but, for me, it's Cruise's best film so far. Technically, the film has many positives. Kubrick gave an almost maniacal attention to detail and took his time filming. And we can see how each scene was shot in a detailed way, with the camera moving precisely, cuts surgically made, very long and very well edited scenes, taking advantage of the excellent cinematography and sets (where, of course, the mansion of the party stands out). Even more important is the way the director was able to work with the environment and the tension, growing and almost palpable. There is a lot of nudity in this film, including frontal nudity (Kidman herself did scenes where she is practically naked) and some sex scenes that, if not explicit, are very visual. Even so, the film is not, surprisingly, very erotic. I think the director didn't want sex to distract us or cut that tension he was looking for. As for the sound and soundtrack, I think it does its job well, but I didn't find it particularly remarkable.
Release Date:
Jul 16, 1999 (United Kingdom,United States)
Run Time:
2hr 39`
MMPA Rating:
R
Original Language:
English
Production Countries:
United Kingdom,United States
Status:
Released
Plot Keywords:
Related Movies To
Eyes Wide Shut
**It doesn't matter if it's Stanley Kubrick's best or worst. It's a movie that makes you think.** Stanley Kubrick is one of those filmmakers who didn't make a lot of films. Over the course of his forty-year career, he only made thirteen feature films. Very little... However, if we look closely, almost all of them are familiar and immediately entered the pantheon of cinema. They are not perfect films, nor was Kubrick perfect no matter how methodical he was, and there are films of his that are unpalatable (I've already written that in some of them). But each of them, for its reasons, is its own, a very different work. In this film, he makes a case study around desire, sexuality and how we, individually or as a couple, deal with it. The script follows a doctor and his wife. An apparently happy couple who, after a party where they both flirted with other people (without consequences), have a fight where she, perhaps to take away his self-confidence, confesses that she wanted to have another man, some time ago. The revelation leaves the doctor speechless. That night, he doesn't seem to know what he wants: he desires other women, but refuses their advances. But when a pianist friend tells him about a strange party, full of beauties, where he has to play blindfolded, he wants to see it up close. Yes, the party was a gigantic chic orgy, with touches of unholy religious ritual to accentuate the sense of sin and lust. Of course, the unwary guy ends up being discovered and unmasked… and from there, the film becomes denser, with the character increasingly afraid of what might happen to him. The film makes us think a lot about sexuality, monogamy, the importance we give to marital fidelity. I don't know what it was like in 1999, but today it's common to see couples in open relationships, or relatively discreet saunas and swing clubs that throw liberal parties with some regularity. There is still a universe apart – private parties, organized by social networks and for guests only – and it is true that the rich and famous are much more demanding with the reservation of their intimacy, especially when they do naughty things. But what the film proposes to us is, not so much the refusal of monogamy, but that we think about the way we give up all other sexual partners when we really fall in love. The notion of personal sacrifice runs through the entire film (a woman who gives up an erotic fantasy for love, another who proposes to die in order to save an innocent, a man who refuses sex because he is married) and indicates that the best bonds we create in life involve choices and sacrifices in exchange for something greater. In fact, to be happy in a marriage, you need to keep your eyes wide shut to temptations. With a very good and well written story, the film develops the characters very well and allows us to get to know them. For that, the film doesn't mind taking a slower pace that can leave some audiences exasperated. Decisive was the choice of Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman for the main roles. At the time, they were Hollywood's pretty couple, and there's no doubt that Kubrick knew how to exploit their enormous personal and intimate chemistry, transporting it to the characters and the film. In fact, this may not be Kubrick's best film (that's relative!) but, for me, it's Cruise's best film so far. Technically, the film has many positives. Kubrick gave an almost maniacal attention to detail and took his time filming. And we can see how each scene was shot in a detailed way, with the camera moving precisely, cuts surgically made, very long and very well edited scenes, taking advantage of the excellent cinematography and sets (where, of course, the mansion of the party stands out). Even more important is the way the director was able to work with the environment and the tension, growing and almost palpable. There is a lot of nudity in this film, including frontal nudity (Kidman herself did scenes where she is practically naked) and some sex scenes that, if not explicit, are very visual. Even so, the film is not, surprisingly, very erotic. I think the director didn't want sex to distract us or cut that tension he was looking for. As for the sound and soundtrack, I think it does its job well, but I didn't find it particularly remarkable.
Cast & Crew of
Eyes Wide Shut
Directors & Credit Writers
Cast
... Dr. William Harford
... Alice Harford
... Victor Ziegler
... Marion Nathanson
... Milich
... Nick Nightingale
... Domino
... Desk Clerk
... Sandor Szavost
... Sally
... Milich's Daughter
... Carl
... Helena Harford
... Roz
... Illona
... Bandleader
... Ziegler's Secretary
LJT
Louise J. Taylor... Gayle
... Nuala
RP
Randall Paul... Harris
Produced By
BWC
Brian W. Cook... Producer
TH
Tobin Hughes... Location Assistant
RH
Rachel Hunt... Production Secretary
Videos & Photos of
Eyes Wide Shut
Videos ( 3)
Photos ( 50 )
Related Movies To
Eyes Wide Shut
Moana 2 (2024)
0 /10
After receiving an unexpected call from her wayfinding ancestors, Moana journeys alongside Maui and a new crew to the far seas of Oceania and into dangerous, long-lost waters for an adventure unlike anything she's ever faced.
Run Time: 1hr 40` . MMPA: PG . Release: 21 Nov 2024
Director: Jason Hand , Dana Ledoux Miller , David G. Derrick Jr.
Producer: Jared Bush , Christina Chen , Jennifer Lee
Stars: Auli'i Cravalho , Dwayne Johnson , Alan Tudyk , Temuera Morrison , Rachel House , Nicole Scherzinger
Kraven the Hunter (2024)
0 /10
Kraven Kravinoff's complex relationship with his ruthless gangster father, Nikolai, starts him down a path of vengeance with brutal consequences, motivating him to become not only the greatest hunter in the world, but also one of its most feared.
Run Time: 2hr 7` . MMPA: R . Release: 11 Dec 2024
Director: Helena Henry , Martina Vazzoler , Andrea Trigo
Producer: Raylin Sabo , Palak Patel , Tinna Aðalbjörnsdóttir
Stars: Aaron Taylor-Johnson , Russell Crowe , Ariana DeBose , Fred Hechinger , Alessandro Nivola , Christopher Abbott
Alarum (2025)
0 /10
Two married spies caught in the crosshairs of an international intelligence network will stop at nothing to obtain a critical asset. Joe and Lara are agents living off the grid whose quiet retreat at a winter resort is blown to shreds when members of the old guard suspect the two may have joined an elite team of rogue spies, known as Alarum.
Run Time: 1hr 35` . MMPA: R . Release: 16 Jan 2025
Director: Michael Polish
Producer: Gwen Osborne , Joel Cohen , Luke Taylor
Stars: Sylvester Stallone , Scott Eastwood , La Monde Byrd , Willa Fitzgerald , Beau Bommarito , Mike Colter
Sniper: The Last Stand (2025)
0 /10
To stop an arms dealer from unleashing a deadly superweapon, Ace sniper Brandon Beckett and Agent Zero are deployed to Costa Verde to lead a group of elite soldiers against an unrelenting militia. Taking an untested sniper under his wing, Beckett faces his newest challenge: giving orders instead of receiving them. With both time and ammo running low in a race to save humanity, the team must overcome all odds just to survive.
Run Time: 1hr 39` . MMPA: R . Release: 21 Jan 2025
Director: Ria van Heerden , Ashley Aldworth , Alwyn van den Heever
Producer: Sophie Vandewalle , Darren Cameron , Mario Jansen
Stars: Chad Michael Collins , Ryan Robbins , Manuel Rodriguez-Saenz , Arnold Vosloo , Scott George , Sharon Taylor
Werewolves (2024)
0 /10
A year after a supermoon’s light activated a dormant gene, transforming humans into bloodthirsty werewolves and causing nearly a billion deaths, the nightmare resurfaces as the supermoon rises again. Two scientists attempt to stop the mutation but fail and must now struggle to reach one of their family homes.
Run Time: 1hr 34` . MMPA: R . Release: 04 Dec 2024
Director: Steven C. Miller
Producer: Amanda Kiely , Craig Chapman , Sevier Crespo
Stars: Frank Grillo , Katrina Law , Ilfenesh Hadera , Sam Daly , James Kyson , Lou Diamond Phillips
Gladiator II (2024)
0 /10
Years after witnessing the death of the revered hero Maximus at the hands of his uncle, Lucius is forced to enter the Colosseum after his home is conquered by the tyrannical Emperors who now lead Rome with an iron fist. With rage in his heart and the future of the Empire at stake, Lucius must look to his past to find strength and honor to return the glory of Rome to its people.
Run Time: 2hr 28` . MMPA: R / PG-13 . Release: 05 Nov 2024
Director: Kieron Walshe , Callum Dawson , Krishan Sharda
Producer: Malcolm Ellul , Kate Rhodes James , Hamid Ait Timaghrit
Stars: Paul Mescal , Fred Hechinger , Denzel Washington , Connie Nielsen , Joseph Quinn , Pedro Pascal
Anora (2024)
0 /10
A young sex worker from Brooklyn gets her chance at a Cinderella story when she meets and impulsively marries the son of an oligarch. Once the news reaches Russia, her fairytale is threatened as his parents set out to get the marriage annulled.
Run Time: 2hr 19` . MMPA: R . Release: 14 Oct 2024
Director: Stephen Coleman , Albert Rudnitsky , Sofía Blanco
Producer: Patricia Beaury , Ken Meyer , Adriana Alpizar
Stars: Ivy Wolk , Mikey Madison , Mark Eydelstein , Yuriy Borisov , Karren Karagulian , Vache Tovmasyan
Den of Thieves 2: Pantera (2025)
0 /10
Big Nick is back on the hunt in Europe and closing in on Donnie, who is embroiled in the treacherous and unpredictable world of diamond thieves and the infamous Panther mafia, as they plot a massive heist of the world's largest diamond exchange.
Run Time: 2hr 24` . MMPA: R . Release: 08 Jan 2025
Director: Christian Gudegast
Producer: Meadow Williams , 50 Cent , Mark Canton
Stars: Gerard Butler , O'Shea Jackson Jr. , Meadow Williams , Swen Temmel , Jordan Bridges , Michael Bisping
Elevation (2024)
0 /10
A single father and two women venture from the safety of their homes to face monstrous creatures to save the life of a young boy.
Run Time: 1hr 31` . MMPA: R . Release: 07 Nov 2024
Director: George Nolfi
Producer: Kenny Ryan , Joel Viertel , Warren T. Goz
Stars: Anthony Mackie , Morena Baccarin , Maddie Hasson , Danny Boyd Jr. , Rachel Nicks , Shauna Earp
Babygirl (2024)
0 /10
A high-powered CEO puts her career and family on the line when she begins a torrid affair with her much younger intern.
Run Time: 1hr 55` . MMPA: R . Release: 25 Dec 2024
Director: Christopher Swartout , Pam Giangreco , Kera Dacy
Producer: Nick Noyes , Zach Nutman , Michele Baker
Stars: Nicole Kidman , Harris Dickinson , Antonio Banderas , Jude Law , Sophie Wilde , Jean Reno
Aftermath (2024)
0 /10
A returning war veteran, stricken with PTSD, gets trapped with his teenage sister on Boston's Tobin Memorial Bridge when a heavily armed group of ex-military revolutionaries take everyone hostage.
Run Time: 1hr 35` . MMPA: R . Release: 27 Sep 2024
Director: Patrick Lussier
Producer: Nathan Graham Davis , Brian Pitt , Timothy C. Sullivan
Stars: Mason Gooding , Dylan Sprouse , Dichen Lachman , Megan Stott , Kevin Chapman , Will Lyman
Wicked (2024)
0 /10
In the land of Oz, ostracized and misunderstood green-skinned Elphaba is forced to share a room with the popular aristocrat Glinda at Shiz University, and the two's unlikely friendship is tested as they begin to fulfill their respective destinies as Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.
Run Time: 2hr 42` . MMPA: PG . Release: 20 Nov 2024
Director: Lisa Vick , Jon M. Chu
Producer: Abigail Perry , Stephen Schwartz , Tiffany Little Canfield
Stars: Cynthia Erivo , Ariana Grande , Jonathan Bailey , Jeff Goldblum , Michelle Yeoh , Ethan Slater