Outstanding movies are not always easy to explain. The same counts for Eyes Wide Shut, a movie of 1999, made by the legendary director Stanley Kubrick (July 26th 1928 - March 8th 1999).

Eyes Wide Shut tells the story about a married couple from which the wife is starting to feel sexually bored. After her confession towards her husband the story evolves into a web of doubt, desire, guilt, lust, self-discovery and acceptation. The whole is being complemented by superb images, imposing music and first-rate actors.

Despite all delivered quality Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut has been slightly underrated. When Stanley Kubrick is being mentioned automatically people remember Spartacus, Dr. Strangelove, 2001: A Space Odyssey and A Clockwork Orange. It's true one by one excellent movies with a certain cultlevel. Eyes Wide Shut however deserve to be mentioned also. Furthermore the announcement of the Oscarnominations in the accompaning year is an perfect example how Eyes Wide Shut has been sold sort. By everyone's surprise the so called movie-experts made themselves entirely ridiculous thanks to their incomprehensible attitude against Eyes Wide Shut. The movie was being fully ignored. I may hope that those "experts" have admitted their foolish mistake and regret their blindness. If not one has to ask if the famous Oscarstatue is still an symbol that stands for artistic quality.

Enough about artistic misjudgment. Eyes Wide Shut is beautiful, compelling and luminous. More I do not want to discuss. Just watch.

- September 2003 -

Dr. William Harford .... Tom Cruise
Alice Harford .... Nicole Kidman
Victor Ziegler .... Sydney Pollack

Written by: Stanley Kubrick, Frederic Raphael
after the novel 'Traumnovelle' of Arthur Schnitzler
Produced and directed by: Stanley Kubrick

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