Eyes Wide Shut

Summary

“Fidelio.”

Stanley Kubrick has been one of my favorite directors since I was a teenage boy and discovered his works. As I have grown older, his films have only become more appealing to me, and I think that is almost a universal trait amongst cinephiles. Kubrick was one of the most meticulous and visionary directors of the Twentieth Century, spending years (or sometimes decades) to realize the films that he was interested in making. This attention to detail (along with Warner’s unprecedented creative and financial freedom afforded to him) led to Kubrick making some true masterpieces. The final film of Stanley Kubrick, Eyes Wide Shut, was released on July 16, 1999. Stanley had passed away four months earlier on March 7th. The fact that the film was released posthumously, along with some digital manipulation applied to the party scene for the film’s release in the United States, caused the picture to face critical skepticism that it likely would not have faced otherwise. People read into the rumors that this film was not actually completed before Kubrick’s death, or that the finalized version strayed from Kubrick’s intentions. I watched the film late in my teenage years and to be honest it probably went a bit over my head. I watched it again in college and enjoyed it more. Since that viewing, I skipped watching the Blu-ray and waited for what I believed would be an imminent 4K release (especially when we saw so many Kubrick films arrive on 4K in 2021.) Finishing off 2025, Criterion Collection has finally given Eyes Wide Shut a definitive 4K release. My wife and I watched the film in our theater room the other night and we were both blown away – not simply by how beautiful the new Criterion transfer is, but also by how well this film has aged in the quarter century since it was released. The Criterion release features the unedited international cut of the picture and the 4K transfer and color grading was supervised by director of photography Larry Smith.  

The film takes place in New York around Christmas time. Dr. William Harford (Tom Cruise) and his wife Alice (Nicole Kidman) make an attractive couple and have a young daughter named Helena. The couple attend a Christmas party hosted by one of Bill’s patients, Victor Ziegler (Sidney Pollack.) At the party, Bill reconnects with an old friend from medical school named Nick Nightingale (Todd Field) who has abandoned the medical field to play piano professionally. Alice dances with a handsome white-haired Hungarian man who is pretty forward in attempting to seduce her, while Bill is flirting with two models at the party. Bill is taken away from the two models for a medical emergency in Victor’s bathroom. A naked woman named Mandy has overdosed while they were engaged in sex. Bill manages to keep Mandy from passing away and stays with them in the restroom until she is recovered. The next night, Bill and Alice smoke some marijuana and confess their desires they have had for other partners. Alice explains that she had seen a naval officer a few years back and would have willingly gone away from Bill and Helena for a single night with the officer. This shocking admission works its way into Bill’s mind and makes him feel extremely insecure. Bill leaves his home that night to help a client, and his night turns into a journey that finds him declining the advances of a client, interacting with a young prostitute, having doubts about his marriage, and eventually finding his way into a masked ball held by a secret society.

Eyes Wide Shut is a masterpiece. Stanley Kubrick initially wanted to adapt the novel Traumnovelle (“Dream Novel”) by Arthur Schnitzler after working on 2001: A Space Odyssey, but his wife convinced him to push back the project. This led to his pursuit of his abandoned Napoleon project. So, Traumnovelle had been kicking around in Kubrick’s head for roughly thirty years when he was finally able to adapt it. The resulting picture is a fully mature vision of the material. As I stated earlier, I had trouble completely falling into the rhythm of Eyes Wide Shut in my youth, but as an adult (and happily married father) the picture completely clicked for me at 40 years old. Kubrick was racing against the clock to make his films seemingly for his whole life, and he had completed his final cut that he turned into Warner just days before his fatal heart attack. The picture has been claimed by Kubrick’s family to be his favorite. Due to the fact the film was released posthumously, the picture faced critical scrutiny. Critical scrutiny was not unusual for Kubrick’s films. In fact, many of Kubrick’s films had been misunderstood at the time of their release. Over time, each one has come to be understood by critics. Eyes Wide Shut was his one picture that it always felt to me had not properly received reappraisal for what Kubrick had achieved. With Criterion Collection’s gorgeous 4K release, I beleive that Eyes Wide Shut will be reappraised as one of Kubrick’s greatest accomplishments. 

If you have not seen Eyes Wide Shut, I recommend watching it before you read any further in this review.

Like Full Metal Jacket before it recreated Vietnam in England, Eyes Wide Shut was filmed entirely in London aside from some shots filmed by a secondary unit in New York. You read that correctly. That famous shot of Tom Cruise walking down a New York street? Filmed with reverse projection with Tom Cruise on a treadmill. The moments of characters in a fully realized city? Filmed at Sheffield Studios in very large soundstages. For those of us that are not New York natives, the illusion is crafted perfectly. Kubrick was a family man who wanted to sleep at his home each evening and be near his wife and family. He had not made a picture primarily in the United States since 1960’s Spartacus. This fact makes Kubrick’s films that much more impressive.

Like other Kubrick films, the picture is meticulously realized with its own unique visual style. Working with cinematographer Larry Smith, Kubrick crafted a unique way of lighting for Eyes Wide Shut. First off, they used very fast lenses, often shooting near wide open. This causes the characters in the foreground to be detailed with backgrounds slightly softer. This is important because Kubrick insisted on lighting using natural sources, such as Christmas lights and lamps. This gives this film a very unique look, that I believe is absolutely beautiful. It also means that the film has more grain at times, which is another reason why this 4K looks so much better than earlier renditions. The new color grading is exceptional and lines up completely with the original intentions of Kubrick. The naysaying that I have seen online about the color grade comes down to a misunderstanding of the original intentions of the filmmaker based on what had been presented on prior releases. The blue color that radiated through the scenes between Tom and Nicole is most commonly cited as an issue, and I simply think that those who are complaining are wrong. This release looks gorgeous, especially on the largest screen possible.

The script by Kubrick brilliantly adapts the source material for modern times. I am currently reading the novel, and I have been consistently surprised at how closely the film follows the original source material. Kubrick worked on the script for two years with screenwriter Frederic Raphael (1994-1995,) before making his final revisions in 1996 when principal photography began. The picture was filmed from November of 1996 until January of 1998. This is considered to be one of the longest continuous shoots in film history. The film was then edited for nearly fifteen months. The results all show up onscreen.

Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman gave themselves completely to the process. The film’s material would be challenging for any couple to rehearse and act for more than a year, especially considering that the script calls for the plumbing of the darkest aspects of jealousy and lust in a marriage. I imagine this put incredible stress on their marriage which ultimately failed. That said, they are both incredible in the film. It is not hard to believe that Tom Cruise would be found desirable by models, or that Nicole Kidman would be hit on by a charming stranger. These roles called for attractive people, and for natural chemistry. Nicole Kidman had the more challenging role overall, with the role demanding comfortability in her skin to be seen naked but also comfortability dealing with emotionally difficult scenes. She is dynamite in the picture. Tom Cruise is an actor that I have found is often underrated by my friends largely because of his repertoire of Mission: Impossible films. This is completely silly to me because he has proven himself time and again to be completely compelling onscreen in roles for films such as Magnolia, Rain Man, Interview with the Vampire, Jerry Maguire, The Firm, and Vanilla Sky. He is fantastic in this film, digging into the complexities inherent to the role for a completely convincing performance. Sidney Pollack is perfectly cast as Bill’s client Victor. Pollack carries the role well (and was a talented director.) Todd Field (who is also a gifted director) is great in the role of Nick Nightingale. There is a natural quality to his acting in the film. Sky du Mont is memorable in the role of Sandor Szavost who shares a dance and some words with Nicole Kidman. Julienne Davis does well as Mandy, and smaller roles are capably played by Leelee Sobieski, Marie Richardson, Alan Cummings, Vinessa Shaw, and Rade Serbedzija. The score by Jocelyn Pook is incredibly memorable, especially the moments during the party sequence. The prominent Christmas lights and Christmas trees in nearly every scene in the picture also make this film a strong contender for anyone’s list of “Alternative Christmas Films.” It is also worth noting that this release does not suffer from the digital alterations that were made to receive an R rating by the MPAA.

Eyes Wide Shut deserves its moment in the sun. From my perspective, this 4K UHD release by Criterion is a contender for the most important release of the year.

Video

Criterion Collection have provided Eyes Wide Shut with an absolutely gorgeous new HEVC H.265 2160p transfer in native 4K in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio. 

I am going to quote myself from above in case you skipped that part:

“Like other Kubrick films, the picture is meticulously realized with its own unique visual style. Working with cinematographer Larry Smith, Kubrick crafted a unique way of lighting for Eyes Wide Shut. First off, they used very fast lenses, often shooting near wide open. This causes the characters in the foreground to be detailed with backgrounds slightly softer. This is important becuase Kubrick insisted on lighting using natural sources, such as Christmas lights and lamps. This gives this film a very unique look, that I believe is absolutely beautiful. It also means that the film has more grain at times, which is another reason why this 4K looks so much better than earlier renditions. The new color grading is exceptional and lines up completely with the original intentions of Kubrick. The naysaying that I have seen online about the color grade comes down to a misunderstanding of the original intentions of the filmmaker based on what had been presented on prior releases. The blue color that radiated through the scenes between Tom and Nicole is most commonly cited as an issue, and I simply think that those who are complaining are wrong. This release looks gorgeous, especially on the largest screen possible.”

This is a huge leap from the Blu-ray released by Warner and presents the film as close to Kubrick’s original vision as we are likely to ever see. Clarity is exceptional and the film material seems to have been in immaculate shape. The new 4K presentation of the International Cut is the very best that this film can look until a new format arrives. This is my favorite 4K UHD transfer of an archival release of this year. The film looks absolutely gorgeous.

Audio

Criterion have provided a DTS-HD MA 5.1 track for the film. The track is very well balanced and does well to highlight the memorable score by Jocelyn Pook and a memorable moment featuring a Chris Isaac song. Everything sounds great.

Supplements

• The 4K presentation is presented on a 4K disc by itself. The 1080p disc is also included on a disc by itself. The special features are on a separate Blu-ray disc.
• Featured on the included Special Features Blu-ray:
• New interviews with Smith, set decorator and second-unit director Lisa Leone, and archivist Georgina Orgill
• Archival interview with Christiane Kubrick, director Stanley Kubrick’s wife
• Never Just a Dream (2019), featuring interviews with producer Jan Harlan; Katharina Kubrick, Stanley Kubrick’s daughter; and Anthony Frewin, Kubrick’s personal assistant
• Lost Kubrick: The Unfinished Films of Stanley Kubrick(2007)
• Kubrick Remembered (2014), featuring interviews with actors Todd Field and Leelee Sobieski and filmmaker Steven Spielberg
• Kubrick’s 1998 acceptance speech for the Directors Guild of America’s D. W. Griffith Award
• Press conference from 1999, featuring Harlan and actors Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman
• Teaser, trailer, and promos
• The booklet features an essay by author Megan Abbott and a 1999 interview with filmmaker and actor Sydney Pollack

Overall Scores:

Video – 5/5 

Audio – 5/5

Supplements – 5/5

Overall – 5/5

Eyes Wide Shut is arguably Kubrick’s most misunderstood film. Due to its posthumous release, and some minor digital alterations made to the theatrical cut, the film was met with mixed critical reception. While all of Kubrick’s earlier masterpieces (many of which met with mixed critical reception) have gained classic status since their release, Eyes Wide Shut felt like an odd outlier to his oeuvre. I enjoyed the film when I rewatched it in college, but it did not have nearly the impact of watching the picture again this week on Criterion Collection’s absolutely gorgeous 4K transfer. My wife and I were blown away by the picture and have been talking about it nearly every day since viewing it. The film is a surprisingly faithful adaptation of Arthur Schnitzler’s novel Traumnovelle that Kubrick had aimed to adapt for thirty years. The acting is exceptional and the film is just beautiful to look at. This release may be the release of the year and earns our absolute highest recommendation boasting a perfect score in all areas. Buy it!