Eyes Wide Shut

Marie left for the night so I had quite a few hours to myself. I decided to watch one of the 3-ish hour movies I have on deck. Papillion, the Great Escape, and Eyes Wide Shut. I ended up with the latter because I was in the mood for something dark. And nobody does "dark" better than Kubrick.

It's not a common opinion to hold, but Eyes Wide Shut is my favorite Kubrick film and one of my absolute all time favorite films, period. Ever. In the world.

I bought a Starbucks, waited for dark, and popped in the disc. I have the double-disc Director's cut. It's fucking brilliant.

I saw this in the theatre and it's a film I definitely like to revisit periodically. It blows me away every time. Tonight was no exception. I grow fonder of it with each viewing, same with Taxi Driver.

Tom Cruise is a dude who's ruined his career and credibility with his Scientology nonsense. But when I watched this flick I didn't see Tom Cruise. I saw Dr. Bill. Cruise's idiocy went right out the window (thankfully) and I was instantly absorbed into Kubrick's world. Cruise does a phenomenal job portraying his character, and moreover portraying a Man. I liken it to Bill Murray's performance in Lost in Translation. Those two examples are just amazing representations of a man's psyche. It's an instant connection and self-recognition when you watch both actors in those flicks.

Manliness aside...the score is exceptional. It's beyond creepy. It's beyond tense.

Colors are lush. Editing is great. Definitely some Hitchcockian nods to both. I see some Vertigo in the color for sure. And just general Hitchocockian approach to psychological visual story-telling.

I have the screen-play. Picked it up at a garage sale. I need to read that still.

Anyway, Eyes Wide Shut is a masterpiece of suspense. It's a fucking masterpiece.