Eyes Wide Shut 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.0

Eyes Wide Shut 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 31, 2025

Stanley Kubrick's "Eyes Wide Shut" (1999) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the release include new program with director of photography Larry Smith; archival material with Stanley Kubrick; new program with archivist Georgina Orgill; archival documentaries and interviews; vintage promotional materials; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

The similarities between Stanley Kubrick and Henri-Georges Clouzot’s final films, both transgressive cinematic mosaics, are striking, and it is not unreasonable to speculate that they exist for the same reason. Eyes Wide Shut and Woman in Chains materialized very late in the lives of their creators, long after a potential backlash could have done serious damage to their public images and legacies.

In both films, a seemingly ordinary character is forced out of a repetitive cycle of existence and drawn into a risque environment, dominated by twisted minds capable of bending it in unusual ways. In Eyes Wide Shut, a very successful male doctor (Tom Cruise) discovers that his wife (Nicole Kidman) has been carefully shielding an intense dream about a secret rendezvous that instantly dents their relationship, and, while reexamining his role in it, he accidentally enters a private event organized by what appears to be a cryptic society of perverts. The doctor is temporarily able to blend in because all attendees wear large black gowns and masks. In Woman in Chains, a young female model visits the chic apartment of a prominent artist and gallery owner, and, while exploring his collection, she discovers that he is also an experienced photographer obsessed with various fetishes. Instead of immediately walking away, however, the model begins a most unusual romantic relationship with him and supercharges his creativity.

For obvious reasons, Eyes Wide Shut is able to show more, all of it concentrated at the private event that the doctor enters, but it is not the more transgressive of the two films. In fact, despite being completed by Kubrick several decades later, Eyes Wide Shut is unquestionably the more dated of the two films, attempting to create lasting ripple effects with somewhat explicit footage that lacks any genuine shock value. Additionally, the transgressive in Eyes Wide Shut and Woman in Chains has vastly different purposes. In Eyes Wide Shut, it shrinks the doctor’s risque environment and evaporates all signs of life from it, making it impossible not to see the unfolding events as staged, mostly pretentious theater that only the pseudo-intellectual mind would appreciate. In Woman in Chains, the transgressive opens a clear path from the photographer’s alternate reality to the real world, and his obsession is gradually humanized.

Eyes Wide Shut could have been an unforgettable mind-bending trip, similar to the ones many of David Lynch’s films become after their characters enter a deep rabbit hole where nothing is what it seems. Some of the required visuals for that kind of film are present. Unfortunately, Kidman and especially Sidney Pollack’s performances guarantee that such a transformation never occurs, and Cruise is not dominant enough to demand it. Also, while a great visual stylist, here, except for the portion of the ritual where the Romanian chant is heard, Kubrick struggles to create mesmerizing moving pieces that all mind-bending trips require.

*Criterion’s 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray releases present an exclusive new 4K restoration of Eyes Wide Shut, sourced from the original camera negative, which has been supervised and approved by director of photography Larry Smith.

Eyes Wide Shut 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Criterion's release of Eyes Wide Shut is a 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. The 4K Blu-ray is Region-Free. However, the Blu-ray is Region-A "locked". Please note that some of the screencaptures included with this article are taken from the 4K Blu-ray and downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray disc.

Screencaptures #1-32 are taken from Blu-ray.
Screencaptures #34-40 are taken from the 4K Blu-ray.

The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this release:

"Supervised and approved by director of photography Larry Smith, this new 4K restoration of the international cut of the international cut of the film was created from the 35mm original camera negative. A 35mm print provided by Warner Bros. was used as a color reference. The original theatrical 5.1 surround soundtrack was remastered from the 35mm magnetic track.

Mastering supervisors: Lee Kline, Giles Sherwood.
Colorist: Greg Fisher, Company 3, London.
Image restoration: Resillion, New York.
Audio restoration: The Criterion Collection."

In native 4K, the 4K restoration of Eyes Wide Shut can be viewed with Dolby Vision and HDR grades. I chose to view it with Dolby Vision. I also viewed the 4K restoration, in its entirety, in 1080p on the Blu-ray.

The new 4K restoration of Eyes Wide Shut is quite frustrating. It produces visuals that are significantly sharper, better detailed, and healthier than the ones seen on this Blu-ray release, prepared by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment in 2007. The density levels of the restored visuals are vastly better as well. Unfortunately, the entire film has been regraded, and while select parts of it can still look somewhat decent, there are obvious, unmissable anomalies that anyone who has had previous experience with it would instantly recognize. For example, there is an obvious shift toward a cooler overall temperature introduced by a light to moderate tealing, affecting primaries and supporting nuances in different ways. The most prominent and distracting changes affect primary blue and create glowing teal/turquoise spots. They are much more intense on this 4K restoration, but a similar problematic digital shift can also be seen on the recent 4K restoration of The Usual Suspects. The shift also destabilizes facial tones and textures, as seen here, and even wider dark outdoor footage with unique nuances, as seen here. All of these anomalies replace the native appearance of Eyes Wide Shut with a rather digital contemporary appearance in much the same way similar and identical anomalies replaced the native appearance of Night Moves. I did numerous comparisons between the native 4K and 1080p presentations of the 4K restoration and think that there are several areas where the native 4K presentation handles the shift(s) marginally better, likely because the Dolby Vision grade darkens them a bit more, and because there is an expanded range of color values. However, the most distracting anomalies are still unmissable. I did not encounter any traces of problematic degraining corrections. Image stability is outstanding.

Eyes Wide Shut 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I thought that the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track was outstanding. During the ritual, I turned up the volume quite a bit, and I must say that the Romanian chant sounded incredible. I have the previous Blu-ray release of Eyes Wide Shut, and I definitely liked what I heard this time better. All exchanges are very clear, sharp, and easy to follow. I did not encounter any encoding anomalies to report in our review.

Eyes Wide Shut 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K BLU-RAY DISC ONE

• Bonus Features - there are no bonus features on the disc.

BLU-RAY DISC ONE

• Bonus Features - there are no bonus features on the disc.

BLU-RAY DISC TWO

• Larry Smith - in this exclusive new program, director of photography Larry Smith discusses his background and the early stages of his career, and explains what it was like to be in Stanley Kubrick's orbit and work with him, including on Eyes Wide Shut. Also, there are some interesting observations about the type of film stock that was chosen and used, as well as its unique qualities. The program was produced for Criterion in 2025. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles. (25 min).

• Lisa Leone - in this new program, set decorator and second-unit director Lisa Leone discusses some of the pre-production work she did and interactions with Stanley Kubrick. The program was produced for Criterion in 2025. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles. (20 min).

• Georgina Orgill - in this new program, archivist Georgina Orgill discusses Stanley Kubrick's interest in Arthur Schnitzler's novella Traumnovelle (1926), which provided the original material for Eyes Wide Shut. Also, there are good comments about the evolution of this material and how it was brought to the big screen. The program was produced for Criterion in 2025. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles. (16 min).

• Christiane Kubrick - in this program, painter Christiane Kubrick, Stanley Kubrick's wife of four decades, discusses Eyes Wide Shut, which Kubrick declared was his most significant contribution to cinema. The content was filmed in 2012 and edited in 2025 by Criterion. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles. (10 min).

• Never Just a Dream: Stanley Kubrick and "Eyes Wide Shut" - in this archival program, executive producer Jan Harlan, Stanley Kubrick's assistant Anthony Frewin, marketing executive Julian Senior, and Katharina Kubrick discuss the genesis of Eyes Wide Shut. The program was produced by Matthew Wells in 2019. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles. (9 min).

• Directors Guild of America Speech - presented here is Stanley Kubrick's pre-recorded speech for his acceptance of the D.W. Griffin Award he received in 1998 from the Directors Guild of America. Kubrick could not attend the award ceremony because he was shooting Eyes Wide Shut. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles. (4 min).

• Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, and Jan Harlan - this press conference with Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, and executive producer Jan Harlan was filmed by DVDvision magazine at the Ritz Paris on September 2, 1999. The bulk of the comments address the production of Ryes Wide Shut and specifically how key scenes were constructed and shot. In English, with printed French subtitles. (37 min).

• Lost Kubrick: The Unfinished Films of Stanley Kubrick - this archival documentary, narrated by Malcolm McDowell, takes a closer look at two notorious but unfinished Stanley Kubrick projects: his biopic of Napoleon and his Holocaust film Aryan Papers. Included in it are clips from interviews with producer Jan Harlan, Jack Nicholson, Sydney Pollack, Joseph Mazzello, and author and Kubrick biographer John Baxter. The documentary was produced in 2007. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles. (21 min).

• Kubrick Remembered - this program gathers various recollections about Stanley Kubrick, his involvement with Eyes Wide Shut, and final days from Kubrick's family, Malcolm McDowell, Leon Vitali, Vincent D'Onofrio, and Steven Spielberg, amongst others. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles. (84 min).

• Promos -
  
  1. Showest Convention Teaser
  2. Theatrical Trailer
  3. TV Spots

• Booklet - an illustrated booklet featuring an essay by author Megan Abbott and a 1999 interview with Sydney Pollack, as well as technical credits.

Eyes Wide Shut 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Stanley Kubrick considered Eyes Wide Shut a masterpiece and his greatest contribution to cinema. It is a bold film, one Kubrick could have made only at the end of his career, most definitely worth seeing, but it is neither a masterpiece nor his greatest contribution to cinema. The most effective material in it is somewhat similarly transgressive to the one that Henri-Georges Clouzot produced in his final film, Woman in Chains, which is also vastly superior. Criterion's combo pack introduces an exclusive new 4K restoration of Eyes Wide Shut, supervised and approved by its director of photography, Larry Smith. Unfortunately, the 4K restoration replaces the film's native appearance with a new one. I still think that the combo pack is worth picking up because it has a good selection of exclusive new and archival bonus features.