7.8 | / 10 |
Users | 3.7 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
A doctor plunges into an erotic foray that threatens his marriage—and may ensnare him in a murder mystery—after his wife's admission of sexual longings.
Starring: Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Sydney Pollack, Marie Richardson, Rade SerbedzijaDrama | 100% |
Psychological thriller | 40% |
Mystery | 30% |
Surreal | 22% |
Erotic | 11% |
Thriller | 10% |
Video codec: VC-1
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: LPCM 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)
French: Dolby Digital 5.1 (384 kbps)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)
German: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)
Japanese: Dolby Digital 5.1
Italian: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)
English, English SDH, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Korean, Mandarin (Traditional), Norwegian, Swedish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Is there any way Eyes Wide Shut could have ever lived up to its hype? Here was a film directed by one of the most esteemed, if not the most esteemed, directors of the past half century, returning after well over a decade’s absence, helming a project starring the most famous star couple in contemporary movie history. Add in the fact that the film was touted as being an “erotic thriller,” and to say that audiences were titillated by immense expectations is probably an understatement. And yet when the film finally opened, you could hear the collective “thud” of millions of jaws dropping, either in disbelief, or yawning boredom, or indeed both. Eyes Wide Shut was a resolutely non-sexy film, despite rather graphic orgiastic scenes (more graphic in the unrated version presented on this Blu-ray). In fact, for all their surface beauty and charisma, the supposed “sexual” chemistry between stars Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman was virtually nonexistent. Have there ever been two more asexual major stars in recent film history? These are actors of sometimes prodigious accomplishment, but they are curiously nonerotic in their own peculiar way, almost like living Ken and Barbie dolls: physically perfect, but absolutely devoid of any “naughty bits.” And yet my hunch is this was actually part of director Stanley Kubrick’s genius in casting the famous pair. For Eyes Wide Shut, despite its supposed lasciviousness, is actually an almost Puritan reflection on the rigors of monogamy and the wages of sin, which in this case are an almost interminable trip through the vagaries of guilt and torment.
It’s almost comical to go back and look at critical assessment of Kubrick’s post-Strangelove oeuvre as it appeared contemporaneously with each film. If there is anything that might have foreshadowed the public and reviewing reactions to Eyes Wide Shut, it is the long tradition of audiences of all types never quite getting Kubrick’s ideas and techniques on the first, or even the fifth, go-round. A perfect example comes from a rather unusual paperback tome that appeared shortly after 2001 came out and was greeted by such universal (no pun intended) consternation. This was the wonderful Making of Kubrick's '2001' which contained Arthur C. Clarke’s original short story, as well as hundreds of pages of explication as to what exactly Kubrick and Clarke were getting at in the famous film. The book in and of itself was a rather remarkable publication, especially in terms of late 1960’s filmgoing, one which by its very existence proves the somewhat obtuse reactions Kubrick’s films provoke in their audiences. In any case, I well remember the kind of acerbic joy with which Making of pointed out the slowly morphing reaction from just one reviewer (as I recall, either from Time or Life magazine). The reviewer’s premiere week review eviscerated the science fiction masterpiece, railing against its incomprehensible plot and its over the top visuals. Within about six weeks of slowly changing perceptions, that same reviewer was hailing the film as one of the greatest achievements of the 20th century.
Cruise and Kidman, living Ken and Barbie dolls.
Kubrick is exploring a dark subject matter to be sure in Eyes Wide Shut, and that may have influenced the incessantly shadowy look of the film. Unfortunately the visual quality of this 1080p VC-1 encoded Blu-ray is too drenched in a soft presentation, with inconsistent black levels, to ever rise to the level of what most high def aficionados expect. That said, there really isn't much source material to work with in the first place. The best scenes in the film are the opening, lighter ones, where the palette is diverse and very well saturated. Once we get into the laborious trek of Harford through a night's worth of increasingly tormented visions, the film is bleak, desaturated, and overly grainy quite a bit of the time. Detail can still be exceptional, especially in close-ups, where faces are briskly clear and well defined, but the overall look of this film too often disintegrates into a sort of mushy blandness, with washed out fuzziness being the norm, at least for the central episodes of the film.
Likewise, there's very little source material to support the uncompressed PCM 5.1 mix. This is one of the most resolutely non-immersive tracks in recent memory, with surround effects you can basically count on the fingers of one hand. Even the opening party scene is weirdly anchored in the front channels, and only very occasionally do either music or foley effects ever penetrate the rear or side surround channels. All of that said, dialogue is clear and directional, and the score, consistent in the best Kubrick tradition of both classical pieces and standards, is well mixed into the proceedings. Fidelity is excellent, with good dynamic range and no distortion or other problems to report.
Several good to excellent extras are included in this release:
It may be too soon for a major critical reassessment of this controversial film, but my sense is Eyes Wide Shut is ultimately going to follow in the footsteps of Kubrick's other initially misunderstood pieces and gain appreciation. Weirdly cold while attempting to deal with sexuality and obsession, this is a film which slowly but surely claws its way into the subconcious, weaving a hypnotic spell which will leave a lot of people feeling more than a bit unsettled. If you haven't seen it before, give it a shot now. If it's been a while since you have seen it, revisit it at least another time or two. It's a film with enough depth and nuance to reward repeated viewings.
1962
2010
Full-Length Director's Cut
2009
1976
2011
2009
1974
Bad Timing: A Sensual Obsession
1980
2001
2004
2011
2017
1965
2011
2013
2013
Unrated Director’s Cut
2013
1986
1997
2006