I'd call Eyes Wide Shut Kubrick's one certifiable failure. I believe he died before he could make or approve the final cut, and Tom Cruise took the helm. I've seen it a few times because I like Kubrick - a lot, and I'll probably see it again because it seems important to check my perceptions against a genius, but the movie just doesn't hold for me. As for the message, thanks for pointing it out. I've gotten so caught up in the film making I've missed the forest for the trees. And, as to Trump/Epstein, it's entirely within the realm of possibility that a madman would start a war in order to deflect attention from his crimes, and that the cabal that is US government circa 2026 would go along with it. I hope we eventually see a reckoning.
Trump dropped a dime on Epstein in 2007 and kicked him out of Mar a Lago leading to a conviction in Florida in 2008. DJT started draining the swamp then and continues to this day. The fact that the whole truth hasn’t emerged is because leverage has a cost that will eventually result in a revenge best served cold.
I know I am an intellectual ant. Please excuse me for mentioning that I could not find a reference to the horrific ending of Eye's Wide Shut in this essay or in the comments. I have seen this ending many times because the first time I saw it I could not believe what I was seeing. I was sure I had been mistaken because being an abused and abandoned child I thought I was dreaming it. I don't care how it got edited or who did it. But I don't know how anyone can watch this movie and not see that at the end the couple give away their young daughter to traffickers. And doesn't that make sense and conclude their descent perfectly? That beautiful innocent little girl becomes the victim of the corruption and horror we ignore, but could see alll around us if we opened our eyes.
A semi palindrome comes to mind, Live-Evil. The world of Robert Maxwell, a name we know and of whom notorious stories have been told and who mysteriously disappeared.
I kind of hate this movie. The people I knew who were obsessed with it, who told me I just had to watch it, were usually abusers in my experience. What was so amazing about this movie. I lived it. I grew up with ritual abuse and trafficking. I remember all kinds of parties and events and rituals, including parties in big houses when I was a preteen. As an adult, I remember rich looking trafficking houses adjacent to the adult industry. I remember parties in the hills. But you all didn't watch this movie because you cared about the women and girls. You all think you see the truth now that you have stopped denying that this shit happens in real life because the Epstein files finally forced you to. You don't even see how misogynistic this movie itself still is.
The Epstein case may have caused some to reevaluate Eyes Wide Shut, but if Eyes Wide Shut had any hidden meaning, it's been very well hidden. In particular, Victor Ziegler's character calls to mind this exchange from the movie Barcelona.
Fred: Maybe you can clarify something for me. Since I've been, you know, waiting for the fleet to show up, I've read a lot, and...
Ted: Really?
Fred: And one of the things that keeps popping up is this about "subtext." Plays, novels, songs - they all have a "subtext," which I take to mean a hidden message or import of some kind. So subtext we know. But what do you call the message or meaning that's right there on the surface, completely open and obvious? They never talk about that. What do you call what's above the subtext?
Ted: The text.
Fred: OK, that's right, but they never talk about that.
What's ironic about Eyes Wide Shut, if it is ironic, is that sometime when Kubrick was in his late 60s and Leelee Sobieski was no older than 15, Kubrick fimed two scenes with Ms. Sobieski in which she wears nothing more than a bra and panties and is seen to have instigated or trying to instigate sexual encounters with three much older men. Given Kubrick's reputation for perfectionism and his proclivity for filming a scene dozens or scores of times -- to this day Eyes Wide Shut holds the record for longest continuous film shoot -- we can only speculate on the number of takes that were done and how long they took to film.
To my knowledge Ms. Sobieski has never spoken about Eyes Wide Shut, but eight years ago she exaplained why she walked away from acting.
“A lot of the time when you work, it’s a money project basically. I started paying the rent on our house when I was 15, so I had a lot of pressure and things got complicated for me… So when I could, I stopped. It’s kind of a gross industry – well, they all are, when you examine them – but in acting you’re selling your appearance so much. I would cry every time I had to kiss somebody; I couldn’t stomach it. I would think ‘I like this person, so I don’t think they should pay me to kiss them,’ or ‘I don’t like this person, so I don’t want to kiss them’. Why is my kiss for sale?’ It made me feel really cheap."
“It didn’t matter whether people thought it was an admirable thing to do – in my soul I thought ‘my kiss is not for sale’ – it might have been acting, but it was real for me as it was my first or third kiss, so it was confusing for me. I don’t know why it’s legal for a child to act unless they can sell oranges or whatever legally too. It’s a crazy double standard and that’s super weird for me. Now that the MeToo movement has come forward, people understand more that it’s pretty gross and uncomfortable.”
Thank you for the article. Kubrick did the impossible: he showed the truth through falsehood, clarity through illusion. He gave neither answers nor explanations, yet at the same time he said everything he wanted to say.
A good low budget black and white companion piece to Kubrick’s film is The Naked Kiss (1964). Have to have a strong stomach and be ready for some real brutality to watch it. As this post makes clear, this stuff is always happening and not far away if you open your eyes.
When I first saw the movie (when it came out), I was mystified. I'd always been a rabid Kubrick fan, but I thought, "what is this?" I wondered if he had slipped a brain cell or two. Reading this now, Bret, makes me think that my eyes were shut they whole time I watched it. Oh, hey, what's a good hotel to stay in in Guanajuato? I'm coming for the Cervantino Fest. Did you know Sun Ra is playing it this year?
Just reading David Hartley's Observations of Man published in 1749. He refers to "The open and abandoned lewdness, to which great numbers of both sexes, especially in the high ranks of life, have given themselves up."
It’s not just Epstein. It’s Michael Jackson and his family, mentors, and associates. It’s Bill Cosby. It’s backstage passes. It’s the thin line between the porn industry and “legitimate” movie making. It’s the selection and grooming of “stars”, male and female. This has always existed. We have always known. Way back when people believed they could claim immortality by eating/drinking the blood of innocents. It’s the system of offering children (virgins) as blood sacrifice. It’s in Greek and Roman mythology. It’s in the bible.
I remember when hearing about how deep the Epstein virus ran. Among Israel, Russian and American govt. the rich and powerful. The use of sex to blackmail people, to get information.
Then I thought about this movie and it ran in a whole different light. Just crazy knowing that eyes wide shut was accurate
Interesting as well that the leads in this film were a guy who’s is strangely ascendant in a leadership role in one of the biggest cults that is accused of trafficking, and his wife- who’s own father was involved in a sex abuse scandal involving underage individuals. So much coincidental life imitating art, huh?!?!?
I'd call Eyes Wide Shut Kubrick's one certifiable failure. I believe he died before he could make or approve the final cut, and Tom Cruise took the helm. I've seen it a few times because I like Kubrick - a lot, and I'll probably see it again because it seems important to check my perceptions against a genius, but the movie just doesn't hold for me. As for the message, thanks for pointing it out. I've gotten so caught up in the film making I've missed the forest for the trees. And, as to Trump/Epstein, it's entirely within the realm of possibility that a madman would start a war in order to deflect attention from his crimes, and that the cabal that is US government circa 2026 would go along with it. I hope we eventually see a reckoning.
Far from a failure. Most directors would give their eye teeth to “fail” like that lol
haha, in which case they'd be missing their eye teeth and still have a turkey on their hands. you know, just my opinion.
Trump dropped a dime on Epstein in 2007 and kicked him out of Mar a Lago leading to a conviction in Florida in 2008. DJT started draining the swamp then and continues to this day. The fact that the whole truth hasn’t emerged is because leverage has a cost that will eventually result in a revenge best served cold.
Trump and Epstein? Sure.
Caddyshack 2 is a turkey.
I will absolutely take your word for that.
I know I am an intellectual ant. Please excuse me for mentioning that I could not find a reference to the horrific ending of Eye's Wide Shut in this essay or in the comments. I have seen this ending many times because the first time I saw it I could not believe what I was seeing. I was sure I had been mistaken because being an abused and abandoned child I thought I was dreaming it. I don't care how it got edited or who did it. But I don't know how anyone can watch this movie and not see that at the end the couple give away their young daughter to traffickers. And doesn't that make sense and conclude their descent perfectly? That beautiful innocent little girl becomes the victim of the corruption and horror we ignore, but could see alll around us if we opened our eyes.
Exactly
I began reading this essay without knowing who wrote it and mid page I thought 'damn this sounds like Bret'. I"ve never seen this film.
A semi palindrome comes to mind, Live-Evil. The world of Robert Maxwell, a name we know and of whom notorious stories have been told and who mysteriously disappeared.
I've learned he invented 'peer reviewing' or at least ' monetised' it. So much for 9 out of 10 scientists endorse this procedure.
I kind of hate this movie. The people I knew who were obsessed with it, who told me I just had to watch it, were usually abusers in my experience. What was so amazing about this movie. I lived it. I grew up with ritual abuse and trafficking. I remember all kinds of parties and events and rituals, including parties in big houses when I was a preteen. As an adult, I remember rich looking trafficking houses adjacent to the adult industry. I remember parties in the hills. But you all didn't watch this movie because you cared about the women and girls. You all think you see the truth now that you have stopped denying that this shit happens in real life because the Epstein files finally forced you to. You don't even see how misogynistic this movie itself still is.
Kubrick holds up a mirror to reveal a misogynistic world, not the other way around.
What kinds of rituals??
As per alleged information available Kubrick showed the cut to WB execs who were furious after seeing the film. They screamed at him and wanted cuts
Kubrick probably refused. As per one of his friend, he was summoned by the overlords and ritually killed for betrayal.
Then the studio cut the scenes of the occult world and distributed it.
I've read that the uncut version of the film is locked away somewhere.
would be wild to see the directors cut
The Epstein case may have caused some to reevaluate Eyes Wide Shut, but if Eyes Wide Shut had any hidden meaning, it's been very well hidden. In particular, Victor Ziegler's character calls to mind this exchange from the movie Barcelona.
Fred: Maybe you can clarify something for me. Since I've been, you know, waiting for the fleet to show up, I've read a lot, and...
Ted: Really?
Fred: And one of the things that keeps popping up is this about "subtext." Plays, novels, songs - they all have a "subtext," which I take to mean a hidden message or import of some kind. So subtext we know. But what do you call the message or meaning that's right there on the surface, completely open and obvious? They never talk about that. What do you call what's above the subtext?
Ted: The text.
Fred: OK, that's right, but they never talk about that.
What's ironic about Eyes Wide Shut, if it is ironic, is that sometime when Kubrick was in his late 60s and Leelee Sobieski was no older than 15, Kubrick fimed two scenes with Ms. Sobieski in which she wears nothing more than a bra and panties and is seen to have instigated or trying to instigate sexual encounters with three much older men. Given Kubrick's reputation for perfectionism and his proclivity for filming a scene dozens or scores of times -- to this day Eyes Wide Shut holds the record for longest continuous film shoot -- we can only speculate on the number of takes that were done and how long they took to film.
To my knowledge Ms. Sobieski has never spoken about Eyes Wide Shut, but eight years ago she exaplained why she walked away from acting.
“A lot of the time when you work, it’s a money project basically. I started paying the rent on our house when I was 15, so I had a lot of pressure and things got complicated for me… So when I could, I stopped. It’s kind of a gross industry – well, they all are, when you examine them – but in acting you’re selling your appearance so much. I would cry every time I had to kiss somebody; I couldn’t stomach it. I would think ‘I like this person, so I don’t think they should pay me to kiss them,’ or ‘I don’t like this person, so I don’t want to kiss them’. Why is my kiss for sale?’ It made me feel really cheap."
“It didn’t matter whether people thought it was an admirable thing to do – in my soul I thought ‘my kiss is not for sale’ – it might have been acting, but it was real for me as it was my first or third kiss, so it was confusing for me. I don’t know why it’s legal for a child to act unless they can sell oranges or whatever legally too. It’s a crazy double standard and that’s super weird for me. Now that the MeToo movement has come forward, people understand more that it’s pretty gross and uncomfortable.”
https://www.anothermag.com/art-photography/11000/the-extraordinary-actress-turned-artist-painting-electricity
The fact that he was doing it too and just as bad neednt negate his truth telling.
Ah, the lies and de options! This couldn't be more timely. Thanks, Brett.
Thank you for the article. Kubrick did the impossible: he showed the truth through falsehood, clarity through illusion. He gave neither answers nor explanations, yet at the same time he said everything he wanted to say.
Like he did about the "moon landings". I now wonder if making it look all clunky and bumbly was telling us without doing so,as the saying goes.
A good low budget black and white companion piece to Kubrick’s film is The Naked Kiss (1964). Have to have a strong stomach and be ready for some real brutality to watch it. As this post makes clear, this stuff is always happening and not far away if you open your eyes.
When I first saw the movie (when it came out), I was mystified. I'd always been a rabid Kubrick fan, but I thought, "what is this?" I wondered if he had slipped a brain cell or two. Reading this now, Bret, makes me think that my eyes were shut they whole time I watched it. Oh, hey, what's a good hotel to stay in in Guanajuato? I'm coming for the Cervantino Fest. Did you know Sun Ra is playing it this year?
Surely not in Chipping Sodbury?
Just reading David Hartley's Observations of Man published in 1749. He refers to "The open and abandoned lewdness, to which great numbers of both sexes, especially in the high ranks of life, have given themselves up."
It’s not just Epstein. It’s Michael Jackson and his family, mentors, and associates. It’s Bill Cosby. It’s backstage passes. It’s the thin line between the porn industry and “legitimate” movie making. It’s the selection and grooming of “stars”, male and female. This has always existed. We have always known. Way back when people believed they could claim immortality by eating/drinking the blood of innocents. It’s the system of offering children (virgins) as blood sacrifice. It’s in Greek and Roman mythology. It’s in the bible.
This article reads like it was written by A.I. Are there any humans out there, or am I talking to computer ghosts?
I'm Spartacus
I remember when hearing about how deep the Epstein virus ran. Among Israel, Russian and American govt. the rich and powerful. The use of sex to blackmail people, to get information.
Then I thought about this movie and it ran in a whole different light. Just crazy knowing that eyes wide shut was accurate
Still a bad film by Kubrick standards and sounded the death knell for the Kidman-Cruise 'partnership'.
A “bad film” by Kubrick is another director’s masterpiece. And that death knell was imminent, Kubrick saw this and exploited it. That’s his genius.
Interesting as well that the leads in this film were a guy who’s is strangely ascendant in a leadership role in one of the biggest cults that is accused of trafficking, and his wife- who’s own father was involved in a sex abuse scandal involving underage individuals. So much coincidental life imitating art, huh?!?!?