Hi Larisa, thank you for your comment and question. I have ordered a copy of the original novella in English and look forward to reading it. I am intrigued by what you say about the decadent style employed in that novel. I saw Eyes Wide Shut when it first came out, in a terrible DVD version. I wrote the movie off, which many did at the time, apparently. I was never a big fan of either of the two leads in any case. I watched the new 4K version over two nights, sometimes watching a certain scene over and over again. Apparently Kubrick had wanted to make a movie about Traumnovella by Schnitzler since the 1960s. He devoted the last five years of his life to the movie. Eyes Wide Shut always struck me as an anomaly -- against my own deep appreciation of all of Kubrick's earlier films (I showed The Shining and Full Metal Jacket in my sociology of film course). Movies are above all about film technique, which is many sided, involving lens colour sound perspective research and on and on. A bad transfer like the original DVD and maybe even the first release of the film in theatres, can ruin a movie. Apparently however Eyes Wide Shut was a big hit in the world market, failing only in North America and Europe. There is no doubt that the subtext of the film (a corrupt and dangerous ruling class in America) may ring a bell in our post Epstein world. Schnitzler in Vienna at the same time as Freud reflected the psychological zeitgeist that motivated the famed psychoanalyst. And no where other than America is psychoanalysis so popular or so profitable.
Hi Paul I have been thinking of this question to you for a while. I agree of course with you on the wonderful shooting in Eyes Wide Shut, but what are your favo/urite Kubrick films? How do they exceed EWS? Sometimes I wonder if I have given Kubrick full due, his work is so wide and various.
Barry Lyndon, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Dr. Strangelove, Paths of Glory, not in any specific order of preference. I think EWS is brilliantly shot, as almost everything of Kubrick’s is. I’m not a cinephile, by any means, and it’s been some time since I’ve seen that movie, but as I recall, I did not find either Cruise or Kidman really convincing in their roles. I could be wrong. I often am.
It’s actually my favorite Eyes Wide Shut; maybe because of the dream logic and the absence of any moral resolution. I’m not even sure how close it is to Arthur Schnitzler’s Traumnovelle... which I probably should know, being from Vienna, but it’s still sitting on my shelf, untouched.
I just bought schnitzners novella in translation in an edition including discussion of Eyes Wide Shut. The Criterion 4k has many special features about the movie. Lucky you from Vienna! I took my family there with primary purpose for me of being on the giant Ferris Wheel made super famous by The Third Man. My PhD in Lit spouse also loved the museums etc. My daughter has since visited on her own. Despite my Hegel fascination I have never been to Berlin. Like you have not yet read the novel but surprised by the mutual recognition and respect of Freud and the novelist.
I had a hard time with it as well. But as a Kubrick fan, I continued to catch it every now and then. And it may be that it will find a new audience now.
I hope so! I now have a deeper appreciation of the two stars and the depth of Kubrick's art. Plus I had no idea until re-watching the movie of the astonishing achievements of the novelist, Schnitzler.
I read the novella, which is far more interesting than the movie, and it is in the decadent style that is so beyond these two regular actors. Why do you always find some forgotten movies to talk about, David? I am curious.
Hi Larisa, thank you for your comment and question. I have ordered a copy of the original novella in English and look forward to reading it. I am intrigued by what you say about the decadent style employed in that novel. I saw Eyes Wide Shut when it first came out, in a terrible DVD version. I wrote the movie off, which many did at the time, apparently. I was never a big fan of either of the two leads in any case. I watched the new 4K version over two nights, sometimes watching a certain scene over and over again. Apparently Kubrick had wanted to make a movie about Traumnovella by Schnitzler since the 1960s. He devoted the last five years of his life to the movie. Eyes Wide Shut always struck me as an anomaly -- against my own deep appreciation of all of Kubrick's earlier films (I showed The Shining and Full Metal Jacket in my sociology of film course). Movies are above all about film technique, which is many sided, involving lens colour sound perspective research and on and on. A bad transfer like the original DVD and maybe even the first release of the film in theatres, can ruin a movie. Apparently however Eyes Wide Shut was a big hit in the world market, failing only in North America and Europe. There is no doubt that the subtext of the film (a corrupt and dangerous ruling class in America) may ring a bell in our post Epstein world. Schnitzler in Vienna at the same time as Freud reflected the psychological zeitgeist that motivated the famed psychoanalyst. And no where other than America is psychoanalysis so popular or so profitable.
Not my favorite Kubrick film, David, but beautifully shot.
Hi Paul I have been thinking of this question to you for a while. I agree of course with you on the wonderful shooting in Eyes Wide Shut, but what are your favo/urite Kubrick films? How do they exceed EWS? Sometimes I wonder if I have given Kubrick full due, his work is so wide and various.
Barry Lyndon, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Dr. Strangelove, Paths of Glory, not in any specific order of preference. I think EWS is brilliantly shot, as almost everything of Kubrick’s is. I’m not a cinephile, by any means, and it’s been some time since I’ve seen that movie, but as I recall, I did not find either Cruise or Kidman really convincing in their roles. I could be wrong. I often am.
Paul your poems often
Encounter the contradictions of love
A primary focus of EWS
Besides the movies
You mention
I would include The Shining and Full Metal Jacket
I can’t support as yet
My feeling that Cruise and Kidman
Establish the heart of the movie
Thank you for your kind comments Paul
It’s actually my favorite Eyes Wide Shut; maybe because of the dream logic and the absence of any moral resolution. I’m not even sure how close it is to Arthur Schnitzler’s Traumnovelle... which I probably should know, being from Vienna, but it’s still sitting on my shelf, untouched.
I just bought schnitzners novella in translation in an edition including discussion of Eyes Wide Shut. The Criterion 4k has many special features about the movie. Lucky you from Vienna! I took my family there with primary purpose for me of being on the giant Ferris Wheel made super famous by The Third Man. My PhD in Lit spouse also loved the museums etc. My daughter has since visited on her own. Despite my Hegel fascination I have never been to Berlin. Like you have not yet read the novel but surprised by the mutual recognition and respect of Freud and the novelist.
I had a hard time with it as well. But as a Kubrick fan, I continued to catch it every now and then. And it may be that it will find a new audience now.
I hope so! I now have a deeper appreciation of the two stars and the depth of Kubrick's art. Plus I had no idea until re-watching the movie of the astonishing achievements of the novelist, Schnitzler.
The Shining still terrifies me! Kubrick’s work is timeless.
Agreed! The Shining among the best of all time!
I read the novella, which is far more interesting than the movie, and it is in the decadent style that is so beyond these two regular actors. Why do you always find some forgotten movies to talk about, David? I am curious.