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At the peak of their careers, Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman left Hollywood for two years to collaborate with legendary filmmaker Stanley Kubrick on an erotic drama that the media speculated would pull back the curtain on maybe the most fascinating famous couple in the world. Though the meta element can’t be ignored, what Eyes Wide Shut actually ended up being is much more interesting. It’s a culmination of every theme and trope we’ve discussed across Erotic 80s and 90s, and the last film of the twentieth century headlined by American superstars to question the moral rot of the rich and powerful. In part 1 of the Eyes Wide Shut story, we’ll analyze the film and the media frenzy over the mystery of its making.
Nicole Kidman, Eyes Wide Shut, 1999
SHOW NOTES:
Sources:
“Kubrick is Keeping Mouth Shut on Eyes” by David Gritten, LA Times April 21, 1996
“Enigmatic Kubrick Plays the Phantom Director” by Richard Brooks, The Observer November 17, 1996
“Genius at Work” by Joanna Blonska, PEOPLE, January 27, 1997
“Keitel’s Heartbreak Hotel” New York, April 21, 1997
“The 93rd Time is The Charm” by Liz Smith, LA Times, April 30, 1997
“Kubrick Pic in Home Stretch” by Michael Fleming, Variety, June 23, 1997
“2,001 Degrees of Security for Kubrick's New Film” by Sarah Lyall, NYTimes, August 7, 1997
“A Year in the Life: Kubrick’s Shut an Open Case” Variety, September August 14, 1997
“Kubrick Just Can’t Say ‘Cut’” by Paul Mungo, The Independent, September 27, 1997
“Now Production is Expected to Last “Tom and Nicole Plot Homecoming” Variety December 8, 1997
“An Open-End Project” by Steven Smith, LA Times, January 19, 1998
“Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman Go in with Eyes Wide Shut” by Rebecca Ascher-Walsh, Entertainment Weekly, Jan 23, 1998
“Dishings” by Michael Fleming, Variety, Feb 12, 1998
“Eyes Wide’ Isn’t Quite Shut Yet” by Chris Petrikin, Variety April 27, 1998
“Kubrick's 'Eyes Wide Shut' Still Open” by Bernard Weinraub, NYTimes, April 28, 1998
“Kubrick’s Odyssey” PEOPLE, June 29, 1998
“Eyes to See Summer” LA Times, September 10, 1998
“Raphael Cries Cut Over His Kubrick Credit” by Richard Brooks, The Observer, October 4, 1998
“Mouths Wide Open” by Peter Braunstein, Village Voice, December 29, 1998
“Stanley Kubrick, Film Giant, Dies at 70” by Eric Harrison, LA Times, March 8, 1999
“Sex Suit Eyed” by Dana Harris, The Hollywood Reporter, March 22, 1999
“Hype: Thomas Gibson” by Joshua Mooney. Movieline, April 1999
“Sex ‘99” Movieline, April 1999
“Nicole Kidman, Cover & Feature: Portraits of a Lady by John Powers”, Vogue Magazine, June 1999
“Eyes Wide Shut Review” by Alexander Walker, London Evening Standard, June 22, 1999
“Just for Variety” by Army Archers, Variety, June 25, 1999
“What They Say About Stanley Kubrick” by Peter Bogdanovich, NYTimes Magazine, July 4, 1999
“Eyes Wide Shut” by Todd McCarthy, Variety, Jul 12, 1999
“Cruise & Kidman Like You've Never Seen Them" Cover TIME Magazine, July 12, 1999
“Eyes Wide Shut: All Eyes On Them” by Richard Schickel TIME Magazine, July 12, 1999
“Secrets and Spies: The Betrayal of Stanley Kubrick” by Peter Braunstein, Village Voice, July 13, 1999
‘Eyes’ in Focus by Patrick Goldstein, LA Times, July 14, 1999
“Kubrick, Edited” by Bernard Weinraub, New York Times, July 16, 1999
Eyes Wide Shut Review on Charlie Rose, July 16, 1999
“Eyes Wide Shut” by Roger Ebert, July 16, 1999
“In Kubrick's 'Eyes': Mesmerizing Revelations” by Desson Howe, Washington Post, July 16, 1999
“‘Eyes’ That See Too Much” by Kenneth Turan, LA Times, July 16, 1999
“Bedroom Odyssey” by Janet Maslin, NYTimes, July 16, 1999
“A Connoisseur of Cool Tries to Raise the Temperature” by Michiko Kakutani, NYTimes, July 18, 1999
“Eyes Wide Shut” by Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly, July 23, 1999
“EYES of the STORM” by Benjamin Svetkey, Entertainment Weekly, July 23, 1999
“Critics Assail Ratings Board Over 'Eyes Wide Shut' “ by Bernard Weinraub, NYTimes, July 28, 1999
“Uncovering the Danger in his ‘Eyes’by Eric Harrison, LA Times, July 30, 1999
“Kubrick’s Depth of Field” by Bill Desowtiz, LA Times, July 30, 1999
'EYES WIDE SHUT'; Confessing Wives, Letter to the Editor, Aug. 1, 1999
'EYES WIDE SHUT'; Defending Kubrick, Letter to the Editor, NYTimes, Aug. 1, 1999
'EYES WIDE SHUT'; Detached at the Orgy, Letter to the Editor, Aug. 1, 1999
'EYES WIDE SHUT'; Smart Alice, Letter to the Editor, NYTimes, Aug. 1, 1999
‘EYES WIDE SHUT'; Bad Translations, Letter to the Editor, NYTimes, Aug. 8, 1999
‘EYES WIDE SHUT'; Don't Call Him Cold, Letter to the Editor, NYTimes, Aug. 8, 1999
'EYES WIDE SHUT'; In Plain English, Letter to the Editor, NYTimes, Aug. 22, 1999
“Completely Missing Kubrick” by Michael Herr, Vanity Fair, April, 2000
“A New Exhibit Highlights Cultural Decadence of Weimar Germany” by Roberta Smith, NYTimes, Oct. 24, 2006
“Oral History: The Eyes Wide Shut Orgy Scene” by Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, July 27, 2019
The Stanley Kubrick Archives edited by Alison Castle
Eyes Wide Shut (BFI Film Classics) by Michel Chion
Eyes Wide Open by Frederic Raphael
Stanley Kubrick and the Making of His Final Film by Robert P. Kolker and Nathan Abrams
Please note: as an Amazon Associate, Karina earns from qualifying purchases. #ad
Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise, Eyes Wide Shut, 1999
Eyes Wide Shut, 1999
Music:
The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca.
Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode:
Pxl Htra - The Fence
Pacing - TinyTiny Trio
Thumbscrew - Sketchbook
Vdet - Fjell
Pastel de Nata - Orange Cat
True Blue Sky - Bitters
Chaunce Libertine - Vermouth
Daymaze - Orange Cat
Borough - Molerider
JoDon - Orange Cat
Nicole Kidman in Eyes Wide Shut, 1999
Credits:
This episode was written, narrated, and produced by Karina Longworth.
Our editor this season is Evan Viola.
Research and production assistant: Lindsey D. Schoenholtz.
Social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.
Logo design: Teddy Blanks.
Stanley Kubrick, Tom Cruise, and Nicole Kidman on the set of Eyes Wide Shut (1999)