Eyes Wide Shut
Written By: Margi Blash
July 14, 1999

Eyes Wide Shut premiered at the Mann's Village Theatre in Westwood July 13, 1999. Fans were lined the streets everywhere trying to get a glimpse of any of the huge stars that were scheduled to appeared. Surprising most came. So many people in the industry were excited to see the final film done by one of Hollywood's favorite Director, Stanley Kubrick. Some of the intendees included Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell, Dustin Hoffman, Jodie Foster, Jack Nicholson, Cuba Gooding Jr, Danny DeVito, Jennifer Aniston, Brad Pitt, Madeleine Stowe, Andie McDowell, Salma Hayek, Neve Campbell, Val Kilmer, Ellen DeGeneres, Anne Heche, Chris Isaak, Martin Scorsese, Steven Baldwin, Elizabeth Shue, Winona Ryder, Katie Holmes, Alan Thicke, and more. Most stars came out to see the film rather than being filmed themselves. As Anne Heche commented "Our mouth's our wide shut." Which lead way for the two stars and leading real life couple Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. When they stepped out of the limo the crowd went crazy. It sounded like the entire stadium at the recent Women's World Cup Soccer Game. Tom and Nicole ran across the street to shake hands and say hi to the screaming fans. Tom dressed extremely casual, with a green t-shirt and grown rough beard still looked good. Nicole standing tall at his side at 5'9 was dressed for the occasion and looked amazing with a small backless top and skirt. She was extremely nervous that evening. She commented by saying that it was the end of chapter inthere lives.

But with this being one of the most anticipated films for the summer and the huge amounts of hype can lead to a disappointment. (i.e. Wild Wild West) But not a lot has been given out about the plot. The film was inspired by Traumnovelle, a 1926 novella by Arthur Schnitzler. The billboards are everywhere and no one even knows what the story is really about. All we know is that it will shock audiences. Kubrick shot the film in England over 15 months and for the past four years the film has been a secret.

Stanley Kubrick's last film pushes the boundaries of sex on screen so much that here in American the censors have altered some of the naked bodies during the seven minute orgy scene with computer generated figures. Because of these alterations the film is rated with only a R rating rather than the NC17 it was first given. Looks as though you might have to take a trip to London just to see the naked bodies. Throughout the film there were a lot of hard times. On June 30, 1999 Cruise had to stop due to an ulcer. One June 23, 1999 Kidman and Cruise were so tired that they wanted quit. On the 24th of April, Tom and Nicole release a statement saying that they didn't need sex lessons. The news was broken in the Star Magazine saying that a sex therapist was hired to teach Cruise and Kidman how to have sex on film. They were saying that the marriage between the two stars is completely false. Stanley Kubrick died on March 8, 1999 at age 70, only five days after Bob Daly, Terry Semel, Cruise and Kidman, got their first chance to see the completed film at a private screening in New York. The Saturday before he died, Kubrick and Semel discussed the marketing strategy, which included the teaser trailer featuring Cruise caressing a topless Kidman.

Plot of the Film:
A wealthy New York doctor, Bill Harford (Cruise), and his wife, Alice (Kidman), who are apparently happily married until some problems appear in their relationship at a lavish Christmas party where a tipsy Alice is delighted to be propositioned and her husband is invited to join a ménage à trois.

Later, at home smoking marijuana, Alice confesses to Bill her sexual fantasies about a sailor she once met and he set out on a sexual odyssey of his own, while haunted by images of his wife and the sailor.

His adventures take him to nightclubs, prostitutes and, eventually, a country house where New York's rich and famous indulge in ritualistic orgies while wearing nothing but masks. In scenes that border on the ludicrous, he wanders from room to room, past copulating couples and lesbian lovers before he is discovered to be an interloper and his life is threatened.

Many of the stars in film commented on working with Stanley Kubrick. They noted that he was a perfectionist.

You can see Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible 2 opening May of 2000.