Rating: 
Summary: To be watched with EYES WIDE OPEN
Review: I am a big fan of Stanley Kubrick. He was one of those directors that can really take on any subject and treat it in an astonishing way, and make a cult classic from it. The point with EWS was that publicity for the film went over the top, and snobs and losers that didn't knew a thing about Kubrick were interested in his new movie just because he died. Eyes Wide Shut is such a beautiful movie. It's a masterpiece. The orgy scene is one of cinema's most beautiful and overwhelming moments ever. It was like wacthing a painting from Breughel or something. If you're a close minded, popcorn eating movie goer, then it won't appeal to you. I love all sorts of movies, and this one is a caress for your senses. What an exquisite movie Kubrick has made. It was a shame to lose him.
Rating:
Summary: Understand more each time you watch it...
Review: It is unfortunate that Eyes Wide Shut was marketed as a blockbuster. I suspect that many cinema-goers canned it because they expected a classical narrative storyline from the movie, and perhaps this is where Kubrick tripped up slightly -- neither the marketing nor the movie made it clear what EWS was about -- a set of fascinating character studies and a movie which confronts the viewer with the many cloaked aspects of society which we all know about but never talk about (hence, my interpretation of the title "Eyes Wide Shut"). In fact I think this is one of Kubrick's specialties -- confronting the viewer. Clockwork Orange's "Ultra Violence" is oddly similar to EWS with its prostitution, child prostitution, orgies and corruption. I found this aspect of EWS riveting and I interpreted the title as a reference to society's closed eyes to reality though many reviewers have interpreted it as a reference to the dream like quality of the movie. You do need to be a Kubrick fan to have a full appreciation of this movie. As a Kubrickian (!) I found EWS to be a stunning close to Kubrick's career and it was great (and odd at the same time) to see his skill with the camera matched with modern cinematic technology. His older films are masterpieces and the blurry sound is part of the charm of "The Shining" but it was delicious to see such vibrant colour, light and rich sound in EWS. Incidentally, the DVD transfer of this movie is outstanding in terms of picture and sound quality. Many have complained about its standard TV aspect ratio but I found it refreshing to see a movie which for once filled up my TV screen and did not suffer from pan and scan syndrome as apparently Kubrick designed the movie to be chopped for standard 4:3 TV screens. There are not too many extras on the DVD but it does have a great menu system which plays clips of key scenes in the movie in the background and plays "I did a bad bad thing".
Rating: 
Summary: I was dissappointed
Review: Please tell me what logic, makes it necessary to start with a scene of Nicole Kidman sitting on the toilet? It escapes me. Shock value? Lost on me, because it wasn't pertinant to the movie. I found the discussion that Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman about fidelity, the male and female version the only riveting portion of this movie. I found it heart rending when she went on about the naval officer. It was cruel & meant to be. The later scene with an adoring patient's daughter was an very interesting insight. Tom Cruise's reaction was so typical however. A bit of a dissappointment. The movie rambled on from that point never really explaining the "orgy society group" and it's larger vision. I think Stanley Kubrick would have polished this more had he lived.
Rating: 
Summary: Absorbing, but flawed
Review: As a dreamlike and allegorical film, this is very good. However, I was ultimately disappointed by several flaws, and I regret to say that Kubrick's last film was not up to the standard of his earlier achievements. The themes of the film are timeless: unbridled sexuality vs. marriage, reality vs. illusion, and self-exploration. I believe one of the reasons for the bad press and widespread rejection of the film was that the contemporary setting did not match the pre-modern sensibilities which permeated the story. A friend of Kubrick wrote an interesting essay in Vanity Fair comparing Eyes Wide Shut to Mozart's operas, namely Don Giovanni and The Magic Flute. He recognized that it is much easier to view the film from the perspective of Romanticism or fairy-tale convention than the modern perspective from which almost all films are viewed today. The orgy scene is not at all erotic, but rather a magical ritual where the participants confront their inner evil. The protagonists do appear to resolve their conflicts and emerge with renewed hope. In contrast to Kubrick's earlier works, where humanity is generally portrayed as brutal, petty, and incapable of true self-knowledge, Eyes Wide Shut affirms the human potential for redemption. This more optimistic message was not what I disliked about this movie, though. In my opinion, casting Kidman and Cruise was, despite their talents, a bad choice, as it set the audience up for a normal Hollywood experience, and trivialized their characters, just as Jack Nicholson did when cast in The Shining. I found that the minor characters were much more interesting to watch. Also, I simply could not swallow the final scene. After being dragged through very slow and dormant scenes in the last forty minutes, having a snappy, zero-tension ending (and in a department store, of all places!) was almost an insult. Once again, I do not object to the optimism of the ending, just the way in which it was carried out. Kubrick has in the past always created brilliant, often transcendent, final scenes, but this was inferior.
Rating:
Summary: A film as enigmatic as its director...
Review: Kubrick's final film is a fitting tribute to its visionary director. I have watched it several times and each time it leaves me with different ideas, questions, and theories. The acting is incredible (including a surpisingly good performance by director Sidney Lumet), and the cinematography and photography reveal Kubrick at his best since "Barry Lyndon". "Eyes Wide Shut" will please Kubrick fans, however it may purplex and bore mainstream viewers.
Rating:
Summary: Overhyped, underrated and misunderstood...
Review: That's what Eyes Wide Shut is. Even though it's a favorite movie of mine I find it hard to watch it. There's a feeling you get that you must see the movie more than once. The story is about Dr Bill (Tom Cruise) and Alice (Nicole Kidman) and people around them. One night after a they both shared a reefer, Alice tells Bill a story. A story about she almost was unfaithful with a another man. Bill becomes so jealous of her that he decides to do the same to her. Into the night he search after revenge, but he doesn't know what to come. I see Eyes Wide Shut as a kind of operetta. It's has that grand feeling of everything being topp class. There's always something rich to it, pun intended. It's not "Days of thunder" nor is it "Far and away". It's a Stanley Kubrick movie. And when it's that kind of a movie, you have a lot to expect. To understand this movie, you must be a Kubrick fan. If not, try to see some of his old movies first. Try with "2001 - A space odyssey" or "Barry Lyndon". Try to understand what his movies tries to tell. Stanley's movies were more than movies, they were a work of art. Success to him didn't matter and you can see that in his movies. My last final notes on this movie, this isn't Stanley's best movie but that doesn't make it his worst. I give it four stars out of five. R.I.P. Stanley...
Rating:
Summary: Kubrick's Final Bow
Review: I feel cheated .... release the European version in the U.S., we can handle it! It's the only area of displeasure I have with this film. There's almost a distinct feeling that we're on a death walk dream with Stanley, a premonition of fate, if you will. This exploration of obsession has a few flaws which Kubrick may have altered, but then perhaps we're lucky to see it in its "raw" state, without tampering (except for the digital tampering deemed necessary for U.S. audiences during the cloistered rite's orgy scene). Go along on this final dream walk with Kubrick ..... it haunts, but ultimately, doesn't disappoint.
Rating:
Summary: Going out with a Bang
Review: Stanley Kubrick's last movie is one of my favorite films of 1999. I have to say one thing though, and that is to not expect a simple, fast-paced film that you regularly expect from its stars Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. The film is slow, sometimes boring, but all together rewarding and very impressive. It's interesting to see this film unfold because it takes a while for it to get it's feet on the ground. Kubrick's deft direction is used with the sincerety and careful perfection of his previous films, and in here it is every bit as apparent and worthy. I would have personally liked to have seen more of Kidman in the movie (those who have seen it are now saying, what? Didn't you see enough of her), but I'm not talking about her nude scenes, but her performance is really a supporting character. The end to most of the people who watch this movie will be a relief, but like Hitchcock's film work, Kubrick's work only gets better the more times you see it. This film is highly recommended for those seeking well-structured drama, but this is by no means the suspense-filled movie it has sometimes claimed to be. Cruise, Kidman and Steven Spielberg's interviews are interesting pieces, as are the TV spots and preview. I was disappointed by it being released in full-screen format, but you don't always get what you want.
Rating:
Summary: DISSAPOINTED !
Review: WHEN I HEARD ABOUT A KUBRICK MOVIE WITH KIDMAN, CRUISE & POLLACK I WAS EXCITED ! ALL THE GOOD INGREDIENTS WERE THERE TO MAKE AN EXCELLENT MOVIE ; BUT I WAS SO DISSAPOINTED... THE STORY IS JUST PLAIN & CONFUSING ; KIDMAN IS VERY GOOD BUT CRUISE GAVE A POUR INTERPRETATION. THE ONLY VERY THING ARE THE SETS WHICH ARE VERY ARTISTICS...
Rating: 
Summary: The Emperor's New Clothes
Review: With all the publicity this film received it was a must see for me, but wait a minute, what is this my simple taste just can not see the grandeur. This is not a case of misunderstanding on my part (man, women, birth, life, death, infinity) but rather bordom with the intellectual complacency for anything bizaar. The nudity...come on now anyone who has made it through puberty should be over the giggly "Oh look they are is naked" by now. This is nether art nor good taste, but it is what they (the film industry)tell us we want. The movie as a whole has to much of everything that says "you need to be really intellectual to understand it"...my feeling is the movie is naked...and this director and those who bought it could not see. Try Dr.Strangelove which is strange, and the characters are strange, but the issues (like the film) are black and white.
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