Rating: Summary: just another review Review: After reading all the other customer reviews, I was impressed by the sheer length of some of them. Some of them were an assembled mass of praise. Thus, mine shall be of the like. First off, this was a movie about love, marriage, trust, and all that good stuff. Not sex, orgies, or edited content. Having said that, this was, in my opinion, a superbly well done film. I found it constantly intriguing and filmed with Stanely Kubrick's well-deserved reputation as a film genius. The way the film was shot was remarkable. The more I watched it, the more it became clear to me that everything about it was delibrate, from the camera angles to the background scenes. Although I've only seen three of his films, I am utterly convinced of his greatest. Second, there were many themes in this movie. There are those who think that there is too much sex and those who bought the video for the sex. However, beneath everything, there was an undercoat of storylines. It was rather complex and I have yet to figure out what all of this means. What I can see is the issue of trust between two people (Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman) as well as the love that binds them together. I like the little nuances, like how music is always coming from a source, a stereo or a band, never just random background music. Overall, I think you're just going to have to see it for yourself to figure out if you like it. Personally, I believe that this movie is one of those things that you either completely like or completely hate. There's little middle ground
Rating: Summary: It grows on you Review: As with his other masterpieces, it takes several viewings to appreciate the genius of this work. Every frame is composed like an old master. The beautiful bodies in the orgy scenes are works of art in themselves. Lovers of beauty are cautioned that leaving a still frame on your monitor for several hours may cause burn-in. Would the scenes have been better without the censor's hand over the naughty parts? Yes. But thats the price we pay for living is such an uptight society. Any man that has ever been in a relationship will immediately empathize with Cruise's charactor when he says one little wrong word, and ticks off his wife... every thing he says after that just gets him deeper in that hole. This one scene alone is worth the price of the movie. Kubrick is the first in my experience to hold up the cinematic mirror and reflect this scene that each of us has played in real life all too often. Whether you like the movie or not, watching it with your spouse will improve your relationship... or end it!
Rating: Summary: An unusual film Review: EYES WIDE SHUT is one of the more recent interesting films I've seen. Much of the pre-publicity was focused primarily on its sexual content. I didn't find much sex in it, nor did I find the film particularly sexy. As a whole, I found the film rather dream-like, with strict avoidance of the usual cliches of dreams in films; and it wasn't necessarily about sex, sexual desire, infidelity or death, even though those elements play a part in the story. I think the film is about dreams and the unconscious, and the collision of dreams and reality.The whole enterprise is extremely controlled, as is typical of its director. The acting, cinematography, set design, music - everything is molded to the total vision. If you're expecting a typical Hollywood picture, this isn't the one for you. It's a Kubrick film. The pace is slow and deliberate, and the story is told in pictures, not dialog (what dialog there is is intentionally banal). As in a dream, the film has a logic of its own. If you clear your mind of expectations and just follow the course of the film, letting in the images and colors, you might be rewarded. An unusual film. The DVD looks good. Unfortunately, there is no option to view the infamous, x-rated 'orgy' scene as was originally intended by Kubrick.
Rating: Summary: An Worthy Final Chapter To Stanley Kubrick. Review: I admit, i didn`t see all of Kubrick Films. The Only films i see from him is 2001-A Space Odyssey, The Shining and Full Metal Jacket are films is Remember from his films. Stanley Kubrick a great job in his last film. Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman in Great Performances. This Film has a Few Supporting Cast, but most of it are Cameos. This film is very entertaining, Don`t miss this film and the last line from Nicole Kidman is Memorable. Not for all tastes. DVD`s has an good Pan & Scan(1.33:1) format and an clear Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround. Grade:A.
Rating: Summary: A Future Classic Review: as with most works by the legendary STanley Kubrick, "Eyes wide shut" was misunderstood on release and is already being heralded as something wonderful. The beautifully shot epic is without doubt one of 1999s stand out films and as usual, it has been robbed by the joke commonly known as the oscars. The only real shame is that the dvd version is the edited one, not the full un-cut version that we recieved over here in england. ENJOY!
Rating: Summary: A Spectacular Mess Review: In reading other reviews here it seems people find what they want to find in the movie. In that sense, perhaps it is successful. In my view it is a visually stunning mess. It is not, however, boring. The visuals and peculiar occurrences are enough to hold your attention, at least through one viewing, IF you can stand the first 45 minutes. But it builds tension quite well, only to let the air fizz harmlessly out of the balloon at the conclusion. Kidman is dreadful ... brings to mind her "acting" in "Peacemaker". Except for ONE properly delivered line near the end, it is impossible to develop any feeling for this character. Who cares about her at all. Whatever little the story line this movie may have had going for it, Kidman's acting erases. Cruise did a decent job with the mess he had to work with. In essence, we have two perfectly-manicured people sleepwalking through perfectly-manicured lives. Obviously, they need a wakeup call, so, of course, through a series of increasingly bizarre events, they get one. They do not "receive" it, however, and it culminates in less than one minute of meaningful dialogue at the end (while their young child wanders without supervision through a very busy store at Christmas season). Although they "survived" this wakeup call, they will not survive the next. After my wife and I spent about an hour analyzing this movie, we essentially concluded the message wasn't worth pursuing. The only question you are left with worth considering is what the heck was going on at the "big ceremony". Needless to say, despite having the opportunity, Cruise's character doesn't ask the obvious question. Of course Pollack's character lied to him in the "big explanation", and of course he would have continued to lie ... but no one could fail to ask the question. Typical of a fatally flawed film.
Rating: Summary: Wasn' it wonderful Review: I found this film slow but insightful. There were a few quick things in it that if you blinked at the wrong time you'd miss it. For example Nicloe Kidman changing her tampon in the beginning of the film. This film made you guess at who was under the masks, and who it was that saved Tom. Many of the people walked out of the theater with me not having a clue what it was about. I like that in a film, it makes me feel like the smart one of the bunch.
Rating: Summary: A great collaboration from Kubrick, Cruise and Kidman! Review: Almost all of Stanley Kubrick's movies are masterpieces and this is no exception. The most misunderstood movie of 1999 is actually quite good. As with all of Kubrick's films you can sense the 'perfectionism', Kidman and Cruise took big career risks with this film and I think it paid off. As usual with Kubrick; great cinematography, lighting, score and atmosphere. Great performances by almost all the cast, a little mis-casting may have hurt the film a bit. The film possesses a provocative subject matter that raises questions that are mostly left unanswered, but maybe it's better that way. Great for Kubrick fans, if you can not appreciate this film than you didn't really understand Kubrick. A worthy final chapter in the life of a genious. From a scale of 1-10 I give this film an 8!
Rating: Summary: "If you men only knew..." Review: I had been begging my parents to see this movie for at least 2 weeks before i saw it today. They thought it would be dirty and like a porn movie... God, were they wrong! From the very moment EYES WIDE SHUT began, I was hooked. Nicole Kidman, one of the most beautiful actresses alive, has a multi-faceted character here, which is unusual for her. We're used to seeing her as a boring, two dimensional character (ala PRACTICAL MAGIC), but she plays an emotionally tormented women here to the superb point. I am 13, so I understand my parents' reluctance to let me see this film. But I sat down to watch it and through the whole 159 minutes, I must have left the room once (for some Ginger Ale). A word must be said about the infamous orgy scene. This sequence must be the most scary, unsettling and utterly creepy scene ever put on celluoid. This weird, stanic-sounding music plays in the background as these women in robes and masks kneel around this man in red holding inscense. I had my "eyes wide open" through this and the entire movie. I had just watched THE SHINING about an hour before because I wanted to spend my day remembering Stanley. I thought THE SHINING was awesome, but that can't compare to this. This is not a horror movie, but a lurid, disturbing drama. It is without a doubt the greatest film I've ever seen. Not because of the sex, but because of the tone and superb beauty of this film. Sorry VERTIGO, you'll have to movie out, or rather, just keep your "eyes wide shut" to your replacement!
Rating: Summary: Good Review: Although I thought the movie collapsed toward the end, that most of it was so solid, I am recommending it. This movie gets as diverse opinions as THE THIN RED LINE (if you liked this, then you might like that...to those who thought this was slow, you'd probably find that slow). On Roger Ebert's show, both he and Martin Scorcese voted EYES WIDE SHUT as one of the best ten movies of the 90's! I'll take Martin Scorcese's opinion over any of those one star reviews below, any day!
|