Stanley Kubrick read Arthur Schnitzler's 1926 novella "Traumnovelle" (Dream Story) in 1968, when Kubrick was looking for a project to follow 2001: A Space Odyssey.
It looks like that when Kubrick got his house in England with his offices and workshops and editing suite he seemed to have a lot of “Next projects” lined up for after 2001: A Space Odyssey most notably the overly expensive Napoleon epic that went unmade.
In the late 60’s Kubrick was interested in adapting "Traumnovelle" into a motion picture project so he bought the film rights to the novel.
He wanted to adapt “Dream Story” into a sex comedy "with a wild and sombre streak running through it" he imagined casting Steve Martin, Woody Allen or Alan Alda in the lead role.
He looked at the project again in the 80's after making "The Shining" but the next 10+ years Kubrick kept the project on a back burner.
Stanley revived the project in 1994 and hired Oscar winning screenwriter Frederic Raphael to work on the script. Raphael set about making a lot of changes most notable changing the setting of the story from early 20th century Vienna to late 20th century New York City and he generally modernising the thriller elements.
“Eye’s Wide Shut” (1999)
Directed by Stanley Kubrick, Screenplay by Stanley Kubrick & Frederic Raphael,
Based on Traumnovelle by Arthur Schnitzler, Produced by Stanley Kubrick, Music by Jocelyn Pook, Cinematography Larry Smith, Edited by Nigel Galt and Starring Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Sydney Pollack, Marie Richardson & Leelee Sobieski.
(Run Time 159m)
After Dr. Bill Hartford's wife, Alice, admits to having sexual fantasies about a man she met, Bill becomes obsessed with having a sexual encounter. He manages to infiltrate secret sex cult and attends one of their meetings and he quickly discovers that he is in over his head.
Kubrick had not worked with a “Big Name” actor since filming “The Shining” in 1979 but
then Warner Bros. president Terry Semel who approved the production asked Stanley to cast “movie stars" Kubrick considered casting Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger in the lead roles.
Tom Cruise was in England in late 1995 because his then wife Nicole Kidman was there making a movie and the couple took up Stanley’s invitation to visit Kubrick at his estate.
After that meeting, the director offered them the roles. Kubrick also managed to get both of them not commit to any other projects until “Eyes Wide Shut” was completed.
Kubrick had cast Jennifer Jason Leigh and Harvey Keitel in supporting roles and had been filmed by Kubrick but due to scheduling conflicts were both dropped from the production and were replaced by Sydney Pollack and Marie Richardson in the finished film.
Principal photography began in November 1996. Kubrick who had always put 100% into his production with a very high attention to every detail which had reaped huge rewards with previous productions but in 1996 his obsession with perfectionism seems to have reached a new level.
Script pages were being rewritten on the set, most scenes requiring numerous takes. The shoot went on for much longer than planed. One actress Vinessa Shaw was contracted for two weeks but ended up working on the film for two months. Scottish actor Alan Cumming, who appears in a single scene as a hotel desk clerk had to audition six times before getting on set.
Being a Kubrick film the whole thing (bar a couple of New York City establishing shots and some Manhattan footage used for rear projection) was shot in England.
Sound-stage sets in London's Pinewood Studios included a detailed recreation of Greenwich Village. Kubrick actually sent researchers and craftsmen to Manhattan to measure street widths make detailed notes and plot the exact locations of newspaper vending machine.
The production became relentless and the cast and crew became exhausted and frustrated. Filming finally wrapped in June 1998.
The Guinness World Records recognized Eyes Wide Shut as
"The Longest Constant Movie Shoot" taking over 15 months,
that period included an unbroken shoot of 46 straight weeks.
After principle photography had been completed, Kubrick entered a prolonged post-production and editing process.
On March the 1st, 1999,
Kubrick showed a cut of the film to
Cruise, Kidman and the Warner Bros. executives.
Stanley Kubrick passed away six days later on the 7th of March, 1999 (aged 70)
The film was released into cinemas in the US on the 16th of July 1999 then in the UK eight weeks later.
Stanley on the set of "Eyes Wide Shut"
checking out Sydney Pollack digital camera
Eyes Wide Shut received mixed but generally positive reviews from critics on its release
(for a change)
Over 50 critics listed the film among the best of 1999 in early 2000.
But generally due to the film coming out after Kubrick’s death everyone seemed keen to hail him as the true legend he was but the reviews still contained negative comments regarding story elements and other aspects of the film.
I do understand, ultimately this is an Erotic Thriller that should have been made for about $40m but it ends up being the final film by one of the greatest motion picture directors of all time.
As you may imagine the films budget did balloon somewhat during the production and ended up being $65m but it did gross $162.1m at the world wide box office.
Martin Scorsese wrote:
"When Eyes Wide Shut came out a few months after Stanley Kubrick's death in 1999, it was severely misunderstood, which came as no surprise. If you go back and look at the contemporary reactions to any Kubrick picture you'll see that all his films were initially misunderstood. Then, after five or ten years came the realisation that 2001 or Barry Lyndon or The Shining was like nothing else before or since."
Well Said Marty!!
I do genuinely like “Eye’s Wide Shut” and I liked it in 1999 when I saw it in the cinema.
it has a wonderful dream-like, almost hypnotic quality at times and the erotic elements shift from titillating to nightmarish with palpable dread.
In the late 1990’s Kubrick was developing a Sci-fi movie he referred to as his “Pinocchio” project. After Stanley’s passing his family passed all the production materials to Steven Spielberg who went on to complete the project as the film “A.I.” amusingly released in 2001.
Stanley Kubrick’s death and legacy.
Kubrick passed away at home at Childwickbury Manor, Hertfordshire.
He died On March 7, 1999, Stanley died of a heart attack in his sleep at the age of 70.
His funeral was held five days later at his home with only 100 people who were all close friends and family in attendance. The funeral was described as a
"family farewell, almost like an English picnic"
Classical musicians performed some of Kubrick's favourite classical compositions and eulogies were given by his brother-in-law Jan Harlan, Steven Spielberg, Nicole Kidman & Tom Cruise.
He was then buried at home next to his favourite tree in the grounds of his estate.
Kubrick does belong to the “New Hollywood” wave but Kubrick as a filmmaker transcends labels as much as his work transcends genres.
His films are considered to be some of the most significant contributions to cinema in the twentieth century.
He is frequently cited as one of the greatest and most influential directors in the history of cinema.
According to film historian Robert Kolker,
“Kubrick's films were more intellectually rigorous than the work of any other American filmmaker."
Filmmakers such as,
Martin Scorsese, Brian De Palma, Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola, Wes Anderson, George Lucas, Terry Gilliam, the Coen brothers, Ridley Scott, George A. Romero, Michael Mann, David Fincher, Guillermo del Toro, David Lynch, Quentin Tarantino, Sam Raimi, Lars von Trier, John Carpenter, Paul Thomas Anderson, Peter Jackson, Wes Anderson, Darren Aronofsky, Sam Mendes, Richard Attenborough, Edgar Wright, Richard Linklater, Gareth Edwards, Nicolas Winding Refn, Frank Darabont, Ben Wheatley, Denis Villeneuve and Christopher Nolan have all publicly cited Kubrick as a source of inspiration.
Steven Spielberg has said "nobody could shoot a picture better in history".
One of Kubrick’s greatest personal influences and favourite director, Orson Welles, said that: "Among those whom I would call 'younger generation', Kubrick appears to me to be a giant."
In 2000, BAFTA renamed their “Britannia lifetime achievement award” to the
"Stanley Kubrick Britannia Award"
I recommend watching
“Barry Lyndon” (1975)
You can rent this movie on HD from Amazon Prime or Apple TV for £3.49
Sadly this is currently out of print on Blu-ray, fingers crossed for a 4K release soon.
“The Shining” (1980)
You can rent this movie on HD from Amazon Prime or Apple TV for £3.49
“Dr Strangelove” (1964)
You can rent this movie on HD from Amazon Prime or Apple TV for £3.49
“2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968)
You can rent this movie on HD from Amazon Prime or Apple TV for £3.49
“Paths of Glory” (1957)
You can currently see this included with Amazon Prime Video or
You can rent this movie on HD via Apple TV for £3.49
But in all honesty I recommend all of Kubrick’s Films.
Thank you so much if you have actually read all this!!
