Eyes Wide Shut Forum

Eyes Wide Shut

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so is ziegler the leader of the cult?

>>By eyeswideshutinfoseeker (Monday, 30 Dec 2002 02:57)

THIS FILM IS VERY GOOD BECAUSE ITS FULL OF SEX

>>By piggy (Thursday, 13 Feb 2003 22:06)

never seen this movie but mmmmm tom cruise mmmmm

>>By sexyness (Friday, 14 Feb 2003 15:54)

What I find interesting about this movie is the weak connection to secret societies, such as the Free Masons or the Rosicrucians. Especially during that ritualistic sex scene-whoa!!! And that music-that was powerrful as always w/Kubrick's movies. I love all of his movies, especially Barry Lydon. I searched for the soundtrack and finally Borders found it.

>>By Darkhalls (Wednesday, 5 May 2004 01:47)

OK this is a mesmerising movie but what the hell was going on in it?? I have lots of questions.

(spoilers below)

Yes there is more nudity than even Clockwork Orange (I still have to watch Full Metal Jacket, Shining and other Kubrick stuff later -- love his work). The nudity and models reminded me of Pret-a-Porter when the models were all walking nude down the catwalk. Or some scene like that.

Yeah when I first saw it I immediately thought of a cult. What went on in that mansion was so totally unexpected. I was expected a tacky masquerade party ... similar to the party in the opening scene but people with masks on. I expected there to be sex with masked strangers... but not like how it was!

As for the music. Yeah. I like it how we think the music is often part of the "production" of the movie, but then Cruise turns off the stereo and the music stops. The 'Baby did a bad bad thing' song almost seems out of place because it connects us to our "real world" -- e.g. pop charts etc.

When I saw this movie I felt like I was watching a parallel universe. Sure the cars and people and buildings were the same, but Kubrick seems to have a way to make his movies seem so unHollywood. So non-cliched. I'm not sure what it is. Perspective. Camera angle. Whatever it is it's good.

What the hell is with the ending? "There's one thing we have to do when we get home" "What's that?" "Fuck."

Was Kidman's "dream" really a dream? Was that ritual thing staged or not? I was thinking that Kidman (I can't remember her screen name) was actually at the ritual too -- trying to pretend that she was having a dream. And instead telling a real life account instead because it sounded like something that only happened in a dream.

There was a line also.. .from Ziegler (I think -- at the pool table) about if only one moment seems out of place in reality .. is it really reality? (Something along those lines). Is that touching on philosophy?

What do people you think was the girl's "punishment" for redeeming the doctor? Do you think that she died of a natural OD?

Was that whole ritual thing supposed to be a satire? Like nowhere is there an explanation of the practicality of the cult. What are the rules of the cult? Do those models get paid? Who funds the society? How can such a big society be secret... there will always be someone who leaks.

K that's all I can think of for now.

>>By ftad (Wednesday, 12 May 2004 16:54)

Oh yeah. Who put the mask on the doctor's bed? And how did he lose the mask in the first place i.e. who stole it from him.

>>By ftad (Wednesday, 12 May 2004 16:56)

Another thing that seemed so blaringly odd, at least to me, was the constant focus on Christmas trees. Yeah, I know it was Christmas time in the movie, but the cameras focus on the trees whenever they were present seemed bizarre. Was there perhaps some kind of symbolic intention there or just the usual mundane symbol of the season.

The mask!!! I forgot about that. What an eerie reminder. I don't know. The cult thing was the most fascinating part for me. The music then was so unreal! Who composed that?!? It's not at the end. and believe me I scrolled slowly to find out. Anybody know?

>>By Darkhalls (Saturday, 22 May 2004 07:52)

well i will stay with the shinning and dr strangelove

>>By Mr.Cochayuyo (Friday, 19 Aug 2005 08:42)

I think it's pretty obvious that the girl who redeemed the doc died because they killed her. It's either that or it's a very big coincidence. The cult put the mask on the bed...they are the powerful people of this world right? Not only does ziegler know bill, these people have the power to find everything out about you. Well it's a well kept secret, one because if you disobey them, you will be severely punished. We don't know how true ziegler's words are when he said the musician was sent home to his family.

The music was by gyorgy legati - musica recircata

It seems that some people feel that the cult in the movie was masonic. Their basis for this is that the symbol on the thrown was a 2 headed dragon over the world...which is a masonic symbol.

Kubrick died 4 days after...maybe it's because he revealed some info he wasn't supposed to reveal.

As for the title, it means a million things...i mean eyes wide shut...my take on that is bill was living the perfect life, being sure of himself and everything around him...he finds out that he has no idea what goes on in the world...he is totally oblivious to what was really going on. In a short period of time, he encountered a prostitute with aids, he encountered a man who sells his child's body for money, he stumbles upon a secret society, and he finds out his wife has infedelities. He was so sure of everything around him, he was sure of his wife.

>>By lordeon (Thursday, 8 Sep 2005 15:49)

Contrary to popular belief, this movie is nothing about cults. The "cult" did not put the mask on Alice's pillow, Bill forgot it when he returned the costume. There is no cult, they are just a bunch of rich people having a secret orgy. I recommend everybody genuinely interested in the themes of this film read the novella "Dream Story" which the movie is adapted from. The main tension in the film (as in the novella) is the tension between dreams and reality. It poses the question of infidelity having just as much impact on one's significant other whether it is physical or fantasy. This explains the title and why Bill seeks revenge on Alice after she confesses her dream to him. Bill was ignorant to the fact that his wife (and all women) have just as much hypersexuality as men, and the shock enrages him. The film puts into question one's perception of reality and the impact of dreams on one's life. The author of Dream Story was very well educated about Freud's theories of psychoanalysis and the unconscious and he strongly agreed with those ideas, so take that fun fact into consideration. Granted that sex is a very important part of the film, this is just not film about hot naked chicks and a creepy cult, the deep themes of the film have nothing to do with either.

>>By SoulSlave (Tuesday, 18 Nov 2008 01:14)

I agree partly with what you say: about the oniric and awae-time of the day relationship. And yes i think that it was like a punishment for his infidelity even before being done. But the secret society adds a fact of ultra tension by the possibility of a nightmare becoming real. I wouldn´t rule out the possibility of it being real within the discourse of the film.

>>By Angus Drexler (Wednesday, 10 Dec 2008 19:05)

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