1999 was a big year for movies, something we discuss elsewhere on this site as well. But we wanted to take particular note of the Independent's recent write up of Stanley Kubrick's final film. It's hard to turn the cultural clock back to the late 1990s. There was no streaming yet. As writer Ed Power reminds us, Tom Cruise had yet to jump on Oprah's couch and none of us had seen Going Clear. Stanley Kubrick wasn't just a legend of cinema, he was a working director still making movies. 'Oprah' But as different as 1999 was from 2019, this situation seems like it would be weird at any time: Idiosyncratic/hermit/creative genius filmmaker pairs with Hollywood's most bankable star and his real-life wife for a movie whose centerpiece is a creepy masked orgy's effects on a marriage. "the 2001 of relationship movies" - Christopher Nolan Oh, and it was released on July 16. Like some kind of summer blockbuster. We have questions! How Did Eyes Wide Shut Happen? Kubrick had "long been obsessed" with the source, 'Traumnovelle' or 'Dream Story' which was a 1926 novella by Arthur Schnitzler. The plot is much the same, though it takes place in Vienna in the 20th century. It's a story about adultery or the desire to commit adultery. Having the movie star a Hollywood power-couple at the peak of the tabloid fame was a stroke of pure genius. Or maybe luck. Or maybe both... 'Eyes Wide Shut'Warner Bros. Tom Cruise signed on...
Published By: NoFilmSchool - Tuesday, 27 August, 2024