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48. Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
I feel like this is probably Kubrick's most underrated film, even though it still has its fair amount of supporters. I never fully grasped why that's the case, but it's probably because the film is ambiguous in tone, while also offering a quite textual, narrative closure at the same time. People mostly want the one or the other, but I personally don't mind it at all.
The main reason why I love this film so much is the extraordinary and masterful visual execution of it. Kubrick was such a perfectionist. Every single frame evokes a sense of sheer beauty and aside from that, the visuals also have a purpose. The erotic colors, the soft camera movements and the intriguing music are truly able to hypnotize the viewer. Kubrick makes sure that we are actually part of the dark psycho-sexual adventure that is being shown, by tickling our senses in very effective and piercing ways.
This is the kind of film that tells an intriguing and mysterious story that keeps the viewer's attention, while at the same time making sure that people who are looking for meaning and deeper content will also be satisfied. Kubrick's films almost always have multiple layers that can be explored and this is definitely that kind of film. This substantive richness makes this film an ideal candidate for multiple rewatches. Eyes Wide Shut just gets better and better over time, because you'll always be able to find new truths and perspectives of various moments.
After a solid 2 to 3 years of serious film watching, I can conclude that so far, Kubrick has not been parallelled by any director yet, in terms of satisfying me both visually and content-wise. I just love watching and admiring his films. Kubrick knew how to make ambitious and refreshing films and his movies never lose my interest for one second. They're pieces of art that very much reward periodic revisits. His last movie is not an exception and the fact that, over time, the praise for this film only increases, is not a coincidence! It's just a very memorable film experience that doesn't easily escape the minds of the people who have witnessed it...
This film is just classic Kubrickian movie magic!
I posted this scene, because I'd like to demonstrate that Kubrick also knew that (both subtle and more excessive) sparkles of oddity and humor can help to retain a viewer's attention and to actually even strengthen the profoundness of the film experience. It's something that certain "serious" directors completely lack and that's why they're often perceived as much more boring by the mainstream public.
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I feel like this is probably Kubrick's most underrated film, even though it still has its fair amount of supporters. I never fully grasped why that's the case, but it's probably because the film is ambiguous in tone, while also offering a quite textual, narrative closure at the same time. People mostly want the one or the other, but I personally don't mind it at all.
The main reason why I love this film so much is the extraordinary and masterful visual execution of it. Kubrick was such a perfectionist. Every single frame evokes a sense of sheer beauty and aside from that, the visuals also have a purpose. The erotic colors, the soft camera movements and the intriguing music are truly able to hypnotize the viewer. Kubrick makes sure that we are actually part of the dark psycho-sexual adventure that is being shown, by tickling our senses in very effective and piercing ways.
This is the kind of film that tells an intriguing and mysterious story that keeps the viewer's attention, while at the same time making sure that people who are looking for meaning and deeper content will also be satisfied. Kubrick's films almost always have multiple layers that can be explored and this is definitely that kind of film. This substantive richness makes this film an ideal candidate for multiple rewatches. Eyes Wide Shut just gets better and better over time, because you'll always be able to find new truths and perspectives of various moments.
After a solid 2 to 3 years of serious film watching, I can conclude that so far, Kubrick has not been parallelled by any director yet, in terms of satisfying me both visually and content-wise. I just love watching and admiring his films. Kubrick knew how to make ambitious and refreshing films and his movies never lose my interest for one second. They're pieces of art that very much reward periodic revisits. His last movie is not an exception and the fact that, over time, the praise for this film only increases, is not a coincidence! It's just a very memorable film experience that doesn't easily escape the minds of the people who have witnessed it...
This film is just classic Kubrickian movie magic!
I posted this scene, because I'd like to demonstrate that Kubrick also knew that (both subtle and more excessive) sparkles of oddity and humor can help to retain a viewer's attention and to actually even strengthen the profoundness of the film experience. It's something that certain "serious" directors completely lack and that's why they're often perceived as much more boring by the mainstream public.
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