The descent can almost be seen as a Icarus flying too close to the sun in a moment of hubris (with Pollak serving as the Daedelus character?), or the journey through the underground in Joseph Campbell's hero cycle, but that may be stretching a metaphor too far. Pay close attention, though, to the various ways that Bill is attracted to the temptation, but kept from it. There's always an interruption, a knock on a door, a telephone, another person entering the room. Opportunity presented, but not won.
Eyes Wide Shut, even with it's flabby denoument and stark final scene, is a worthy addition to the Kubrick canon and a fitting memory of the man's talent. I'd hesitate to classify it as a masterpiece, but it is certainly a Major Work and one of the best films of the decade.
RATING: ***1/2
Related Sites
- Eyes Wide Shut official web site
- Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut
An excellent fan-page, with link rich news features that will lead you to everything else on the web you could possibly want to know about the film. A welcome resource, since the official site offers nothing but clips. From fan Siddy Rushes.
- Counting Down to Eyes Wide Shut
Another content-rich site about Kubrick's last movie, from the Counting Down crew, maintained by Trent White. Very well-organized, and will serve as a lasting tribute to the film, while counting down to Oscar 2000.
- The Kubrick Site
The official website for the alt.movies.kubrick newsgroup. An archive of reviews, articles, scripts, press materials, scholarly writings, and the meta-FAQ. Maintained by fan Geoffrey Alexander.
- Stanley Kubrick: The Master Filmmaker
A fan site about Kubrick, the man, and his work. One of the few fan sites with an originally-written biography and a list of reference sources used.
- Kubrick Multimedia Film Guide
Arguably, the premiere Kubrick image and sound site on the Web. Well-researched links to other web resources on each of the master's films. From fan Patrick J. Larkin.
- Elle's Tom Cruise Page
Over 100 images, a sparse bio, a chatroom, movieclips, sounds, fanclub, and links to scripts, all in a very crowded layout. Includes a heartfelt personal essay from the webmistress, Elle.
- Nicole Kidman Internet Headquarters
Created by fan Garrett Mears, the best page of this simple, clean-looking site is "Sighting Stories," chance encounters with the actress that fans have posted.
- Movie Review Query Engine: Eyes Wide Shut
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The Blair Witch Project | Eyes Wide Shut | Lake Placid | Muppets From Space | The Wood
