With Eyes Wide Shut, Stanley Kubrick definitely made cinematic history and raised the bar to a level that no other filmmaker in Hollywood has since dared to challenge.
The legendary director, who died at the age of 70, is credited with producing some of the greatest films ever, such as The Shining, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Barry Lyndon, and A Clockwork Orange. His brilliant works paved the way for the development of several genres, including science fiction, horror, and historical epics.
However, it was his last film, the erotic mystery psychological drama, Eyes Wide Shut, that set one of the most unbelievable records in cinematic history.
For those who are unaware, Kubrick passed away six days after delivering the completed film to Warner Bros., leaving behind the Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman-starring movie, Eyes Wide Shut.
According to the late filmmaker, this 1999 film was his “greatest contribution to the art of cinema.” Despite this, he later referred to the final product as a “piece of sh*t”.
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Stanley Kubrick Shot Non-Stop 400 Days For His Last Movie
Stanley Kubrick established the record for the longest continuous film shoot ever while working on his last movie, which is now a Guinness World Record. Eyes Wide Shut’s 400-day production schedule is really an unbelievable record when you consider that the average movie is shot in about a quarter of that time.
The 1926 novella, Dream Story served as the basis for the plot of Eyes Wide Shut, starring Tom Cruise. Well, despite Kubrick’s interest in adapting the story into a film dating back to the 1960s, the project did not actually come to be active in the 1990s. Before the filming even started, the journey from novella to screenplay was like a marathon.
It was originally supposed to be a six-month shoot, but it ended up taking 400 days of nonstop shooting. Also, problems had to arise during the absurdly protracted filming process. Due to such issues on the set, Harvey Keitel and Jennifer Jason Leigh reportedly dropped out of the project.
Stanley Kubrick Thought Eyes Wide Shut Was A ‘Piece of Shit’?
Given his illustrious past, as well as the multiple accounts that described him as a very kind person, it is strange to hear that the late, legendary filmmaker, Stanley Kubrick criticized himself and his then-wife, Nicole Kidman for ruining Eyes Wide Shut.
According to the late actor, R. Lee Ermey, Kubrick was disgusted with Eyes Wide Shut and blamed Tom Cruise and Kidman for “having their way with him.”
The late actor, who starred in Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket previously told Radar:
“Stanley [Kubrick] called me up all the time. He’d call at three o’clock in the morning and say, ‘Oh, it’s 10 o’clock over here.’ [Laughs] ‘Yeah, well, it’s three of f**king-clock in the morning here, Stanley. Oh well.’ He called me about two weeks before he died, as a matter of fact. We had a long conversation about ‘Eyes Wide Shut.’ He told me it was a piece of s*it and that he was disgusted with it and that the critics were going to have him for lunch. He said Cruise and Kidman had their way with him—exactly the words he used.”
When asked to clarify Kubrick’s statements, the actor, who died on April 15, 2018, said:
“He [Stanley Kubrick] was kind of a shy little timid guy. He wasn’t real forceful. That’s why he didn’t appreciate working with big, high-powered actors. They would have their way with him, he would lose control, and his movie would turn to s*it.”
The 1999 erotic mystery psychological drama, Eyes Wide Shut has set a Guinness World Record with its 400-day non-stop shooting schedule. The movie had approximately $162 million in worldwide box office receipts, making it Kubrick’s highest-grossing work.
Watch Eyes Wide Shut on Paramount Plus now.
Source: Indie Wire
