lelande
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eyes wide shut
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Jun 16 07:56 UTC 2000 |
i'm curious about general commentary 'round here regarding _eyes wide shut_.
i'm going to sleep and then camp far away from any computer terminal for 3
days, so i can't kick off with my own extended commentary except to say that
i've seen it 8 times and plan to see it many more, and that i think it's one
of the best movies ever made, if not _the_ best.
it wasn't talked about much, really, except for a general sound of snoring
from the critics. in my travels since last summer i've run into a goodly sum
of folks whose faces light up when i mention _eyes wide shut_, most of whom
have lots to say about it.
those i've run into who didn't like it aren't always as interested to talk
about it, may take a little more digging on my inquisitive part.
it seems psychologically, culturally, and aesthetically controversial, but
it also bored a lot of people and maybe let a lot of people down. i can
understand that since it is a meticulously paced flic, and pretty involved,
which maybe takes a certain audience. as is the case with _last year at
marienbad_, and _blow-up_, and _2001_, and a buncha other cool movies i love.
have at it, if thou wilt! XP
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remmers
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response 1 of 3:
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Jun 16 13:38 UTC 2000 |
I think _Eyes Wide Shut_ is (a) one of Kubrick's best and (b) one of
the best films of the last decade. True, it got short shrift from
the critics. Part of the problem with that may have been that it
was hyped as something other than what it actually is.
I found it to be an absorbing, fascinating film. I haven't seen it
8 times (I don't think I've seen *any* movie 8 times; well, there's
a few I've seen 5 times), but I saw it once in a theater, and
subsequently watched a few scenes on DVD. I do plan to watch it
all the way through again sometime.
The DVD is splendid, by the way. It's shown full aperture as
Kubrick intended, rather than widescreen as it was displayed in
theaters, and looks gorgeous.
There's a long essay on _Eyes Wide Shut_ in the current Film
Quarterly that you might want to look up.
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lelande
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response 2 of 3:
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Jun 19 07:47 UTC 2000 |
yeah, i like watching movies repeatedly. i've seen _annie hall_ and both
godfather movies more than 50 times apiece. when i was a kid someone told me
"trust your obsessions" and its gotten me this far . . .
most of the critics panned it because it wasn't sexy -- deranged and perverse,
maybe, but not sexy. the first scene with kidman all sleek and sensually nude
in front of the mirror preparing for her night of wifing i initially took for
a mood-setting, when what it does is gets what everyone came to see (hot
chicks! bonin! let's see some fuckin, woo hoo!) out of the way so the REAL
movie could step forward.
i agree without a doubt that it's kubrick's masterpiece and should be
considered one of the finest films ever pieced together. i'm prone to fits
of hyperbole, but i think of it as the capstone of the history of cinema to
date.
i think that mag is at liberty video, i'll check it out.
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