Kubrick's Second best after 2001

Rating: 10/10 (18 July 1999)

I think the critics, even the ones who like this film, are missing the point. When 2001 came out, most every critic panned it completely. Pauline Kael, the uber-critic, called it dull and unimaginative. At that time, I can understand her view. Kubrick's famous films that far were The Killing, Paths of Glory, Spartacus, Lolita (the only one on this list I haven't seen), and Dr. Strangelove. All of these are wonderful films, Dr. Strangelove usually being considered his second masterpiece after 2001, but they lack the style of all the later Kubrick films. 2001 may be somewhat tedious to the average person once in a while, and it's almost uninterpretable, but it leaves posibly the strongest after-thoughts of any film. Kubrick's target was our love for narrative, but our unconscious minds. The pleasure of watching 2001 and Kubrick's other later films resides deep inside. It is too bad critics only have a few days to write their reviews. But by this time, they should have seen enough of Kubrick's films to realize this. The Shining, A Clockwork Orange, and Full Metal jacket all aged beautifully in my perception, and they all get better with each subsequent viewing. No other director who ever lived can do this.
Only 2001 effects the unconscious mind more than Eyes Wide Shut. It is truly his second best film. It's images wander in my mind two days afterward as if I saw it an hour ago. I lay in bed the whole first night thinking about it, not sleeping for ten minutes. I didn't need to go to sleep to dream that night. The film seemed as if I dreamed it. The grainy film really added to that effect. And the color scheme. God, Kubrick was a genius to set this film at Christmastime. There are several gorgeous shots of Christmas lights. And a neon rainbow that especially lingers in my mind. And the religious orgy scene, which will undoubtedly become the most famous scene in the film, has colors that just made me weep with their heavenly beauty. Oh, and those purple sheets at the very end of the film. Critics complained about a speech near the end that undermined and ruined a nice murder mystery thread of the narrative (see especially Roger Ebert's review; though I love him, I think he's dead wrong this time). I think it would have been below Kubrick to end the film with a mysterious twist. Any director can give us a narrative trick at the end to put a goofy smile on our face. The idiotic ending of The Usual Suspects comes to the head of my mind. It's usually misinterpreted as genius because people don't realize that the sum of the parts ought to naturally be greater than one clever scene. If you want to see real genius, see Eyes Wide Shut, the second best film that Kubrick made, the second best film of the nineteen-nineties, and one of the best films ever made.