SK13 | a doc about Eyes Wide Shut

[Cremildo]

Instead of linking the usual Variety/THR piece, I'll just paste this informative user post from CriterionForum:

[Trekkie313]

The last unofficial documentary about a Kubrick movie was a lot of bunk. I expect the same vagueness and over-examination of hidden subtext here too.

[BluBonnet]

Originally Posted by Trekkie313

The last unofficial documentary about a Kubrick movie was a lot of bunk. I expect the same vagueness and over-examination of hidden subtext here too.

[dallywhitty]

Love Eyes Wide Shut and I've always been fascinated by the question as to how much WB actually tampered with the film following Kubrick's death. Hopefully this documentary will be the final word on the subject and not just hot air.

[philthehip]

Originally Posted by dallywhitty

Love Eyes Wide Shut and I've always been fascinated by the question as to how much WB actually tampered with the film following Kubrick's death. Hopefully this documentary will be the final word on the subject and not just hot air.

By all trusted accounts (other than nutjobbery claims to the contrary) we know what WB did with EWS and the claim from Zierra that a single shot he saw, that subsequently was removed somehow underpins the entire movie is frankly laughable. Stanley's wife, Jan, Kat, and many others who would know have all said the same thing, that the cut is Stanley's other than some musical pieces and the removal of the religious chanting (which is avaialable on Jocelyn Pook's album Flood.

I fully expect this doc will use hearsay and insinuation without actual proof of anything and the conspiracy nuts will lap that up and believe in some enormous global conspiracy that is connected to SK somehow.

[hanshotfirst1138]

Originally Posted by Trekkie313

The last unofficial documentary about a Kubrick movie was a lot of bunk. I expect the same vagueness and over-examination of hidden subtext here too.

After watching Room 237, I have decided that no one is allowed to tell me I overanalyzed a movie ever again!

[s2mikey]

Originally Posted by dallywhitty

Love Eyes Wide Shut and I've always been fascinated by the question as to how much WB actually tampered with the film following Kubrick's death. Hopefully this documentary will be the final word on the subject and not just hot air.

Hopefully....this triggers a 4K release of the film. The blu-ray is just OK. It could use a 4K resto.

[RevolverOcelScott]

Originally Posted by hanshotfirst1138

After watching Room 237, I have decided that no one is allowed to tell me I overanalyzed a movie ever again!

I think that's the beauty of Room 237. I think it's supposed to show the absolutely logical deeper examinations, and the absolute garbage/try hard interpretations.

[FatherDude]

While I'm still eager to watch SK13, I'm a bit turned off by the sensationalistic terms the team is promoting their work in. It does give off some ROOM 237 vibes, and that is not a compliment. I don't understand how anyone sat through that thing. While I'm open to the idea that it was presenting the crackpot theories "ironically" rather than endorsing them, the experience still comes down to watching people being confidently incorrect at length about how numerals seen in THE SHINING prove that Kubrick faked the moon landing or whatever while store-bought, Ancient Aliens "spooky" music plays in the background. You can swear up and down in spite of this that it's really a 3D chess examination of how the enigmatic nature of the movie inspired all sorts of obsession, but I'll judge what I'm actually looking it, which was insufferable and insight-free.

Anyway, the incoming 25th anniversary of EYES WIDE SHUT is a great time for this to finally come out. After FILMWORKER I nurse some hope that Zierra's documentary will be more substance than conspiracy-mongering, and I do look forward to finding out as soon as possible.

[EvaDK]

Kubrick talked with loads of people about Traumnovelle ever since he purchased the filming rights some 50 years ago. Filmmakers, writers, authors, his wife, assistant and producer. He had extensive talks with the author of A Clockwork Orange, Anthony Burgess, about Schnitzlers novel and some of their correspondence is available to read online. Several of these people have shared their insight what kind of questions Kubrick asked them (after reading the novel).

Kubrick was fascinated by Schnitzler's insight into such topics like marriage, sex, desire, fidelity, jealousy, conventions, sexual taboos, dreams, sexual fantasies and the like. And those are the beating heart and keystring of Eyes Wide Shut. Anyone who claims Kubrick was obsessed with exposing conspiracies with this film, didn't do any homework into the actual pre-production of the film (which lasted for decades). Same goes for The Shining btw.

[BudBaxter]

Has this been released (or finished?) yet?

[FatherDude]

It is confirmed to have been finished, and now they're trying to find distribution. More info at the stream from Tony Zierra embedded below and this rant by one of the folks involved.

SK13: The Master's Endgame - Exclusive Q&A with Tony Zierra - YouTube

The tenor of "We blew the lid off!" is what's making me a little suspect about the project, but maybe I'm just taking the most cynical view of their enthusiasm.

[philthehip]

Originally Posted by FatherDude

While I'm still eager to watch SK13, I'm a bit turned off by the sensationalistic terms the team is promoting their work in. It does give off some ROOM 237 vibes, and that is not a compliment. I don't understand how anyone sat through that thing. While I'm open to the idea that it was presenting the crackpot theories "ironically" rather than endorsing them, the experience still comes down to watching people being confidently incorrect at length about how numerals seen in THE SHINING prove that Kubrick faked the moon landing or whatever while store-bought, Ancient Aliens "spooky" music plays in the background. You can swear up and down in spite of this that it's really a 3D chess examination of how the enigmatic nature of the movie inspired all sorts of obsession, but I'll judge what I'm actually looking it, which was insufferable and insight-free.

Anyway, the incoming 25th anniversary of EYES WIDE SHUT is a great time for this to finally come out. After FILMWORKER I nurse some hope that Zierra's documentary will be more substance than conspiracy-mongering, and I do look forward to finding out as soon as possible.

I asked Zierra about the sensationalist/conspiracy angle that was being pushed and he claims that the documentary is not a conspiracy theorist wet-dream but a serious look at the film. BUt then he went on to claim that the entire documentary is based on fact and exposes important secrets.

Frankly, I hold out no hope that this is not crackers.

[prkchopexpress]

wait… you’re telling me a movie with two of the biggest stars at the time with lots of nudity that was the big summer release of warner brothers, might have been edited because when it played in a puritanical country with lots of people clutching their pearls? surely, you jest.

i would totally watch this though. don’t fault a guy for trying to drum up interest in his doc.

i’ll say this though, you can’t fault the filmmakers for willful misinterpretation of their work (like the theories in room 237.) they are fascinating, even when they are completely without merit.

[format916]

i am so sick about hearing these supposed missing 20 minutes. You think some big secret is hidden in there that wasn't in the finished film? So Bogus!

[FatherDude]

Well, anyone who thought this project was giving off Ancient Aliens vibes probably won't have their concerns mollified by this teaser:

SK13: KUBRICK'S ENDGAME Teaser 1 - YouTube

[EvaDK]

Lulz

All I want is just a solid documentary about how Eyes Wide Shut was made. Similar to Vivian Kubricks footage from behind the scenes of The Shining. This isn't it by the look of that trailer.

[FatherDude]

It's unfortunate. My memory of FILMWORKER is that it was a reasonably grounded profile of its subject, so Zierra ought to have been qualified. But if the tone of the marketing is even remotely representative, he's gone round the bend.

[philthehip]

When I spoke briefly with Tony Zierra he said that this was a serious look at the movie rather than a conspiracy riddled nonsense. I remain unconvinced.

[FatherDude]

The movie and the circumstances of its release are innately interesting to any cinema dork, making the "plussing up" on display here unnecessary, cheapening and juvenile.

There's no doubt that in 1999 Warner Bros. had a commercial interest in portraying the movie as totally finished upon Kubricks death, which we know wasn't exactly true. With twenty-five years distance, a journalistic look into the project's development, production, and particularly post-production (shining a light on what Kubrick's collaborators had to execute without him, and what sort of direction they had to go on in doing so), would be plenty fascinating, just probably not particularly sensationalistic.

I have the sinking feeling that reality wasn't deemed good enough and we're going to be subjected to...well, what's implied by the tenor of the doc's web presence. I mean, what the hell is with the off-brand Illuminati logo? They shouldn't be going in for that garbage even ironically.