Little-Known Details About Stanley Kubrick’s Final Film Eyes Wide Shut

Stanley Kubrick’s final film Eyes Wide Shut has attracted attention for years not only because of the film itself, but also because of the mystery and controversy that grew around it. One of the most striking facts is that Kubrick died only a few days after delivering the film to Warner Bros. Because of that, the movie almost immediately became more than just a film. It became Kubrick’s final unanswered puzzle.

What makes this even more interesting is that the story on screen unfolds over just two days, yet the shooting lasted 400 days. The post-production process then continued for about another year. In other words, the audience watches a short span of time, but behind it lies an extremely long and obsessive creative process. That alone says a lot about Kubrick’s way of working.

Kubrick originally considered Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger for the lead roles. Later, he changed direction and chose Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, who were also married at the time. Their connection with Kubrick reportedly deepened after they visited him in London while Kidman was there for The Portrait of a Lady. 

Alec Baldwin ve Kim Basinger

Another detail many people do not know is that the mysterious woman played by Abigail Good was voiced by Cate Blanchett.

Sydney Pollack, who appears as Victor Ziegler, was not only an actor but also an Oscar-winning director.

1986 - Sydney Pollack, Best Direction & Best Picture For Out of Africa

Although the story takes place in New York, the film was actually shot in London. Production took place at Pinewood Studios under tight security measures. Kubrick’s obsession with control did not stop there. After filming ended, he reportedly arranged a private screening for Cruise and Kidman and even asked the projectionists to turn their backs to the screen. That detail alone says a lot about how secretive and controlling he was during the entire process.

The shoot was also exhausting for the cast. Tom Cruise is said to have developed an ulcer during production. That becomes easier to believe when you look at how long some scenes took to complete. The thirteen-minute billiard room scene between Cruise and Sydney Pollack reportedly required around 200 takes and nearly three weeks of filming. That is not the method of an ordinary director. It is the method of someone building every scene piece by piece with extreme precision.

One of the strangest parts of the production involves Kubrick’s effort to heighten the realism of the jealousy and sexual tension in the film. Nicole Kidman’s scene involving the naval officer was reportedly filmed over six days, and Tom Cruise was not allowed on set during that time. Even more unusually, Kidman was allegedly told not to describe what happened during filming to her husband. At that point, Kubrick seems less like a director filming scenes and more like someone deliberately shaping the emotional atmosphere around his actors.

According to another well-known anecdote, Kubrick even joined Cruise and Kidman in psychoanalysis sessions to prepare them for their roles. During those sessions, the couple reportedly discussed fears related to their real marriage and relationship, then promised never to reveal what had been said. If true, that would mean Eyes Wide Shut was not just a performance, but also a project that blurred the line between fiction and the actors’ real lives.

Kubrick’s assistant Emilio D’Alessandro also appears in the movie as a bookseller, which is another great behind-the-scenes detail.

Emilio D’Alessandro

The film also contains smaller but very revealing details. The password used to enter the secret party is Fidelio, which is the title of Beethoven’s only opera.

Fidelio

 The apartment where Alice and Bill live was reportedly a copy of the apartment Kubrick himself had lived in before moving to England. The paintings seen in the apartment were also said to have been created by Kubrick’s wife, Christiane. Even the domestic space inside the film seems to have been built from fragments of Kubrick’s own life.

After Kubrick’s death, arguments about censorship quickly exploded. Many people began questioning whether the released version had been altered and whether it could truly be considered Kubrick’s final intended cut. As those rumors spread, Tom Cruise reportedly said, “If anyone tries to cut the film, they’ll have to deal with me.” That reaction only deepened the film’s reputation as a troubled and controversial final work.

There are many other curious details as well. The film ends with the word “fuck.” Kubrick reportedly watched films like Showgirls, Basic Instinct, and Fatal Attraction to study how far sexual material could go within ratings boundaries.

Eva Herzigova was personally offered the role of Mandy but turned it down because of the amount of nudity involved.

Eva Herzigova

Christopher Nolan later said that he appreciated the film much more when he revisited it as an older man. Martin Scorsese placed it among the best films of the 1990s.

Kubrick’s daughter Katharina and his grandson Alex Hobbs also appeared in the film, making the project feel even more personal.

Katharina Hobbs and Alex Hobbs

That is why Eyes Wide Shut feels like more than just Kubrick’s last movie. It feels like a dark record of obsession, secrecy, desire, jealousy, and the fragile line between performance and reality. Kubrick delivered the film, died a few days later, and left behind not closure, but a final mystery.