He tended to burn his unused footage. We'll never see the original endings to Strangelove or The Shining, or any of the stuff dropped from FMJ.

well, this seems like as good a thread as any to post this. check it out: http://filmthreat.com/features/a-filmma ... wide-shut/

http://www.eyeswidecut.com

I watched about the first five minutes. I mean, I think we've all thought the movie could use some judicious trimming. Starting the movie straight away with Alice and the Hungarian was pretty jarring, and I don't think it makes sense creatively. Dropping the billiards scene entirely ... well, he's just trolling klimov there.

Stupid. Everyone thinks they're a filmmaker these days. And there's nothing to fix in Eyes Wide Shut, almost every Kubrick film had a mixed critical reception upon release.

O-dot wrote:I watched about the first five minutes. I mean, I think we've all thought the movie could use some judicious trimming. Starting the movie straight away with Alice and the Hungarian was pretty jarring, and I don't think it makes sense creatively. Dropping the billiards scene entirely ... well, he's just trolling klimov there.

i didn't watch any of it yet, but these alone make me think i probably shouldn't.

klimov wrote:Stupid. Everyone thinks they're a filmmaker these days. And there's nothing to fix in Eyes Wide Shut, almost every Kubrick film had a mixed critical reception upon release.

well, he has made some stuff, so technically he is. but this isn't that - it's not like he's pushing to release it - he just wanted to see what it would be like if he did this. if you read any of the site, he did this over the course of three days on a break from shooting. from idea to closing premier, 72h. so maybe dial back the hate some.

EWS deserved better than it got, no question. But I seriously doubt Kubrick was 100% finished when he died just after the first showing to the studio bosses and stars in March '99. For one thing, there was a report that the final cut would be about 2 hours — yet the released movie exceeds 2 1/2. And Kubrick purportedly told a friend — Michael Herr, I think — that he still needed to tweak some things.

Kubrick always edited his films right up to their release date and sometimes beyond, so it seems clear he would've tinkered with EWS between March and July '99. We can never know how the movie might've changed, but it's reasonable to assume he'd have tightened up a few draggy moments here and there. Look at how much he cut from The Shining before its international release. And FMJ was heavily cut back in the editing room — the movie only covers the first 2/3 of Hasford's novel, and the actors have said they shot way more scenes than what ended up in the final cut.

He's made, what, a 5 minute short about a dog? No, he's not a filmmaker.

If there's one small editing issue with EWS, it's the lack of imagery from Kidman's second dream. We know they shot it, and this material should appear when Cruise is back at work in his office after the eventuful night, yet instead we see Kidman and the soldier again which doesn't really make sense. Hope this wasn't censorship by the studio. And yes, sure, one might argue that the film could've been trimmed down a touch - my vote would go for chopping the scenes with the hooker and her friend - but at the end of the day no-one else has a right to touch that edit.

Didn't know they shot Kidman's second dream. Perhaps Kubrick just didn't like how the footage turned out and ditched it. From all accounts, the deleted hospital epilogue in The Shining was nothing special — though I'd still like to have seen it and hope someday it's discovered in a studio vault, a storage unit, or in the salt mines in Kansas.

It takes some serious balls to think you should edit Kubrick. "I'm a huge fan of Kubrick, but I'm going to piss on his work anyway."

Arrogant child seeking 5 minutes of fame.

klimov wrote:Stupid. Everyone thinks they're a filmmaker these days. And there's nothing to fix in Eyes Wide Shut, almost every Kubrick film had a mixed critical reception upon release.

Says the guy who kindly offered to edit Twin Peaks: The Return

But in general agreement, yeah, fuck this. Kubrick died after assembling his first cut. No doubt there would have been more cuts, but the bones and most of the trimmings are still there to feast on, and it manages the trick of being a complete vision and a tantalizing "what if," which is a cool unintentional trick for him to pull off for his final act.

Twin Peaks: The Return is beyond saving unfortunately.

klimov wrote:Twin Peaks: The Return is beyond saving unfortunately.

Fix your heart or die.