Eyes Wide Shut
1999, USA/UK, dir. Stanley Kubrick
An erotic psychological drama directed, produced, and co-written by Stanley Kubrick. Starring Tom Cruise (William "Bill" Harford), Nicole Kidman (Alice Harford), Sydney Pollack (Victor Ziegler), Todd Field (Nick Nightingale), Marie Richardson (Marion Nathanson), Sky du Mont (Sandor Szavost), Rade Šerbedžija (Milich), Thomas Gibson (Carl Thomas), Vinessa Shaw (Domino), Fay Masterson (Sally), Alan Cumming (hotel clerk), Leelee Sobieski (Milich’s daughter), Leon Vitali (man in red cloak), Julienne Davis (Mandy), Abigail Good (mysterious woman), and Madison Eginton (Helena Harford). The mysterious woman was voiced by Kate Blanchett. Based on Arthur Schnitzler’s 1926 novella Dream Story. Screenplay by Frederic Raphael, music by Jocelyn Pook, featuring Dmitri Shostakovich’s “Waltz No. 2,” György Ligeti, Richard Wagner, Franz Liszt, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Set in New York, where Dr. Bill Harford, after his wife’s confession of sexual fantasies, ventures into the shadowy nightlife and infiltrates a masked elite orgy. Filmed over 400 days (Guinness record) at London’s Pinewood Studios and the Rothschild family’s Mentmore Towers, produced by Warner Bros., executives Terry Semel and Robert Daly. Premiered on July 16, 1999, earning $162.1 million. Critics: 76% on Rotten Tomatoes, 68/100 on Metacritic; audience CinemaScore — D-. Stanley Kubrick showed the final cut to Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, and Warner Bros. executives on March 1, 1999, dying six days later on March 7. Cast

• Tom Cruise — William "Bill" Harford
• Nicole Kidman — Alice Harford
• Sydney Pollack — Victor Ziegler
• Todd Field — Nick Nightingale
• Marie Richardson — Marion Nathanson
• Sky du Mont — Sandor Szavost
• Rade Šerbedžija — Milich
• Thomas Gibson — Carl Thomas
• Vinessa Shaw — Domino
• Fay Masterson — Sally
• Alan Cumming — hotel clerk
• Leelee Sobieski — Milich’s daughter
• Leon Vitali — man in red cloak
• Julienne Davis — Mandy
• Abigail Good — mysterious woman
• Madison Eginton — Helena Harford

Production
Stanley Kubrick conceived the idea in 1968 after 2001: A Space Odyssey, acquiring rights with Jay Cocks. Initially planned as a sex comedy with Steve Martin or Woody Allen, he later considered Tom Hanks, Bill Murray, Dustin Hoffman, Warren Beatty, Albert Brooks, Alan Alda, and Sam Shepard. In 1994, he hired Frederic Raphael, shifting the story from Vienna to New York. Warner Bros. president Terry Semel suggested stars — initially Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger, but after a London meeting, Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman were cast. Harvey Keitel and Jennifer Jason Leigh were replaced by Sydney Pollack and Marie Richardson. Filming from 1996 to 1998 was prolonged by Kubrick’s perfectionism. Mysteries and Elite Clues
Stanley Kubrick died of a heart attack on March 7, 1999, six days after delivering the film. The 70-year-old director’s death sparked suspicion — did he cross powerful figures? The masked orgy with Venetian masks, red cloaks, and hierarchy evokes elite secret societies like the Illuminati, Freemasons, or the Rothschild dynasty. Filming at Mentmore Towers, owned by Nathaniel Rothschild’s descendants, and Marie-Hélène de Rothschild’s 1972 ball at Château de Ferrières fuel speculation. Some claim 20–45 minutes of cut footage hid shocking rituals, though Warner Bros. cites U.S. censorship. Kubrick, known for symbolism (A Clockwork Orange, The Shining), may have indirectly exposed elite decadence. His research (from Sigmund Freud and Gustav Jung to conspiracies) and work with high-profile actors offered backstage insight. Yet, family and assistants, including Leon Vitali, insist his death was natural and the film completed as intended. The Elite’s Hidden Life
The film raises questions about a parallel society with bloody laws, occasionally exposed:

• Jeffrey Epstein: Influential figures — Prince Andrew, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Donald Trump — linked to his secret island orgies, echoing Kubrick’s aesthetic.
• Rothschild Balls: Marie-Hélène de Rothschild’s 1972 masked ball and Guy de Rothschild’s financial schemes hint at elite traditions.
• Thursday Club and Profumo Affair: In 1963, UK minister John Profumo and Christine Keeler exposed elite sexual ties, including Thursday Club members and brothers John Kennedy and Robert Kennedy.
• Marc Dutroux Case: In 1990s Belgium, violent acts tied to officials like Jean-Pierre van Rossum surfaced.
• Wikileaks and Panama Papers: Julian Assange and journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia revealed elite corruption — Vladimir Putin’s circle (Sergei Roldugin, Arkady Rotenberg) in $2 billion schemes, David Cameron via his father Ian Cameron’s offshore fund.

These cases show elite secrets emerge when the system grows overconfident or is betrayed. Did Kubrick strike a nerve? His death may be a coincidence inflated by conspiracy, but the film remains a catalyst for debate about unseen power.