Great Scene: “Eyes Wide Shut”

“But you know I do love you and there is something important we need to do as soon as possible.”

The great filmmaker Stanley Kubrick’s final movie was the 1999 film Eyes Wide Shut.

Plot summary: A New York City doctor embarks on a harrowing, night-long odyssey of sexual and moral discovery after his wife reveals a painful secret to him.

After all the couple endures, real and imagined, the movie ends with this scene in which their marriage hangs in the balance.

The movie version of the scene:

Compare to an earlier version of the scene:

The final version of the scene fits so much better with the edgy tone of the film. The earlier draft feels almost like a Disney movie in comparison. And the final word — Fuck — pretty much says it all.

For dozens more articles in the Great Scene series, go here.