Friday One Sheet: Eyes Wide Shut @ 24
Three times make a tradition, right? It is (now) a holiday tradition of sharing a poster variant for Stanley Kubrick's final film, an alternate Christmas movie classic. Modern movie lovers may go to The Apartment, Die Hard, Gremlins, or Chungking Express (perhaps even Ronin) as an unorthodox bit of viewing for the season, but my choice for over two decades has been Eyes Wide Shut.
Below is a poster variant by artist Jean-Sébastien Rossbach and published in 2016 by Lady Lazarus Press. At the top of the design is the dollar bill pyramid at the top light rays emanating from its all seeing eye giving off general Illuminati vibes. At the bottom, the classic poster iconography of Nicole Cruise & Kidman, pre-coitus, in front of the mirror. And in the middle, there is Red Cloak (Kubrick's 0.1%er Santa Claus of the subconscious) holding the mirror up to the couple's marital crisis.
The title card and credits are in an invitation type script in all white, with blots and splats ironically conjuring up semen, as Cruise's Dr. Bill never gets to consummate or indulge in sex despite it being all around him for the two and a half hours of the film.
Enjoy and have a happy holiday. This column will have one more entry in 2023, featuring the best key art of 2024. See you then.
