tom cruise in 1999

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• Make the Case: ‘Eyes Wide Shut’ Is Actually a Comedy, and the Best Film of 1999

Throughout the week, The Ringer will celebrate the 20th anniversary of one of the best years in movie history and argue why some films deserve to be called the best of ’99. Here, two of our writers make the case for Stanley Kubrick’s psychosexual portrait of a marriage.

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Welcome to 1999 Movies Week, a celebration of one of the best years in film history. Throughout the week, The Ringer will highlight some of the year’s best, most interesting films, and in this series, make the case for why a specific movie deserves to be called that year’s best. Here, Manuela Lazic and Adam Nayman discuss the final film of Stanley Kubrick, Eyes Wide Shut.

Adam Nayman: In thinking about how we could make the case that Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut was—and remains—the best movie of 1999 (a very good year for movies, according to our Ringer colleagues and pretty much everybody else), I thought it’d be good to start somewhere a bit unexpected: with just how funny it is. I know that saying “[Weird Movie X] is actually a comedy” to make other people feel bad for not getting it is an annoying move. But Eyes Wide Shut is laugh-out-loud hilarious, on purpose. I was 18 years old when it came out, and I have vivid memories of it being treated as a pop-cultural punch line—as something to make fun of.

I understand why this happened: it’s a strange, arty, deliberately stylized movie that uses dream logic to address challenging themes of love, commitment, male vanity, and the fear of death; it speaks the language of symbolism and metaphor; Kubrick’s death earlier that year meant it carried a lot of pressure as his last will and testament; it has a lot of topless women. And, for the only time in Kubrick’s career, he worked with movie stars who were more famous than he was. The media scrutiny on Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman’s troubled marriage, and whether spending a grueling 400 days on a movie set shooting a drama about jealousy and infidelity damaged it further, predictably reframed the conversation about the film around celebrity, instead of cinema. Even more predictable was the way that critics of all kinds acted like horny teenagers—or accused Kubrick of being a horny teenager—when the movie premiered.

“Now we get the fucking laughing fit, right?” snaps Cruise’s Bill Harford during an early, pot-fueled argument with Kidman’s Alice, and I wish I could just play that clip every time I read or hear somebody say that Eyes Wide Shut is a movie to laugh at. It’s a movie to laugh with , and the scene where Cruise and Kidman get tetchy with each other in their underwear is Exhibit A. Alice’s case of the giggles is in response to her husband’s statement that she would “never be unfaithful to him,” an idea that she goes on to demolish over the course of an amazing, five-minute monologue that serves as the true beginning of the movie’s story and that sets “Dr. Bill” off on a series of nighttime adventures fueled by paranoid jealousy.

The comedy starts with the opening shot, which holds on Alice’s naked, statuesque body just long enough for us to get an eyeful before cutting away. Right off the top, Kubrick establishes a comic rhythm of interruption. (Another example: The stately Shostakovich waltz that plays over the credits is revealed as emanating from the Harfords’ own stereo—I don’t know why, but the shot of Cruise turning the music off strikes me as something out of Mel Brooks). These are little, witty touches; for a more spectacular example, check out the way that Kubrick and cinematographer Larry Smith turn the argument between Bill and Alice into a sophisticated sight gag. By the end, Alice is doubled over with laughter, at which point the film’s elegant Steadicam perspective gets supplanted by a bobbing, handheld camera—the image becoming destabilized right along with our (anti?)hero’s self-confidence as a husband, lover, and master-of-the-universe alpha male. After all, the larger joke about Eyes Wide Shut is that it’s a two-and-a-half-hour movie in which Tom Cruise can’t get laid (Maverick and Jerry Maguire didn’t have that problem). We’re going to have to talk at some point about whether or not Eyes Wide Shut is a movie about men—Stanley Kubrick included—gawking at women, but can we start by discussing how it is also, in a very serious way, a movie about women laughing at men? Or are you going to make fun of me for even suggesting such a thing?

Manuela Lazic: I will, in fact, laugh at you for suggesting this, but not because I disagree, and not with a full-hearted laugh. Imagine I’m doing something a little sadder—a little like Alice’s own laugh at her husband, perhaps—because of course women have to laugh at men in Eyes Wide Shut. But that’s never all they do. Alice has to get stoned before she can laugh in her husband’s face with so much frame-shattering, camera-disorienting abandon. Because if Eyes Wide Shut really is about men, it is also, more specifically and as you said, about how men perceive women—and there’s nothing really funny about that. Rewatching that pot-smoking scene, I was struck by how angry, sad, and exposed Alice gets when she starts to giggle.

While the pot helps her to open up, laughter functions here (as it often does) like a self-defense mechanism for Alice to protect herself from feeling as upset as she should. Earlier in the film, she has a similar interaction with the suave Hungarian stranger who tries to get her into bed at Victor Ziegler’s Christmas party. Here again, she is wasted (this time on champagne). Alcohol and drugs get Alice to both reveal herself and peel away at the arrogance of the men around her, which perplexes both Bill and the stranger. She may remain silent during most of the Hungarian’s talk, but she is smiling at his terrible double entendres the entire time, and ultimately leaves him hanging.

As a woman who has suffered through such eye-roll-inducing talk from men, I was astonished by Alice’s decision to take this attempted seduction with a smile. But Alice’s approach isn’t testimony to Kubrick writing this character through a male misogynistic lens. On the contrary, it is the presentation of one of the few options that women have when confronted with the ludicrous vanity of men (my reaction would have been overt anger, disdain, and immediate flight).

When Alice is faced with this behavior again, this time from her husband, the smile she offered the Hungarian turns into full-blown laughter, before she explains with literally sobering seriousness what lies behind the smile. It’s a simultaneously hilarious and heartbreaking moment because Alice really wishes Bill could understand that she, too, has desires.

For me, the funniest sections of Eyes Wide Shut are those when Bill is seen reflecting on his discovery of female desire, often when he’s in his car and Kubrick’s camera zooms in on his terrified eyes. In this alone time, he finally gets to explore his interiority and use his imagination (in other words, he gets to think!) instead of “acting” in and on the world. He is clearly disturbed by this new exercise. Alice, by contrast, is used to questioning her thoughts (like when she developed an intense crush on a naval officer during a family holiday, and couldn’t decide whether she wanted him to leave their hotel or take her away) and exploring the world through dreams. In fact, Bill’s deep dive into an underworld of performative sex, and life-threatening curiosity on the streets of New York and outside the city, is clearly paralleled by Alice’s abstract but not so unintelligible dreams: Unlike her husband, who has to physically move through space to find himself in situations that challenge his beliefs, Alice uses her brains to confront the truth about her perfect-seeming marriage.

I love this idea, and I love how Kubrick deploys it through this masterpiece. He manages to show how women’s need to rely on their interiority to live in the world is at once a blessing and a terrible example of inequality between the sexes. Right after Alice tells him about her longing for that naval officer, Dr. Bill receives a call and has to go to the bedside of a patient who just died. There, he meets the man’s daughter, Marion, who suddenly tells Bill that she loves him and that she doesn’t want to move to Chicago with her soon-to-be husband. Bill has been the love of her life all along. The moment is both hilarious and terrifying, thanks in great part to Marie Richardson’s explosively emotional performance as Marion, but also because of how this scene has been contextualized by Alice’s monologue (and because Richardson has been styled to look a bit like Kidman).

Kubrick, in his usual ironic, on-the-nose way, has followed Alice’s tale of overwhelming desire with an example of that very feeling in the person of Marion, for Bill to directly experience it himself. Here, he is the naval officer, and Marion is Alice: With her thoughts alone (“Marion, we barely know each other,” says Bill, needlessly), Marion has already built a relationship with the object of her desire. The scene becomes simultaneously funnier and more heartbreaking when Marion’s fiancé shows up and Bill says goodbye, leaving Marion to her fate as a wife and a misunderstood and desirous person—just like Alice has become.

Another undeniably funny thing about Eyes Wide Shut is its style. Each crossfade feels a little off but in a Kubrickian way—they have a calculated tonal significance, meant (I think!) to highlight the artificiality of the world Bill evolves in. The camera’s fluidity recalls The Shining ’s long tracking shots in the deserted hotel of Jack Torrance’s mind. Yet Eyes Wide Shut is much weirder than The Shining (yes, such a thing seems possible to me): The obviously fake New York streets! The Wu-Tang Clan reference! The Chris Isaak song! Do you agree that this film is strangely clunky? And do you think it is clunky for good reason, beyond the difficult shoot? What makes this stiffness compelling? And do you think this film’s style has been influential?

Nayman: I’m going to have to go to the judges on those Wu-Tang references; according to the internet, Eyes Wide Shut is actually Illuminati propaganda filled with subliminal imagery. I would, of course, happily watch a Room 237 –style essay about Eyes Wide Shut ’s hidden messages, except that there probably isn’t quite enough ambiguity in the film to support it. I like that you called Kubrick’s irony “on-the-nose,” because it is, which doesn’t mean that it isn’t also suggestive and complicated (as you have already described in the scene with Marion, although you left out the part about Marion’s fiancé being a visual doppelgänger for Bill, played by Thomas Gibson, which means there’s one degree of separation between one of the best American films of the ’90s and Dharma & Greg ).

As for style, I think it’s more that Eyes Wide Shut extends and refines techniques and motifs dating back to its director’s earliest work; it’s almost like a greatest hits album. For instance, that late shot of Alice, fast asleep with the mask on the pillow beside her, is a direct reference to a shot from Kubrick’s (excellent) sophomore feature, Killer’s Kiss . That movie is also evoked by the presence of those creepy mannequins in the sex shop where Leelee Sobieski appears as a 21st-century version of Lolita , right before Bill goes to the mansion that looks like the Overlook Hotel ... but I’d better stop before this turns into Room 237 II after all.

I’d agree that Eyes Wide Shut is aggressively artificial, and that the phoniness of its Manhattan setting is crucial: to quote that other modern deconstructed-rom-com masterpiece They Came Together , it’s like New York City is a character in the movie—a weirdly untrustworthy one. Kubrick’s carefully color-coded version of the world’s most photographed city—all of those blue filters and all the Klimt-style gold at the edge of the frame—is not just a case of aesthetic flexing but a cue to understand that we’re somewhere between the literal and the figurative. Eyes Wide Shut is not interested in building up a sense of everyday reality; its architecture is the rickety constructions of the subconscious.

The German title of Arthur Schnitzler’s 1926 novella Traumnovelle , on which Eyes Wide Shut is based, translates to “A Dream Story,” and it’s that slightly tranced-out quality—of events experienced with “eyes wide shut”—that I think Kubrick finally perfected here after deploying it more sparingly in his earlier movies. The tracking shots in The Shining (and Full Metal Jacket ) are hypnotic, but in Eyes Wide Shut , the effect of all that serene, gliding camera movement is to submerge the viewer in layers of aspirational fantasy. Bill and Alice’s high-rolling life is a dream, and then, as we discover, there are even deeper layers underneath, both in terms of what the characters desire and also the topography of their New York. One hint to what the movie is doing as far as dreaming goes, lies in the—again, quite hilarious—way that Bill, for all his wealth and social status, moves through the movie as an almost completely passive figure, especially after the revelation of Alice’s imagined infidelity. In almost every scene, he ends up repeating or parroting the dialogue of other characters, as if he has no ideas of his own.

I truly love Cruise’s performance, and I think that it makes for an interesting contrast with his Oscar-nominated work the same year in Magnolia. There, as Frank “T.J.” Mackey, Cruise weaponized his clean-cut, sex-symbol status to play a guy peddling penis worship (“ respect the cock ”) to a millennial-incel audience. As Magnolia went on, we saw the scared, grieving little boy inside the persona. In Eyes Wide Shut , Cruise’s characterization is less sentimental, because Bill isn’t psychologically damaged or in need of redemption. He’s a cipher, and considering the significance of masks in the movie’s design—with the selection of Venetian masks in particular evoking a long history of literary and theatrical eroticism—the way that Kubrick uses Cruise’s flawless visage as a mask for Bill’s insecurity and lack of imagination is ingenious.

Obviously, in a movie filled with double entendres and body doubles, the infamous secret-society sequence with the guests all decked out in masks is meant to parallel Victor Ziegler’s Christmas party, with the difference being that Bill goes to the latter alone, as a bachelor. I don’t know if you want to talk about what goes on the mansion, but if Eyes Wide Shut is a “dream story” what does it mean that a 20-minute sequence set at an orgy plays out like such an absurd and embarrassing nightmare?

Lazic: One cannot talk about Tom Cruise without bringing up the idea of masks and disguise—and, tangentially, the realm of dreams. As you say, Kubrick uses Cruise’s perfect face as a veil in and of itself, and therefore a signifier of falseness: There’s nothing perfect lying beneath his perfect features. This is similar to how the actor’s visage was employed three years prior by Brian De Palma, the master of the body double himself, in the first Mission: Impossible film. There, Cruise used masks to deceive his traitors and alter reality. But of course, the most existentially disturbing mask that Cruise ever wore was the facial prosthetic his character David Aames was offered after his accident in Cameron Crowe’s 2001 psychological epic Vanilla Sky —or was he? “It’s only a mask if you treat it that way,” says one of the doctors, but David can no longer pretend that this smooth, consistent, standard face is his.

Just as this disappointing substitute for a face takes David into a nightmarish version of his life in which he is not handsome and doesn’t get the girl, Dr. Bill’s Venetian mask transports him to a dark place where other people, as you say, keep their protective camouflage and force him to show his real face, humiliating him.

This scene in the mansion is so deliciously cringe-worthy because it is such an overblown, tongue-in-cheek yet disturbing abstraction of what Bill is experiencing out in the world, after he finds out about female desire. His experience at this sordid party is a grotesque, dreamlike copy of his aborted adventure with Domino (also the name of a type of Venetian mask, of course!), a sex worker played by Vinessa Shaw who picks him up, takes him to her place, has to decide herself what she will do for him, and eventually can’t even get to it because he soon chickens out. She even feels too sorry for Bill to want his money. Just like he stands on the outside looking in at orgies at the secret gathering, Bill can’t participate in this superficial sexual masquerade with Domino. He’s too aware of his own pretense and of this woman’s selfhood. Kubrick makes Bill’s discomfort in Domino’s tiny room just as crushing as his shame when the cloaked cult unmasks him, because they are essentially the same sensations.

After his wild—or anti-climactic, considering he only got to have a look at things—night at the mansion, Bill searches for answers in Ziegler, his boss, played by Sydney Pollack. Their small talk when Bill enters his superior’s expensive office is as absurd as it gets, until Ziegler snaps: He comes clean to Bill, explaining that he too was at the secret meeting, but also, and more importantly, that the shaming ceremony that Bill was subjected to, including the suggested sacrifice of a woman for his sake, was “all staged to scare the shit out of [him].”

At last, the masks finally come down, and casting Pollack as Ziegler proves perfect. With his hyper-naturalistic acting style and gregarious manner, the legendary actor-director is the polar opposite of Cruise’s ideal looks—it is no coincidence that, from very early on in the film, Ziegler reveals his drug-fueled sexual activities to Bill. In this film, Pollack’s down-to-earth appearance is aligned with Ziegler’s bone-chilling honesty. Again, Kubrick parallels this scene with another one, set out in the world: Bill goes looking for Domino, but instead of finding her at her apartment, he meets her roommate, who kills the explicit sexual tension between them by announcing that Domino has been diagnosed with HIV. Did Domino really have the virus? Did she even exist? Although Bill didn’t end up having sex with her, he shivers when he learns how close he came to danger, and the entire chapter feels like a Fatal Attraction –esque cautionary tale about what men do to prove their masculine prowess to themselves. With Ziegler and Domino, Bill is twice denounced for trying to keep on the mask of male sexual vanity and control.

I love that scene with Pollack because it feels like Kubrick revealing his tricks in the clearest, most direct way he ever has. What follows is one of the most astounding, delectable, and moving displays of discomfiting a man I’ve ever seen in cinema (in the same category, see Phantom Thread and most other Paul Thomas Anderson movies). That’s what is truly funny to me: how weepy Bill gets when he sees the mask on his pillow, and how Cruise says “I’ll tell you everythiiiiiiing”!

How do you think this character arc fits in Kubrick’s filmography? Do you think Bill has really gotten the message by the end, or is Kubrick again being sarcastic about Bill’s newfound willingness to understand his wife? I find that the Barbie doll that their daughter Helena picks up at the toy store in the last scene, interrupting their conversation, may be a sign of things to come for her, and for women in general …

Nayman: I think “I’ll tell you everything” is funny too, although the hard cut to Kidman’s face the morning after—with those dreamy blue filters swapped out for some harsh natural light—is probably the most emotional moment in the movie for me, the one where the script, the actors, and the filmmaking combine to allow for authentic fragility amid the satire and sarcasm, and to address the “real” transgressions that have been coded into Bill’s adventures. I refuse to offer a definitive interpretation of whether or not Bill did a “bad, bad thing” either during Eyes Wide Shut ’s duration or at some other point in his marriage to Alice; the point is how we see him given every opportunity to do so and failing mostly because of external circumstances rather than any moral imperative (again, this is a movie in which Tom Cruise definitively fails to get laid).

The scene where Bill visits the morgue and sees the corpse of the woman who “saved” him during Ziegler’s orgy—gazing at her as she lies naked on the slab, her body exposed and her eyes wide shut—anticipates the morbid cruelty of Pollack’s monologue, which is all about concealing the truth, about the seduction of repression. It’s also, quite literally, about staring death in the face. That’s why when we see Bill reading a copy of the New York Post with the big-type headline “LUCKY TO BE ALIVE” (an image that used to be my Twitter avatar), it plays, like so much of Kubrick at his best, two ways: it’s a grim sight gag that also hints at the mind-set Bill is about to bring home with him as a husband and father.

Dr. Bill’s newfound willingness to communicate with his wife is sincere, and as a result, it’s funny: the two things don’t cancel each other out but instead are heightened in tandem. In the scene in the Macy’s, he insists on using a very particular “F-word” to suggest a solution to their marital impasse—“forever.” This is a significant idea given the context of Kubrick’s career: a lusting for immortality (for some kind of “forever”) is always tied to male protagonists in his films, whether it’s Barry Lyndon yearning for an aristocratic title that he can pass on to his son, or Jack Torrance in The Shining telling his son he wants to stay at the Overlook “forever and ever and ever” (presumably all by himself, after he’s done butchering his wife and son). In sharp contrast to his attitude in the early scenes, where he took both Alice and her fidelity for granted, Bill now clings to the renewed promise of enduring domestic bliss. Alice, though, counters with an F-word of her own, offering a more provisional solution to the problem at hand—and getting the last dirty word in Kubrick’s entire career. In the end, Alice wants exactly the same thing as her husband, and in giving him a piece of her mind, she rescues Eyes Wide Shut from the kind of bleak, ambiguous ending that was typically Kubrick’s stock in trade. It’s a happy ending, right?

Lazic: It’s funny that you should ask me that because the last time you did, it was about Phantom Thread —and I think these two endings are comparable. Plus, I’m pretty sure Phantom Thread will go down as the best movie of 2018 the same way that Eyes Wide Shut is obviously no. 1 for 1999.

Nayman: Yes, that was the thing that we were setting out to prove several thousand words ago, I think we did it. Anyway, go on.

Lazic: There is a sense of mutual delusion at the end of PTA’s film, as the couple finds a perverse system to repeat ad infinitum in order to stay satisfied with each other. But of course, who’s to say that neither of them will ever get tired of mushroom omelettes? The ending of Eyes Wide Shut is more down to earth, thanks to Alice’s pragmatism. Even though there’s a similar sense of Alice wanting Bill “flat on [his] back, helpless, tender, open, with only [her] to help,” the difference is that she wants him in that position not to overpower him, but to have sex with him, and “as soon as possible” rather than regularly. Her ambitions aren’t as big as Alma’s in Phantom Thread , perhaps because she refuses to work that hard at saving her marriage: She won’t be having crazy dreams and laughing in his face every time he needs to settle down a little just to remind him that she, too, is a person with desires and not just a perfect spouse. “Now we’re awake, forever” is a line that could have been uttered by PTA’s hopeful, mad couple, even as they begin a dreamlike (or nightmarish?) existence together. Alice, with her sense of reality in check, now has her eyes wide open. She has no patience for mindfucks.

In This Stream

1999 movies week: a celebration of the best year in film.

• Make the Case: Why ‘Three Kings’ Was the Best and Most Predictive Movie of 1999
• ‘Being John Malkovich’ Was a Head Trip Masterpiece—and the Best Film of 1999

Hall of Fame: Steve Rodgers, Captain America

We need to talk about the ‘challengers’ threesome scene. just not for the reason you think., aaron sorkin, live from d.c..

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From the EW archives: Behind the scenes of Eyes Wide Shut

Starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, the film was Stanley Kubrick's last work before his death

Editor-at-Large

The following appeared in the Jul. 23, 1999 issue of EW.

”Nicole and I talk about it so much at night. When we’re 70 years old, sitting on the front porch, we’ll be able to look back and say, ‘Wow! We made this movie with Stanley Kubrick!’ We know it may take a long time to finish, but we don’t care. We really don’t.”

That was Tom Cruise in younger, more innocent days, way back in November 1996, just weeks into shooting Eyes Wide Shut . At the time, the poor guy figured it would take six months to finish the film, eight at the most. ”We’ll be done by June,” he cheerily predicted. ”But however long it takes is fine with us.”

Well, he got the month right, anyway: The cameras finally stopped rolling on Eyes in June — of 1998 — ending one of the longest shoots ever bankrolled by a major studio (or at least the longest since Kubrick’s last two-year production).

Also one of the most gossiped about. Like a lot of the late great director’s movies, Eyes was shot in total secrecy, its sets at Pinewood Studios in England locked tighter than that CIA vault Cruise dangled into in Mission: Impossible . Whatever the film’s married costars were up to inside Kubrick’s sealed soundstages — one (false) rumor had Cruise wearing a dress — the world would have to wait to find out. And wait. And wait some more.

Not anymore. This week, Kubrick’s final film — he died at 70 of a heart attack just days after screening a finished cut — will at long last unspool. All the speculation about its plot (”a story of sexual jealousy and obsession” is all Warner Bros. had said about the production) will finally be over. All the questions about how kinky (and naked) Cruise and Kidman would get will finally be answered.

Still, there is one mystery that won’t be revealed on screen this week. And it’s this: Those two years Kubrick took to finish Eyes ? How exactly did he spend them? How, precisely, did he make the movie? And — most titillating of all — what was it like inside those closed sets, where the world’s most demanding director held Hollywood’s most powerful couple hostage for so long they almost did end up in rocking chairs on their front porch?

To solve that mystery, all you have to do is keep your ears wide open.

”He was a really normal guy,” Kidman said of Kubrick shortly after his funeral last March. ”A really smart, really great guy. We were even talking about doing another film together.”

Kubrick has been called many things over the years — brilliant, inspiring, abrasive, tyrannical — but ”normal” is a new one. Rumors of his eccentricities ranged from the mildly loopy (never motoring over 35 miles per hour) to the oddly paranoid (he was said to be terrified of America, even though he grew up in the Bronx) to the downright notorious (he supposedly drove actors mad with his relentless perfectionism, insisting on shooting retake after retake). Obsessively private and press shy, he seldom left England and almost never attended public events (recent photographs are almost impossible to find). Which, of course, only made him more fascinating.

But according to the actors of Eyes Wide Shut — like 35-year-old Todd Field ( Twister, Walking and Talking ), who labored for seven months playing a jazz musician in the film — it turns out the roly-poly, fuzzy-faced filmmaker was an altogether different sort of man. Meet Kubrick the Cuddly. “He could be like a little boy,” says Field. “His sense of humor went from very highbrow to very lowbrow. One minute he’d make the most sophisticated joke, like out of a Preston Sturges movie, and the next he’d be doing Steve Martin imitations from The Jerk . He thought that part where Steve Martin doesn’t have any rhythm was just hysterical.”

But don’t get your hopes up: There are no funny balloon animals or fake-arrows-through-the-head gags in Eyes Wide Shut . Kubrick’s cinematic corpus closes on a serious, surreally pervy note, with an R-rated $65 million psycho-drama that has Cruise and Kidman playing an upscale Manhattan couple who make the relationship-rocking mistake of discussing their deepest sexual fantasies. A blue movie with stars is how Kubrick described it — or at least how he described a very similar concept he and screenwriter Terry Southern noodled around with some 35 years ago, while working on their script for Dr. Strangelove .

“Like a lot of people of my generation, I think Stanley felt he missed the sexual revolution,” muses 67-year-old Eyes screenwriter Frederic Raphael ( Two for the Road, Darling ). “We all felt like we were born too early or too late for the orgy. And Stanley was curious about that. Also, it was a genre — the sexual relations film — he’d never attempted before. As a director, I think he’d been wanting to explore that for a long time.”

He didn’t get the chance to explore it with Southern (the two had a falling-out over credit for Strangelove , although the writer, who died in 1995, did end up penning a 1970 novel called Blue Movie , dedicated to “Stanley K”). Instead, Kubrick went on to lens such unsexy masterpieces as 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange , and The Shining . But he remained curious, finding inspiration for his A-list sex flick idea in — of all places — obscure early-20th-century Germanic literature. Specifically, Traumnovelle , a 1926 novella by Arthur Schnitzler about a Viennese couple who take a walk on the uberspannt side.

Kubrick purchased the screen rights to the book around 1970 (actually, he had his pal Jay Cocks, then a TIME magazine reporter, now a screenwriter, buy them for him, to hide his interest in the project), but sat on the concept for another couple of decades. Then, in 1994 — seven years after the release of his penultimate film, Full Metal Jacket — he suddenly got interested again, hiring Raphael to update Schnitzler’s story in a screenplay. It turned out not to be such a sexy assignment (“I was Gaul and he was Caesar,” Raphael says of the collaboration), but it did provide the writer with plenty of material for a dissy, dishy memoir called Eyes Wide Open , published last month in a breach of the Kubrick code of silence that’s infuriated the director’s family, studio, and many of Eyes ‘ actors. (“If you write about this sacred conflict, cast me as Spartacus, leader of the slaves,” Raphael requests.)

According to Raphael’s tell-all, Kubrick had always intended on casting a married couple for the film — although the pair he thought of first were Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger. But after Cruise and Kidman helicoptered to Kubrick’s English estate to take a meeting — holding hands the entire time, Raphael reports — the roles belonged to them. There were no problems filling the film’s other parts, either; in fact, Kubrick filled some of them twice. Harvey Keitel was originally cast as Cruise’s millionaire orgy-going bud but was replaced by Sydney Pollack when scheduling conflicts came up during filming. Jennifer Jason Leigh also left in mid-production (scheduling problems again, not acting ones), with Swedish actress Marie Richardson taking over her small role.

Meanwhile, Kubrick’s craftsmen set about erecting New York City on Pinewood’s backlots, re-creating Greenwich Village to painstakingly precise specifications. Kubrick went so far as to send workmen to Manhattan to measure street widths and note newspaper vending machine locations. He also dispatched cameramen to shoot real New York footage for rear-screen projection scenes of Cruise strolling around town (a cinematic trick that long predates the work of today’s digitized directors).

Because of the nature of the material — and also because it‘s how Kubrick always worked — filming on Eyes was an intensely intimate affair. Kubrick himself usually manned the camera, allowing only a handful of crew on the set. One outsider permitted to watch the proceedings was 29-year-old Boogie Nights director Paul Thomas Anderson (Cruise, who’ll be appearing in Anderson’s follow-up, Magnolia , smuggled him past security). “Kubrick had a really small crew,” recalls Anderson. “I asked him, ‘Do you always work with so few people?’ He gave me this look and said, ‘Why? How many people do you need?’ I felt like such a Hollywood a–hole.”

Although Raphael had spent two years toiling on scores of different drafts of the film, much of Eyes ended up being reworded on the fly. “We’d rehearse and rehearse a scene,” explains Field, “and it would change from hour to hour. We’d keep giving the script supervisor notes all the time, so by the end of the day the scene might be completely different. It wasn’t really improvisation,” he clarifies. “It was more like writing.”

Sometimes the rehearsing/rewriting process would go on all day. Then, finally, Kubrick would let the cameras roll. And roll. “Time was not of the essence,” understates Vinessa Shaw, the 23-year-old former teen star ( Ladybugs ) who signed on for a two-week stint playing a prostitute and ended up shooting for two months. “I remember one time, around three in the morning, I did my 69th take of a scene. Iheard somebody say, ‘Wow! That must be a record.’ And then I ended up doing 20 more takes.” Not that she’s complaining: “It gives you a real sense of freedom,” she goes on. “Doing a scene over and over, all of a sudden you see it as completely different. It gives you a chance to explore.”

She wasn’t the only Eyes cast member who found Kubrick’s compulsiveness exhilarating — at least at the beginning. “He’s got amazing energy,” Cruise gushed during those early weeks of shooting. “You work on a scene and you work on it and work on it — and you know you are not going to leave that shot until it‘s right.” Still, even Cruise’s enthusiasm started to flag by the end. “I was there for a month early on and Tom was so gung ho,” Shaw recalls. “And then I came back for another month at the end of the shoot and there was a difference. He was still into it, but not as energetic.” In fact, Cruise had developed an ulcer during filming.

For Kidman, the long hours and multiple retakes were the easy part. “As an actor, you have to be very truthful,” she explains, “and that can be difficult on a marriage. It was almost like discovering a new aspect of each other, which was exciting but also scary. People ask me, ‘God, why did you put yourselves through all that?’ And it is a strange thing for a couple to do. It‘s strange that all that stuff is going to be out there on the screen. There aren’t a lot of directors we’d do that for. But Stanley was much more than a director to us.”

He was much more than a director in other ways as well. After filming wrapped, he supervised the editing, as he did on most of his pictures, splicing miles of footage into a 2-hour-35-minute film. He was also the movie’s de facto marketer, laying out every detail of the picture’s publicity campaign (his widow, Christiane, 67, now has final say on marketing decisions). And he was always his best — or at least harshest — critic, working on his films up to the very last minute, and sometimes beyond (he cut The Shining by four minutes after its release).

What tweaks he might have made on Eyes we’ll never know (those digitized bodies that were posthumously inserted into the orgy scene, Austin Powers -style, to avoid an NC-17 rating, could’ve turned out differently, for one thing). “I think Stanley would have been tinkering with it for the next 20 years,” Kidman believes. “He was still tinkering with movies he made decades ago. He was never finished. It was never perfect enough.”

Not enough for him, perhaps. But to the rest of the world, no director ever came closer to perfection. Certainly none ever pushed harder or labored longer to achieve it. Just ask the older, wiser Tom Cruise. You can probably find him on his front porch, sipping a glass of warm milk.

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Tv/streaming, collections, great movies, chaz's journal, contributors, the joke's on him: tom cruise and eyes wide shut.

The New York of “ Eyes Wide Shut ” is a dream of New York—a sex dream about an emotionally and carnally wound-up young man who denies his animal essence, his wife’s, and almost everyone’s. It’s a comedy. Stanley Kubrick ’s movies are comedies more often than not—coal-black; a tad goofy even when bloody and cruel; the kind where you aren’t sure if it’s appropriate to laugh, because the situations depicted are horrible and sad, the characters deluded. 

To make a film like this work, you need one of two types of lead actors: the kind that is plausible as a brilliant and insightful person who trips on his own arrogance (like Malcolm McDowell ’s Alex in “ A Clockwork Orange ,” Matthew Modine ’s Pvt. Joker in “ Full Metal Jacket ,” and Humbert Humbert in “Lolita”); or the kind that reads as a bit of a dope to start with, and never stops being one. The latter category encompasses most of the human characters in “ 2001: A Space Odyssey ”—first cavemen, then cavemen in spaceships, that legendary bone-to-orbit cut preparing us for the end sequence in which astronaut Dave Bowman evolves while gazing up in awe at the re-appeared monolith—and Ryan O’Neal as the title character of “ Barry Lyndon ,” a tragedy about a ridiculous and limited man who bleeds and suffers just like everyone, and is moving despite it all. 

Tom Cruise ’s Dr. Bill Harford in “Eyes Wide Shut” is the second kind of Kubrick hero. He’s is a bit of a dope but takes himself absolutely seriously, never looking inward, at least not as deeply as he should. An undercurrent of film noir runs through most if not all of Kubrick’s films. His first two features, the war fable “Fear and Desire” and the boxing potboiler “Killer’s Kiss,” were stylistically rooted in noir—“Fear and Desire,” like “ Paths of Glory ” and “Full Metal Jacket,” has terse, hardboiled narration, linking it to the most overtly noir-ish Kubrick film, his breakthrough “ The Killing .” The film noir hero tends to be a smart, ambitious, horny guy who lets his horniness overwhelm his judgement. Dr. Bill is a cuckolded film noir patsy turned film noir hero, cheated upon not in fact, but in his own imagination. And, in noir hero fashion, he gets drawn into a sexual/criminal conspiracy, this one involving the procurement of young women for anonymous orgies with rich older men. He’s always one step behind the architects of the plan, whatever it is, and he's never quite smart enough or observant enough to prove he saw what he saw. 

That’s Bill, a cinematic cousin of somebody like Fred MacMurray in “ Double Indemnity ” or William Hurt in “ Body Heat ,” but diminished and driving himself mad, a eunuch with blueballs, prowling city streets on on the knife-edge of Christmas, constantly taunted and humiliated, his heterosexuality and masculinity, indeed his essential carnality, questioned at every turn.

The doctor’s nighttime odyssey (like “2001,” this film is indebted to Homer) kicks off after he smokes pot with his gorgeous young wife Alice ( Nicole Kidman ) and she confesses a momentary craving for a sailor so powerful that she briefly considered throwing away her stable life just to have him. The revelation of the intensity of his wife’s sexual craving for someone other than him (fear and desire indeed) unmoors him from his comfortable existence and sends him careening around the city, where he encounters women who all seem to represent aspects of his wife, or his reductive view of her. They even have similar hair color. And if there are men in their lives—like Sidney Pollack’s Victor Ziegler, who calls Bill to deal with a young woman who overdosed on a speedball while in his company; or Rade Serbedjia’s  Millich, the pathologically controlling and jealous costume shop proprietor who accuses Bill of wanting to have sex with his teenage daughter ( Leelee Sobieski )— They mirror aspects of Bill. It’s surely no coincidence that the masks worn by the orgy participants are distinguished by their prominent (erect) Bills. Bill never actually strays, though. He keeps blundering into situations where sex seems imminent, and yet he couldn’t cheat on Alice even if he wanted to. He’s too bad to be good and too good to be bad. 

It still seems amazing that Cruise, among the most controlling of modern stars, gave himself to Kubrick so completely, letting himself be cast in such a sexually fumbling, baseline-schmucky part, the sort Matthew Broderick might've played for more obvious laughs (Kubrick originally wanted Steve Martin as Bill). Cruise built his star image playing handsome, fearless, cocky, ultra-heterosexual young men who mastered whatever skill or job they'd decided to practice, be it piloting fighter jets, driving race cars, playing pool, bartending, practicing law, representing pro athletes, or being a secret agent. Offscreen, the actor was long suspected of being closeted—a rumor amplified by his hyper-controlling relationships with a succession of public-facing spouses who read, from afar, less as wives than wife-symbols—and he sued media outlets that implied he was anything other than a 100% USDA-inspected slab of lady-loving, corn-fed American beefcake (thus the infamous 2006 “South Park” “ Tom won’t come out of the closet ” scene). 

So it was doubly startling for 1999 audiences to watch Cruise being swatted across the screen from one cringe-inducing psychosexual horror setpiece to the next, each enjoying its own version of a hearty pirate’s laugh at the idea of Cruise playing a butch straight man who dominates every room he’s in; and to witness his onscreen humiliation by homophobic frat boys. That same year, Cruise got an Oscar nomination as Best Supporting Actor in “ Magnolia ,” playing a motivational speaker who admonishes his audience of baying young men to “respect the cock, tame the cunt.”

Cruise is a smart actor with often-excellent taste in material and collaborators; it’s inconcievable that he and his then-wife Kidman would submit themselves to over a year’s worth of grueling, repetitive shoots on Kubrick’s meticulously recreated New York sets in London without understanding what they were in for, at least partially. But what’s really important, from the standpoint of Cruise’s performance, is that he never seems as if he knows that the joke is on Bill. This doesn’t seem like the performance of an actor who has decided not to play his character as self-aware (like, say, Daniel Day-Lewis in “ The Last of the Mohicans ,” playing a character that  Entertainment Weekly ’s Owen Gleiberman described as seeming completely free of 20th century neuroses) but rather a not-too-self-aware actor throwing himself into every scene as if bound and determined to somehow “win” them. This is surely a vestigial leftover of the way Cruise acts in most Tom Cruise films, strutting and bobbing through scenes, getting into trouble, then smiling or talking or flying or running or acrobatting his way out. It’s a mode he can’t entirely turn off, but can only tamp down or allow to be subverted (which is what I think is happening in this movie, and in a few other against-the-grain Cruise performances). It’s as if Cruise travels the full narrative length of Kubrick’s dream trail encrusted by scholarly and journalistic and critical footnotes that have accumulated on his filmography since " Risky Business ." He’s the leading man as Christmas tree, festooned with lights and baubles. 

What perfect casting/what a great performance/what’s the difference? Is there any? Maybe not. Sometimes great casting is what allows for a great performance. John Frankenheimer cast Laurence Harvey , a handsome hunk of wood, as the brainwashed assassin in the 1962 version of “The Manchurian Candidate,” and his inability to tune in to his costars’ emotional wavelength works for the part; it translates as “repressed, tortured, closed off individual,” the type of guy who would be gobsmacked by an ordinary summer romance, to the point where it would constitute the core of a tragic backstory . Harvey’s inexpressiveness becomes a source of mirth when he’s put in the same frame with actors like Frank Sinatra , Angela Lansbury , or Akim Tamiroff, who get a predatory glint in their eye  when they sense the possibility of stealing a scene. They  know how to mess with people and have fun doing it, and poor, friendless Harvey is an irresistible target. and when Raymond expresses delight  that he was, however momentarily, “lovable,“ you can practically see the quote marks  around the word, and it’s as sad as it is hilarious.

Oliver Stone pulled off something similar when he cast Cruise as Ron Kovic in “ Born on the Fourth of July ,” a choice that Stone later said might’ve hurt the film at the American box office because nobody wanted to see the smirking flyboy from “ Top Gun ” castrated by a bullet, wheeling around with a catheter in his hand, cursing his mom and Richard Nixon . The star seeming not-entirely-in on—not the “joke,” exactly, but the  vision  of the movie—made Kovic’s dawning self-awareness of his participation in macho right-wing propaganda all the more effective. Kovic wanted to be like the guys on the recruiting poster, and now he couldn’t stand up and salute the lies anymore, and a lot of his friends were dead, along with untold numbers of Vietnamese. Al Pacino , who was cast in an aborted version “Born” a decade earlier, might not have been as effective as Cruise overall, because while Pacino is an altogether deeper actor, he’s so closely associated with men who have no illusions about how brutal and soul-draining American life and institutions can be. (Marvelous as his performance in “Serpico” is, it doesn’t start to take off until he’s in undercover cop mode, with that beard and long hair and beatnik/hippie energy. In the early scenes where he’s clean-shaven and idealistic, you just have to take Serpico's innocence on faith, because Al Pacino would never be that naive.)

Kubrick, no slouch at casting for affect, was especially good at filling lead male roles with actors who seemed to grasp the general outline of what the director was up to without radiating profound appreciation of the philosophical and cultural nuances. Ryan O’Neal in “ Barry Lyndon ” somehow works despite, or because of, seeming a bit stiff and anachronistic—out of his element in a lot of ways. His anxiety-verging-on-panic at not knowing whether he’s doing a good enough job for Kubrick fits perfectly with the character’s persistent insecurity and imposter syndrome. So does the shoddy Irish accent. 

Decades later, Ben Affleck in “ Gone Girl ” pulled an “Eyes Wide Shut”—or maybe it’s more accurate to say that director David Fincher pulled it by casting him. “The baggage he comes with is most useful to this movie,” Fincher told  Film Comment . “I was interested in him primarily because I needed someone who understood the stakes of the kind of public scrutiny that Nick is subjected to and the absurdity of trying to resist public opinion. Ben knows that, not conceptually, but by experience. When I first met with him, I said this is about a guy who gets his nuts in a vise in reel one and then the movie continues to tighten that vise for the next eight reels. And he was ready to play. It’s an easy thing for someone to say, 'Yeah, yeah, I’d love to be a part of that,' and then, on a daily basis, to ask: 'Really? Do I have to be that foolish? Do I have to step in it up to my knees?' Actors don’t like to be made the brunt of the joke. They go into acting to avoid that. Unlike comics, who are used to going face first into the ground.” 

Fincher subsequently poked fun at Affleck, in DVD narration and interview comments delivered in such a deadpan-vicious way that you couldn't tell if Fincher was venting in the guise of a put-on or doing an elaborate comedic bit. Either way, the gist was that Affleck was convincing as an untrustworthy person because he was himself untrustworthy. "He has to do these things in the foreground where he takes out his phone and looks at it and he puts it away so his sister doesn’t see it," Fincher said. "There are people who do that and it’s too pointed. But Ben is very very subtle, and there’s a kind of indirectness to the way he can do those things. Probably because he’s so duplicitous." Thus does the inherent untrustworthiness of Ben Affleck as both actor and person (according to Fincher, whether he's kidding or serious) become the framework for the entire performance's believability. This is a guy whose performance as an innocent man is judged by the media and public and immediately found lacking, and the character proves to be so much dumber than his conniving, vengeful wife that when the final scene arrives, we laugh at how inevitable it was. A more subtle, likable, deep leading man might've have ruined everything. Fincher needed a meathead who was funny and had read a few books, and who seemed to have a sixth sense for how to hide a cell phone from his sister.

This is similar to the idea of Kubrick cuckolding Cruise with an anecdote and sending him all over New York in search of satisfaction and insight that never quite, er, comes (although there’s a hint of hope in that final scene). On top of that, Affleck is an actor who is effective within a narrow range but will never be thought of as a chameleonic or particularly delicate performer—somebody who can play the subtext without overwhelming the text, or who can seamlessly integrate the two so that you can’t tell where one ends and the other begins. 

That might be why Affleck disliked working with Terrence Malick , a highly improvisational filmmaker who deals in archetypes and symbols, and expects actors to devise a character while he’s devising the film that they’re in. Ryan Gosling and Brad Pitt can do that; Affleck really can’t. The difference between Affleck and somebody like Pitt (or DiCaprio) is the difference between an old-fashioned square-jawed leading man-type, like Rock Hudson or Gary Cooper or Alan Ladd, who tried to stick to the words and hit the marks and color within the lines, and somebody like James Dean or Marlon Brando or Dennis Hopper , who treated every page as potential raw material for a collage they hadn’t thought up yet. That’s why Dean and Hudson played off each other so beautifully in “Giant”—Dean with his tormented Method affectations and odd expressions and voices, and Hudson playing the guy he’d been told to play, while often seeming puzzled or horrified by whatever Dean was doing opposite him, as if he’d been placed in the same room with a badger or wild boar and told “Now the two of you sit down and have a nice lunch while we film it.” 

I like to think of Cruise in “Eyes Wide Shut” as Rock Hudson turned loose in a Stanley Kubrick neo-noir dream, and not just for the obvious reasons. He’s in there angrily and desperately trying to win something that cannot be won, explain things that can’t be explained, and regain dignity that was lost a long time ago and will never come back. He keeps flashing his doctor’s ID as if he’s a detective (another film noir staple) working a case, and people indulge him not because they truly regard the ID as authority but because Bill’s intensity is just so damned odd that they aren’t sure how else to react. It’s hilarious because Bill doesn’t know how ridiculous it all is, and how ridiculous he is. He’s a movie star who lacks the movie star’s prerogative. Only by surrendering to the flow and accepting defeat can he survive. Only his wife, an awesome force unlocked in one moment, can save him. 

Matt Zoller Seitz

Matt Zoller Seitz is the Editor at Large of RogerEbert.com, TV critic for New York Magazine and Vulture.com, and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in criticism.

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Tom Cruise’s 16 Best Performances: From ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ to ‘Magnolia’

By Clayton Davis

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With six decades around the sun, Tom Cruise still feels the need for speed and has crafted himself into one of the most successful and undeniably talented movie stars of his generation.

Variety is ranking his 15 best film performances to celebrate the actor’s 60th birthday.

With a breakthrough that started in the coming-of-age film “Risky Business” (1983), the Syracuse, N.Y.-born actor became a darling of Hollywood and consumer audiences around the world. As Joseph Kosinski’s “Top Gun: Maverick” still goes strong, making more than half a billion dollars domestically, Cruise has continued to etch himself into the cultural zeitgeist, crossing multiple generations.

Also a producer, Cruise has continued to elevate the entertainment medium with the “Mission: Impossible” franchise, which began in 1995. With five very successful sequels and two more on the way, he continues to push the boundaries for himself as a fearless stuntman and an advocate for the silver screen.

A career that only the most daring actors and creatives can dream of, Cruise has worked alongside two best actor winners — Paul Newman (“The Color of Money”) and Dustin Hoffman (“Rain Man”) — and has earned himself three Oscar nominations in “Born on the Fourth of July” (1989), “Jerry Maguire” (1996) and “Magnolia” (1999). But it hasn’t been about the accolades for Cruise. In May 2021, he returned his three Golden Globe Awards after the expose on the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s lack of diversity, specifically no Black members.

Cruise’s films have grossed over $10 billion dollars worldwide and there are no signs of slowing down. Will he ever win a coveted Oscar? That remains to be seen, but the narrative is there if the Academy rewards an upcoming project.

Read Variety’s list of Tom Cruise’s best performances below:

Honorable mentions : “Far and Away” (1992); “The Last Samurai” (2003); “Rock of Ages” (2012)

Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

Role: Major William Cage

Director: Doug Liman Writers: Christopher McQuarrie, Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth Distributor: Warner Bros.

The scene that proves it: Getting the device from Brigham

Kicking ass, taking names, then rinse and repeat. A military major goes through a “Groundhog Day” loop but it’s Cruise that ensures it’s not a gimmick, slithering into each scene with charm, raw magnetism and wonderful chemistry with an awards-worthy Emily Blunt. The science-fiction drama has been all too undervalued. Doug Liman’s thriller shows more than special effects and explosions. It also presents capable and talented stars at the helm, which makes all the difference.

Risky Business (1983)

Role: Joel Goodson

Director: Paul Brickman Writer: Paul Brickman Distributor: Warner Bros.

The scene that proves it: Dancing to “Old Time Rock & Roll”

All it took was a button-down shirt, briefs and a Bob Seger track to make Tom Cruise one of the defining movie stars of his generation. In Paul Brickman’s directorial debut, Cruise’s turn in the teen comedy was as culturally massive as it was monetarily successful. With lots of praise also going to his co-star Rebecca DeMornay, this is just as enjoyable as any film that ranks in the listing.

Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

Role : Lieutenant Pete “Maverick” Mitchell

Director : Joseph Kosinski

Writers : Peter Craig, Justin Marks, Ehren Kruger, Eric Warren Singer, Christopher McQuarrie (based on characters created by Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr.)

Distributor : Paramount Pictures

The scene that proves it : “Maverick’s Test Run”

Cruise’s 80s high-flying sequel feels like it saved the movies. His return to “Maverick,” his beloved character has showmanship, charisma and the ability to shoot down planes with the enemy’s plane. Having great chemistry with his co-stars, particularly Miles Teller and Jennifer Connelly, Cruise is only getting better as he gets older.

Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994)

Role: Lestat de Lioncourt

Director: Neil Jordan Writer: Anne Rice (based on “Interview with the Vampire” by Anne Rice) Distributor: Warner Bros.

The scene that proves it: “Claudia, you’ve been a very, naughty little girl.”

As the sinister and entrancing Lestat, Cruise hypnotized the audience with his soft-spoken flirtations with the living while persuading them to join the undead. Alongside memorable turns from Brad Pitt and a young Kirsten Dunst, Neil Jordan’s horror adaptation of the Anne Rice novel is still a popular selection.

The Firm (1993)

Role: Mitch McDeere

Director: Sydney Pollack Writers: David Rabe, Robert Towne, David Rayfiel (based on “The Firm” by John Grisham) Distributor: Paramount Pictures

The scene that proves it: “Did you ever think I would make a six-figure salary?”

Sydney Pollack’s invigorating legal thriller boasts an all-star cast and a dynamic Cruise as lawyer Mitch McDeere. While also featuring my personal favorite Tom Cruise signature run as he chases down his movie wife Jeanne Tripplehorn, the adaptation of the John Grisham novel was a box office success and even pulled in an acting nom for his co-star Holly Hunter.

Mission: Impossible (1995)

Role: Ethan Hunt

Director: Brian De Palma Writers: David Koepp, Robert Towne, Steven Zaillian (based on “Mission: Impossible” by Bruce Geller) Distributor: Paramount Pictures

The scene that proves it: “You’ve never seen me upset.”

The spy thriller from Brian De Palma still holds up almost 30 years later. Likewise, the action franchise that’s still going (with two more films on the way) keeps on delivering, thanks to Tom Cruise.

The cinematic remake of the classic television series has spawned multiple territories, generating massive revenue and showing Cruise’s defining action star beats, jaw-dropping stunts and magical smiles that have a way with the ladies as Ethan Hunt.

Keep dropping from those ceilings, Tom.

Rain Man (1988)

Role: Charlie Babbitt

Director: Barry Levinson Writers: Barry Morrow, Ronald Bass Distributor: MGM/UA

The scene that proves it: “You’re the Rain Man?”

The best picture winner of his arsenal, alongside an Oscar-winning turn from Dustin Hoffman, the film stands as one that hindsight has allowed us to rediscover as one of the bright spots of his filmography. If only Oscar were willing to recognize two leading actors as they did earlier that decade with “Amadeus.” Cruise would have made a fine addition.

Collateral (2004)

Role: Vincent

Director: Michael Mann Writer: Stuart Beattie Distributor: DreamWorks Pictures

The scene that proves it: Searching in the club.

At best a co-lead to Jamie Foxx (who was nominated for best supporting actor in one of the most recent cases of category fraud), Cruise’s silver fox Vincent in Michael Mann’s thriller is an underrated delivery. He sends chills down the spine, moving like a shark through a club and listening to his prey with a mischievous grin. He keeps us at the edge of our seats, before finally allowing us to exhale by the end of the credits.

Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

Role: Bill Harford

Director: Stanley Kubrick Writers: Stanley Kubrick, Frederic Raphael (based on “Traumnovelle” by Arthur Schnitzler) Distributor: Warner Bros.

The scene that proves it: Listening to the story about Cape Cod.

Under the thumb of Stanley Kubrick and his final outing with his then-wife, Nicole Kidman, Cruise dives into the erotic drama that feels among the actor’s bravest character outings. Marking the last directorial outing of Kubrick, you can feel the ripple of his legacy hanging on the words of each of Cruise and Kidman’s interactions or in the defined stare as one pours their heart out to another.

Top Gun (1986)

Director : Tony Scott

Writers : Jim Cash, Jack Epps Jr. (based on “Top Guns” by Ehud Yonay

The scene that proves it : Tossing Goose’s dog tags.

Cruise feels the need… the need for speed in Tony Scott’s pulse-pounding action flick — a cemented classic in the 1980s. His undeniable charisma led to the following post-release and now has the global cinematic world taking in its sequel “Maverick” to more than half a billion dollars. There’s always been something about Maverick tossing Goose’s (Anthony Edwards) dog tags overboard following his death that always struck a chord.

Tropic Thunder (2008)

Role: Les Grossman

Director: Ben Stiller Writers: Justin Theroux, Ben Stiller, Etan Cohen Distributor: Paramount Pictures / DreamWorks Pictures

The scene that proves it: “G5”

It’s a transformation of epic proportions in Ben Stiller’s classic comedy. While Robert Downey Jr. received the lion’s share of praise, earning an Oscar nom for supporting actor, Cruise could only muster a Golden Globe nom for his turn as Hollywood producer Les Grossman. Screaming one-liners and a dance finale that still makes the world chuckle, it stands as his single best comedic outing.

Jerry Maguire (1996)

Role: Jerry Maguire

Director: Cameron Crowe Writer: Cameron Crowe Distributor: Sony Pictures

The scene that proves it: “You complete me.”

Writer and director Cameron Crowe pulled a movie star performance out of Tom Cruise for his sports agent dramedy. As the titular character, he lights up the screen with his Oscar-winning co-star Cuba Gooding Jr. and the Oscar-snubbed Renée Zellweger in a finale that had people quoting it for decades. And let’s not forget “Show me the money” and its stapled place in movie history.

A Few Good Men (1992)

Role: Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee

Director: Rob Reiner Writer: Aaron Sorkin (based on “A Few Good Men” by Aaron Sorkin) Distributor: Columbia Pictures

The scene that proves it: “I want the truth…”

Cruise is entitled to answers in Rob Reiner’s courtroom drama, maneuvering prominent personalities and moments alongside Jack Nicholson, Demi Moore and Kevin Pollack. Although nominated for best picture, Cruise’s work was passed over in lead actor. His defender of marines standing trial, under the words of Aaron Sorkin and one of his finest writing efforts, Cruise soars to new heights.

Minority Report (2002)

Role: John Anderton

Director: Steven Spielberg Writers: Scott Frank, Jon Cohen (based on “The Minority Report” by Philip K. Dick) Distributor: 20th Century Fox (now 20th Century Studios)

The scene that proves it: Listening to Abigail about Sean’s life.

It’s a quiet and commanding standout in Cruise’s filmography when looking back on Cruise’s work in Steven Spielberg’s futuristic drama. However, as John Anderton, a police officer trying to clear his name for a murder he has yet to commit, it’s Cruise’s precise choice of listening to Abigail (played by a magnificent Samantha Morton) that breaks the heart in two.

Born on the Fourth of July (1989)

Role: Ron Kovic

Director: Oliver Stone Writers: Oliver Stone, Ron Kovic (based on “Born on the Fourth of July” by Kovic) Distributor: Universal Pictures

The scene that proves it: “I love America.”

Oscar-winning director Oliver Stone introduced what Cruise could achieve beyond sliding floors and jet planes. His Vietnam veteran spans years, with each chapter feeling authentic and layered. The film was nominated for best picture and earned Cruise his first Oscar nom for best actor.

Magnolia (1999)

Role: Frank T.J. Mackey

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson Writer: Paul Thomas Anderson Distributor: New Line Cinema

The scene that proves it: “I hate you.”

Pouring in every ounce of himself, Cruise’s Oscar-nominated performance is (currently) the last time he’s been recognized by the Academy, and it stands as his finest hour in Paul Thomas Anderson’s mosaic drama. Full of life, energy and heartache, he invites the viewer on the journey, fearless in his interpretation and perfect in his execution.

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An eruption of feeling that's as overwhelming as it is overwrought, Paul Thomas Anderson's Magnolia reaches a fevered crescendo and sustains it thanks to its fearlessly committed ensemble.

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The Ending Of Eyes Wide Shut Explained

1999 was a busy year for a lot of reasons. Facing the centennial, there was a lot to look forward to, and a lot to leave behind. For director Stanley Kubrick, there was one film idea that he just had to finish before the year was over, and that was "Eyes Wide Shut." The movie is based on a German novella from 1926 called "Traumnovelle," or "Dream Story," which focuses on a man in Vienna who finds out his wife has fantasies of other men, and goes on a two-day journey dealing with personal realizations about sex, individualism, and morality.

For Kubrick's film, he transferred the story from early 20th century Vienna to New York City, Greenwich Village specifically, in the 1990s. The director cast Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman , husband and wife at the time, as the main couple in the story named Bill and Alice. The movie began filming in November 1996 and ended in June 1998, holding the Guinness World Records for longest constant movie shoot at over 15 months, with 46 weeks of unbroken shooting.

The film is a confounding story, and even two decades later, fans and critics alike continue to debate the meaning behind "Eyes Wide Shut" and whether the final cut was what Kubrick really wanted.

The themes and meaning of Eyes Wide Shut

While Kubrick's other films explore topics like free will, conformity, and class privilege, "Eyes Wide Shut" takes on society's dehumanization of sex. For Bill and Alice, sex and temptation is all around them, but they only have eyes for each other. But one night Alice admits that she considered having an affair with a handsome naval officer a year earlier, and Bill's whole world is turned upside down. He then begins a night-long journey to explore and possibly give in to his own temptations, stumbling upon a secret society participating in a masked orgy.

The story is strange and winding, adding to the dreamlike quality of filmmaking that takes influence from the original "Dream Story." Throughout the night, Bill meets various strangers who attempt to engage him in sex. While he almost gives in a few times, he makes it through the encounters unscathed until he gets to the main event, the secret society's weird orgy. With this film, Kubrick is taking on "the causes and effects of depersonalized sex." One early review of the film describes the orgy scene as "the fulcrum" of "Eyes Wide Shut," saying, "sex is normally the most intimate means of human interaction, yet here it is reduced to a ritualistic, almost creepy form of gratification ... There is freedom in anonymity, but also isolation and a complete dearth of emotion" ( Reel Views ).

After this encounter, Bill finally realizes the dark side of this world of sex and anonymity, returning to his wife Alice's side. She is still open with him about her past sexual fantasies, but in the end they stay loyal to each other, happy that their marriage and mutual sexual attraction have survived this long.

The crazy process to make Kubrick's last movie

It's safe to say that Kubrick had a reputation for being quite the demanding and unusual filmmaker. Although many people are familiar with his abuse of Shelley Duvall on the set of "The Shining," some might not know just how crazy it was to make "Eyes Wide Shut," the director's last film.

Along with how long it took to film the movie, Kubrick put his main two actors through a lot of intense experiences. The director took take after take of the same scene, but not because he had a detailed vision in mind. According to a  Vanity Fair article detailing the film's production, his "theory was that once his actors bottomed-out in exhaustion and forgot about the cameras, they could rebuild and discover something that neither he nor they expected." Kubrick also never let his actors see any daily footage, and this inability to track his own performance across the film gave Cruise an ulcer, which he hid from Kubrick.

The director also thoroughly blended fact and fiction, creating a feeling of distrust between Cruise and Kidman by choosing to "direct each actor separately and forbid them to share notes. In one painful example, for just one minute of final footage where Alice makes love to a handsome naval officer—an imaginary affair that haunts Bill over the course of the film—Kubrick demanded that Kidman shoot six days of naked sex scenes with a male model ... He banned Cruise from the set and forbade Kidman to assuage her husband's tension by telling him what happened during the shoot." The emotional abuse he put his actors through was apparently worth it for them, but it's up to debate whether or not it improved the final product.

Debate and censorship for Eyes Wide Shut

"Eyes Wide Shut" is Kubrick's final film before his death. According to the documentary "Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures," Kubrick was in the middle of post-production when he showed what Warner Bros. executives claim was a relatively final cut of the film on March 1, 1999. The director died six days later, on March 7, 1999, at the age of 70. "Eyes Wide Shut" opened on July 16, 1999, and did well at the box office and with critics. It currently holds a 75% on Rotten Tomatoes . But that doesn't mean that there isn't any controversy attached to the film's release. 

Firstly, the movie had to be censored to hit the R-rating, with the orgy scene taking a large hit. According to a 1999 New York Times article, "65 seconds of the movie were digitally altered. Essentially, shrouded digital figures were placed in front of couples engaged in sex, partly blocking the audience's view." At the same time, some people argued that "Eyes Wide Shut" was an unfinished film, and the final product was not the one Kubrick intended to release. A frequent collaborator of Kubrick, writer Michael Herr, revealed in a Vanity Fair piece that Kubrick called him shortly before he had to show the Warner Bros. executives a cut the film, saying that "there was looping to be done and the music wasn't finished, lots of small technical fixes on color and sound; would I show work that wasn't finished?" He was forced to show the executives due to contractual reasons but didn't want to, and this was likely the cut that later became the final product.

While there's a lot of interesting history and questions revolving around "Eyes Wide Shut," unfortunately Kubrick isn't around to clarify anything. Still, the director's final film impresses as an unforgettable story about morality and sexuality, no matter what way you look at it.

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7 best Tom Cruise 1990s movies, ranked

For 40 years, Tom Cruise  has been one of Hollywood’s biggest movie stars. From heartbreaking monologues to death-defying stunts, Cruise has been lighting up the big screen since he slid across the floor in Risky Business . At 61, Cruise has no plans of slowing down, with Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two hitting theaters in 2025.

7. Days of Thunder (1990)

6. the firm (1993), 5. eyes wide shut (1999), 4. a few good men (1992), 3. magnolia (1999), 2. mission: impossible (1996), 1. jerry maguire (1996).

Cruise went from budding star to acting icon in the 1990s as he starred in nine films from 1990-1999. Several of Cruise’s films during the 1990s feature some of the actor’s finest work, and he even scored two Oscar nominations. From charming dramedies to action tentpoles, Cruise did it all in the 1990s. Below, we rank Cruise’s seven best films of the decade.

Cruise mastered playing the young, cocky hotshot in Top Gun . Cole Trickle falls under the same archetype in Days of Thunder . After dominating in open-wheel racing, Cole jumps to NASCAR, where he quickly forms a rivalry with veteran champion Rowdy Burns (Michael Rooker). After a crash sidelines them with injuries, Cole and Rowdy put their differences aside and become friends. Cole also romances Dr. Claire Lewicki, played by Cruise’s future wife (now ex-wife) Nicole Kidman. 

• 7 best Adam Sandler movies of the 1990s, ranked
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Days of Thunder is not as good as Top Gun , but it’s still a fun sports movie with good racing sequences and a flashy Cruise performance. Fun fact: Days of Thunder is Cruise’s only writing credit. Cruise received a story credit along with Robert Towne, the Academy Award-winning screenwriter.

Stream Days of Thunder on Paramount+ .

Considering he’s played lawyers in multiple movies, I wonder if Cruise ever wanted to seek a career in law if acting didn’t work out. Luckily for Cruise, he chose the right profession. In The Firm , Cruise plays Mitch McDeere, a promising Harvard Law School graduate who takes a job with a prestigious firm in Memphis. The firm introduces Mitch to a life of wealth and power. However, the long hours strain his marriage with his wife, Abby (Jeanne Tripplehorn).

Mitch accidentally discovers the firm’s illegal activities, from money laundering to tax fraud and murder. Approached by the FBI to flip on his associates, Mitch knows he’s a dead man if he helps the authorities. Cruise’s fiery persona and star power are a winning combination in Sydney Pollack’s cat-and-mouse legal thriller. The Firm also inspired Cruise’s lifelong mission to become an elite runner .

Stream The Firm on Paramount+ .

Looking at how Cruise gravitated toward action in the 21st century, Eyes Wide Shut was one of the actor’s biggest risks. Stanley Kubrick’s final film stars Cruise as Bill Harford, a doctor who is stunned to learn that his wife, Alice (Nicole Kidman), has sexual fantasies about sleeping with other men. Jealous, Bill sets out to look for a sexual encounter.

Bill meets with his old friend, Nick Nightingale (Todd Field), and learns about a masked sex party hosted by a secret society. After attending one of the parties, Bill realizes he’s in danger, leading him to rethink his intentions. Unfortunately for Cruise and Kidman, their real-life marriage ended a few years after this film, and when you read about the difficult production , it’s easy to speculate that it may have played a part. However, Eyes Wide Shut remains one of Cruise’s most vulnerable performances.

Rent Eyes Wide Shut  on Prime Video , YouTube , Apple , or Google .

Cruise starred as a JAG attorney in A Few Good Men. In the film directed by Rob Reiner and based on a script by Aaron Sorkin, Cruise plays Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee, a lawyer tasked with defending two U.S. Marines accused of murdering another Marine on Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba. Kaffee assembles a team, including Lt. Cdr. JoAnne Galloway (Demi Moore), to mount a defense and prove the Marines were carrying out an order from a superior officer.

Cruise’s courtroom scenes are some of his finest acting moments. He brings the proper amount of intensity and ferocity to the courtroom, leading to the film’s climatic scene between Kaffee and Col. Nathan R. Jessup, played by Jack Nicholson . Cruise versus Nicholson in a courtroom , what’s better than that?

Rent A Few Good Men  on Prime Video , YouTube , Apple , or Google .

Magnolia has a lot of problems, but Cruise isn’t one of them. While Cruise was making Eyes Wide Shut , director Paul Thomas Anderson  met with Cruise to discuss working together on a future film. That film became Magnolia , with Cruise starring as Frank T.J. Mackey, a conceited motivational speaker and dating expert who teaches people that life is about “what you take.”

While the misogynistic speeches show Cruise’s comedic chops, the single best scene of his career is when Frank breaks down and weeps in front of his dying father. How the Academy watched that scene and didn’t award Cruise Best Supporting Actor is beyond me.

Stream Magnolia on Prime Video .

The role that has come to define Cruise for the last three decades is Ethan Hunt in Mission: Impossible . Ethan is an elite agent who works for the Impossible Mission Force (IMF), the secret government agency called upon for dangerous assignments. In Mission: Impossible , a failed mission that results in the death of several IMF agents forces Ethan to go on the run as the government deems him the prime suspect.

Forced to clear his name, Ethan assembles a new team to infiltrate the CIA building and steal an electronic list that could prove his innocence. By 1996, Cruise mostly did dramas with a few action films mixed in. However, the success of Mission: Impossible kicked off Cruise’s run as a global action star who is not afraid to push himself to the absolute limit, even if that means driving a motorcycle off a cliff.

Stream Mission: Impossible on Paramount+ or Prime Video .

Jerry Maguire is Cruise’s magnum opus. Everything we love about Cruise, from his natural charisma and infectious smile to his exuberant energy and undying passion, is channeled into the football dramedy Jerry Maguire . Written and directed by Cameron Crowe, Jerry Maguire stars Cruise as a sports agent who quits his high-profile agency to start his own management firm, so he can focus on stronger relationships with fewer clients.

Jerry’s only client is Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding Jr.), a wide receiver in the NFL who wants Jerry to “show him the money.” Jerry’s only employee is Dorothy Boyd (Renee Zellweger), a single mother and eventual love interest. Cruise turns his movie star charm up to 10 in Jerry Maguire . And yes, Tom, you had us at hello, too.

Rent Jerry Maguire on Prime Video , YouTube , Apple , or Google .

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In 1996, Tom Cruise starred in two movies. One of those movies, Jerry Maguire, earned the actor his second Oscar nomination. The other film was Mission: Impossible, a film that drastically changed the course of his career. As Ethan Hunt, Mission: Impossible elevated Cruise into a bonafide action star, as he started his transition from dramatic and comedic movies to more action and sci-fi films.

Thirty years later, the Mission: Impossible franchise remains one of the most consistent series in Hollywood. Mission: Impossible continues to raise the stakes with each entry as Cruise risks his life with each death-defying stunt, all in the name of entertainment. Before Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, we have a task for you to complete. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to read the Mission: Impossible movie rankings below and discover which one is the best in the series. Cue the theme song.

Kevin Costner recently unveiled the first look at his upcoming multipart Western Horizon: An American Saga. However, for the vast majority of Yellowstone fans, the only saga they want is the conclusion of the Dutton family's story and a glimpse of what comes next. Costner reinvigorated his career by headlining Yellowstone as John Dutton, but his clashes with Paramount Network and showrunner Taylor Sheridan have left Costner's future with the franchise in question.

Although we're still several months away from the return of the series, we're sharing everything we know about Yellowstone season 5, part 2. And we'll keep updating this post when anything newsworthy comes up. Will Kevin Costner return for Yellowstone season 5, part 2?

What are you watching this weekend? All eyes will be on Zendaya as her new tennis film, Challengers, opens in theaters. The romantic thriller featuring a seductive love triangle will likely be the top film at the weekend box office. If you plan to stay home, Anyone but You, the hit rom-com starring Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney, is now streaming on Netflix. Additionally, Monkey Man and Arthur the King are available for purchase on demand.

Not every film this weekend will cost money. You can check out the thousands of free movies with ads on FAST services including Tubi and Pluto TV. Check out our list of three films that you can watch for free this weekend. Our picks include a cult classic from the 1980s, an underrated sports drama from the early 2000s, and a revolutionary 1970s horror film. Big Trouble in Little China (1986)

Screen Rant

Tom cruise was almost cast in 1999's the mummy: how it'd be different.

Tom Cruise rejected 1999's The Mummy, but just how different would the blockbuster have turned out if he'd play the lead instead of Brendan Fraser?

In an alternate universe, the 1999 blockbuster The Mummy would have been fronted by Tom Cruise instead of Brendan Fraser - just how different would it have been? Cruise has become so closely linked with action movies and performing outrageous stunts, it's easy to forget he once jumped around many different genres. From Oscar-winning dramas ( Rain Man ) to harrowing biopics ( Born On The Fourth Of July ) or legal thrillers ( The Firm ), the actor packed a lot of variety into his filmography. Arguably the film that changed the course of Tom Cruise's career was 2000's Mission: Impossible II , which marked his transformation into a full-fledged action star.

A sliding doors moment for the actor was 1999's The Mummy , where he was approached to play dashing hero Rick O'Connell. It would have been fascinating to see Cruise step into an Indiana Jones-inspired hero, but his all-consuming schedule on Eyes Wide Shut - which began filming in November 1996 and wrapped in June 1998 - prevented him from taking the film. Brendan Fraser eventually landed the role, with The Mummy becoming a surprise smash that led to two sequels and a spinoff saga with The Scorpion King films. It's difficult to picture another actor playing Rick now, but had Cruise accepted the first Mummy movie it would have changed it in some intriguing ways.

Related: The Worst Indiana Jones Movie Proved The Mummy Didn't Truly Replace It

Tom Cruise & Many Other A-Listers Rejected The Mummy

Fraser's star was rising at the time - especially due to the success of George Of The Jungle - but he wasn't a major star either. He was far from the first name on Universal's wishlist either, with Cruise being at the very top. Once he passed on the project, The Mummy was offered to other notable leading men of the era. This includes Brad Pitt, who at the time was coming off the back of films like The Devil's Own and Meet Joe Black . Curiously, Pitt hadn't really made a pure action-adventure style film when approached about The Mummy , but his commitment to David Fincher's Fight Club likely ruled him out.

The Mummy - whose villain Imhotep was based on a real figure - was also offered to Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, both of whom were riding the success of Good Will Hunting . Both performers were hugely in demand during this period, reuniting on the likes of Dogma while branching off on their own, with Affleck making Armageddon while Damon went on to Saving Private Ryan and Rounders . Of the two, it's easier to picture Affleck taking on a square-jawed action role - but he still hadn't fully developed his chops as a leading man either. Damon would unknowingly help reshape action cinema years later with The Bourne Identity . Matthew McConaughey was also briefly considered for the part.

How The Mummy Would Be A Different Movie With Tom Cruise In The Lead

In all likelihood, Cruise probably wouldn't have been interested in a project like The Mummy at that stage in his career. He was working with auteurs such as Brian De Palma, Stanley Kubrick and Paul Thomas Anderson, and The Mummy didn't really fit that criterion. That said, had he been available and interested, the blockbuster would have changed in some fundemental ways. In fact, comparing The Mummy - which aged better than its sequels - to Cruise's starring role in the 2017 reboot offers up a unique comparison. In that Dark Universe non-starter, Cruise was very much playing against type as an opportunistic, irreverent explorer whose greed gets him in trouble.

Despite Cruise having a well-proven background in both action and comedy ( Tropic Thunder ), that type of role didn't suit him either. Whereas Fraser was able to play both the humor and action of The Mummy effortlessly, Cruise felt miscast in such a character. Perhaps he may have played O'Connell a little straighter in '99's The Mummy, taking the horror and apocalyptic stakes a little more seriously. Another important element of The Mummy is that Fraser feels like part of an ensemble alongside Rachel Weisz, John Hannah and Oded Fehr. Had Cruise taken the lead his stardom would likely have taken precedent, as seen in the first few Mission: Impossible films .

Related: The Mummy 1999's Original Ending Explained (& Why It Changed)

The Mummy Could Only Have Worked With Brendan Fraser

Rick O'Connell may not be an iconic character on the same pedestal as Harrison Ford's Indy, but just like it's hard to see original choice Tom Selleck as the latter now, the same goes for Cruise. He just wasn't suited for The Mummy '99 , but Fraser had it all. He had the movie star looks, combined with a talent for verbal and physical comedy. He was just as convincing dual-wielding revolvers or sword fighting against CGI mummies as he was Rick's one-liners. More importantly, he understood the movie serial tone of The Mummy and played the part with that in mind.

Fraser reprised the role for The Mummy Returns - which had infamously poor CGI for the Scorpion King - and Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor , though neither came close to recapturing the lightning in a bottle of the original. Even so, the actor was easily the highlight of both. This is even more impressive in the case of The Mummy 3 , where he completely commits to the demands of the part once more - despite the fact he later admitted to being in physical agony from various injuries while filming. With the actor tipped for a comeback following the acclaim earned by The Whale , calls for The Mummy 4 have started to grow.

Time will tell if Fraser ever saddles up as O'Connell again, but it's a certainty viewers wouldn't see Cruise reprise his role for a Dark Universe Mummy sequel . Mission: Impossible was a far better showcase for Cruise's talent than The Mummy '99 ever would have been. The film would still have been a success based on his star power, but it's possible the blockbuster would be so fondly remembered either. Fraser's charm and the oddly sweet romance between his and Weisz's characters added a lot to The Mummy , and that's what made it endure over the years. 2017's The Mummy just proved the producers made the right choice years before.

Next: The Mummy 4 Update Teases Brendan Fraser's Ultimate Comeback

Tom Cruise's Biggest Controversies Over The Years

Tom Cruise is one of the most popular actors in Hollywood. Cruise became a bona fide star in the 80s and 90s with films such as "Top Gun," "Cocktail," and "Risky Business," and continued his success with blockbusters such as "The Firm," "Interview with the Vampire," "Jerry Maguire," and "Mission Impossible." However, off-screen he's been one of the most controversial figures in the entertainment business.

Over the years, Cruise's acting has been praised, but he's been a bit polarizing when it comes to his personal life and public persona, especially when it comes to his relationships with former wives Mimi Rogers, Nicole Kidman, and Katie Holmes, as well as his loyalty to Scientology. Cruise's involvement as a father to his three children has also made headlines in the past. The actor shares two adopted children, Isabella and Connor with Kidman, and a biological daughter, Suri, with Holmes. While Cruise appears to have relationships with his adult children, he's reportedly estranged from his teenage daughter, Suri, with some suggesting that Cruise's Scientology beliefs are a major reason why he doesn't have a strong relationship with Suri , who is being raised by Holmes.

Of course, Cruise has created a stir for more than his religious beliefs and parenting throughout his career, and he's stunned fans with some controversial moments during that time. Here are some of Tom Cruise's biggest controversies over the years.

Tom Cruise laughed over cutting off oxygen to a passenger on his plane in 1999

In 1999, Tom Cruise appeared on the "Late Show with David Letterman," when he opened up about a flying experience. The actor revealed that he and his co-pilot were flying at high altitudes during a flight to Colorado, when they realized they didn't have enough oxygen to stay alert. Instead of coming up with a strategy to remedy the situation, Cruise revealed that he and the co-pilot simply shut off the oxygen for the plane's other passenger so that they had enough air to continue their flight.

Cruise laughed as he told the story to Letterman, later revealing that the passenger eventually fell asleep due to the lack of oxygen, claiming the situation was never dangerous. Cruise chuckled so hard during the story that he had trouble getting his words out, but viewers heard he ensured that the passenger woke up upon arrival. He also laughed about how the passenger complained of numb hands after the flight.

However, Letterman seemed to be taken aback and even called out the actor for his poor judgment. "But honestly, looking at it from another direction, isn't that attempted manslaughter? You just turned a guy's oxygen off," Letterman told Cruise. "You're lucky you're not doing time, for the love of God," the host added before joining in the laughter.

Tom Cruise publicly feuded with Brooke Shields over antidepressants

In 2005, Brooke Shields opened up about her postpartum depression and use of antidepressants in her memoir "Down Came the Rain." After Shields' comments and views on the medication were made public, Tom Cruise had plenty to say about the actor, calling her "irresponsible" for claiming that the medication helped cure her postpartum depression. Of course, Shields didn't take Cruise's words lightly, telling him to "stick to saving the world from aliens."

Later, Cruise was asked about his comments during an interview on the "Today Show," where he called Matt Lauer "glib," and revealed that vitamins and exercise were a better way to treat depression than prescription medication. However, Cruise eventually made a public apology to Shields, and the two buried the hatchet. The "Blue Lagoon" star even attended Cruise's wedding to Katie Holmes in 2006. "If you get invited to that wedding, you go," Shields said of attending the wedding (via Entertainment Tonight ). "There was no malice in my heart."

In 2023, Shields spoke out about Cruise again, revealing that she would previously be sent a card and a bundt cake from the actor for the holidays, but that she has seemingly fallen off the list of recipients, per People Magazine . "I want to get back on that cake list. It's the best cake," Shields joked. "Tom, I need to be back on the cake list."

If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website .

Tom Cruise stuns fans with his behavior on The Oprah Show

In 2005, Tom Cruise was making headlines for his career while promoting the film "War of the Worlds." His relationship with Kate Holmes was also being heavily discussed in the media, and fans couldn't help but be curious about the actor's resurgence. That same year, Cruise appeared on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" for an interview with the famed talk show host. However, the interview took a wild turn when Cruise veered off the subject from his career and leaned into his personal life, getting candid about his romance with Holmes.

During the interview , Cruise had the studio audience in fits of laughter and applause as he gushed over Holmes, posed excitedly, smiled from ear to ear, joked, and even jumped on the couch to prove how happy he was with his life and new love. Eventually, Winfrey convinced Cruise to head backstage and get Holmes, which he did. The actor brought Holmes out on stage, and the two embraced and kissed in front of the audience.

The interview was one of the strangest and most unhinged that Cruise had ever given. That moment was also credited for helping the online entertainment blog industry take off. "This incident became one of the most critical chapters in the Origin Story of Internet Gossip," blogger Elaine Lui wrote on her site Lainey Gossip .

Cruise's involvement with Scientology has been controversial

Tom Cruise is famously known for his involvement with Scientology. Cruise, along with many other Hollywood stars such as John Travolta, Danny Masterson, Elizabeth Moss, Kirstie Alley, and Juliette Lewis, have also been involved with the church. However, Cruise is one of the most famous members and has achieved a top-level status within the church. Cruise joined the Church of Scientology in 1986 after being introduced to it by his first wife, Mimi Rogers. However, it wasn't until 1992 that he publicly confirmed his involvement with the religion.

TV star Leah Remini was also previously a member of the church, but has since left the religion. After leaving Scientology, Remini has been very open and outspoken about the inner workings of the church, and Cruise's involvement with the religion. In her memoir "Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology," Remini spoke out about Cruise, even revealing that he once screamed at his assistants because he couldn't find pre-packaged cookie dough.

Over the years, Remini has opened up more about Cruise and Scientology. "He is very aware of the abuses that go on in Scientology. He's been part of it," she told The Daily Beast in 2018. "Scientologists are told that Cruise is saving the world single-handedly, so he is considered a deity within Scientology," she added.

Cruise screamed at a movie crew over COVID protocols in 2020

In 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tom Cruise was filming "Mission: Impossible 7." The movie was being filmed with many rules and regulations to help combat the spread of the virus, but some crew members were reportedly not following the protocols. This inflamed Cruise, who went on a long rant, using profanity and screaming at the crew. He even threatened to fire them if they stepped out of line any further. The rant was allegedly caused when Cruise saw crew members standing closer than 6 feet apart while looking at a computer.

"They're back there in Hollywood making movies right now because of us. We are creating thousands of jobs, you m-f—ers," Cruise can be heard yelling in the leaked audio. "I don't ever want to see it again! Ever!" he continues. "If I see you do it again, you're f—ing gone." Cruise later addressed the rant. "There was a lot at stake at that point. I said what I said," the actor told Empire Magazine .

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Tom Cruise Movies List

• Movies or TV
• IMDb Rating
• In Theaters
• Release Year

1. Endless Love (1981)

R | 116 min | Drama, Romance

Parental disapproval of a passionate romance between two teenagers leads to arguments, circumstance, insanity and tragedy.

Director: Franco Zeffirelli | Stars: Brooke Shields , Martin Hewitt , Shirley Knight , Don Murray

Votes: 9,575 | Gross: $31.18M

2. Taps (I) (1981)

PG | 126 min | Drama

Military cadets take extreme measures to ensure the future of their academy when its existence is threatened by local condo developers.

Director: Harold Becker | Stars: George C. Scott , Timothy Hutton , Ronny Cox , Sean Penn

Votes: 20,091 | Gross: $35.86M

3. The Outsiders (1983)

PG | 91 min | Crime, Drama

In a small Oklahoma town in 1964, the rivalry between two gangs, the poor Greasers and the rich Socs, heats up when one gang member accidentally kills a member of the other.

Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Stars: C. Thomas Howell , Matt Dillon , Ralph Macchio , Patrick Swayze

Votes: 97,515 | Gross: $25.60M

4. Losin' It (1982)

R | 100 min | Comedy, Drama

Set in 1965, four rowdy teenage guys travel to Tijuana, Mexico for a night of partying when they are joined by a heartbroken housewife who is in town seeking a quick divorce.

Director: Curtis Hanson | Stars: Tom Cruise , Jackie Earle Haley , John Stockwell , John P. Navin Jr.

Votes: 5,229 | Gross: $1.25M

5. All the Right Moves (1983)

R | 91 min | Drama, Romance, Sport

An ambitious young football star is trapped in a dying mill town--unless his gridiron skills can win him a way out.

Director: Michael Chapman | Stars: Tom Cruise , Lea Thompson , Craig T. Nelson , Charles Cioffi

Votes: 20,394 | Gross: $17.23M

6. Risky Business (1983)

R | 99 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama

A Chicago teenager is looking for fun at home while his parents are away, but the situation quickly gets out of hand.

Director: Paul Brickman | Stars: Tom Cruise , Rebecca De Mornay , Joe Pantoliano , Richard Masur

Votes: 99,820 | Gross: $63.50M

7. Legend (1985)

PG | 94 min | Adventure, Fantasy, Romance

A young man must stop the Lord of Darkness from destroying daylight and marrying the woman he loves.

Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Tom Cruise , Mia Sara , Tim Curry , David Bennent

Votes: 72,462 | Gross: $15.50M

8. Top Gun (1986)

PG | 109 min | Action, Drama

As students at the United States Navy's elite fighter weapons school compete to be best in the class, one daring young pilot learns a few things from a civilian instructor that are not taught in the classroom.

Director: Tony Scott | Stars: Tom Cruise , Tim Robbins , Kelly McGillis , Val Kilmer

Votes: 502,496 | Gross: $179.80M

9. The Color of Money (1986)

R | 119 min | Drama, Sport

Fast Eddie Felson teaches a cocky but immensely talented protégé the ropes of pool hustling, which in turn inspires him to make an unlikely comeback.

Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Paul Newman , Tom Cruise , Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio , Helen Shaver

Votes: 93,251 | Gross: $52.29M

10. Cocktail (1988)

R | 104 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

A talented New York City bartender takes a job at a bar in Jamaica and falls in love.

Director: Roger Donaldson | Stars: Tom Cruise , Bryan Brown , Elisabeth Shue , Lisa Banes

Votes: 91,843 | Gross: $78.22M

11. Rain Man (1988)

R | 133 min | Drama

After a selfish L.A. yuppie learns his estranged father left a fortune to an autistic-savant brother in Ohio that he didn't know existed, he absconds with his brother and sets out across the country, hoping to gain a larger inheritance.

Director: Barry Levinson | Stars: Dustin Hoffman , Tom Cruise , Valeria Golino , Gerald R. Molen

Votes: 546,519 | Gross: $178.80M

12. Born on the Fourth of July (1989)

R | 145 min | Biography, Drama, War

The biography of Ron Kovic . Paralyzed in the Vietnam war, he becomes an anti-war and pro-human rights political activist after feeling betrayed by the country for which he fought.

Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: Tom Cruise , Bryan Larkin , Raymond J. Barry , Caroline Kava

Votes: 115,922 | Gross: $70.00M

13. Days of Thunder (1990)

PG-13 | 107 min | Action, Drama, Sport

A young hot-shot stock car driver gets his chance to compete at the top level.

Director: Tony Scott | Stars: Tom Cruise , Nicole Kidman , Robert Duvall , Randy Quaid

Votes: 96,396 | Gross: $82.67M

14. A Few Good Men (1992)

R | 138 min | Drama, Thriller

Military lawyer Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee defends Marines accused of murder. They contend they were acting under orders.

Director: Rob Reiner | Stars: Tom Cruise , Jack Nicholson , Demi Moore , Kevin Bacon

Votes: 287,282 | Gross: $141.34M

15. The Firm (1993)

R | 154 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller

A young lawyer joins a prestigious law firm only to discover that it has a sinister dark side.

Director: Sydney Pollack | Stars: Tom Cruise , Jeanne Tripplehorn , Gene Hackman , Hal Holbrook

Votes: 147,671 | Gross: $158.35M

16. Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994)

R | 123 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror

A vampire tells his epic life story: love, betrayal, loneliness, and hunger.

Director: Neil Jordan | Stars: Brad Pitt , Tom Cruise , Antonio Banderas , Kirsten Dunst

Votes: 347,418 | Gross: $105.26M

17. Mission: Impossible (1996)

PG-13 | 110 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller

An American agent, under false suspicion of disloyalty, must discover and expose the real spy without the help of his organization.

Director: Brian De Palma | Stars: Tom Cruise , Jon Voight , Emmanuelle Béart , Henry Czerny

Votes: 470,229 | Gross: $180.98M

18. Jerry Maguire (1996)

R | 139 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

When a sports agent has a moral epiphany and is fired for expressing it, he decides to put his new philosophy to the test as an independent agent with the only athlete who stays with him and his former colleague.

Director: Cameron Crowe | Stars: Tom Cruise , Cuba Gooding Jr. , Renée Zellweger , Kelly Preston

Votes: 286,994 | Gross: $153.95M

19. Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

R | 159 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller

A Manhattan doctor embarks on a bizarre, night-long odyssey after his wife's admission of unfulfilled longing.

Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Tom Cruise , Nicole Kidman , Todd Field , Sydney Pollack

Votes: 375,044 | Gross: $55.69M

20. Magnolia (1999)

R | 188 min | Drama

An epic mosaic of interrelated characters in search of love, forgiveness and meaning in the San Fernando Valley.

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson | Stars: Tom Cruise , Jason Robards , Julianne Moore , Philip Seymour Hoffman

Votes: 328,425 | Gross: $22.46M

21. Mission: Impossible II (2000)

PG-13 | 123 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller

IMF agent Ethan Hunt is sent to Sydney to find and destroy a genetically modified disease called "Chimera".

Director: John Woo | Stars: Tom Cruise , Dougray Scott , Thandiwe Newton , Ving Rhames

Votes: 377,636 | Gross: $215.41M

22. Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures (2001)

Not Rated | 142 min | Documentary, Biography

The career and life of Stanley Kubrick is explored through pictures, clips from his films, his old home movies, comments from his colleagues and a narration by Tom Cruise .

Director: Jan Harlan | Stars: Katharina Kubrick , Malcolm McDowell , Stanley Kubrick , Barbara Kroner

Votes: 12,204

23. Vanilla Sky (2001)

R | 136 min | Fantasy, Mystery, Romance

A self-indulgent and vain publishing magnate finds his privileged life upended after a vehicular accident with a resentful lover.

Director: Cameron Crowe | Stars: Tom Cruise , Penélope Cruz , Cameron Diaz , Kurt Russell

Votes: 285,660 | Gross: $100.61M

24. Space Station 3D (2002)

Not Rated | 47 min | Documentary

From outer space countries don't exist.

Director: Toni Myers | Stars: Tom Cruise , James Arnold , Michael J. Bloomfield , Robert D. Cabana

Votes: 1,749 | Gross: $93.37M

25. Minority Report (2002)

PG-13 | 145 min | Action, Crime, Mystery

John works with the PreCrime police which stop crimes before they take place, with the help of three 'PreCogs' who can foresee crimes. Events ensue when John finds himself framed for a future murder.

Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Tom Cruise , Colin Farrell , Samantha Morton , Max von Sydow

Votes: 584,266 | Gross: $132.07M

26. Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002)

PG-13 | 94 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy

Upon learning that his father has been kidnapped, Austin Powers must travel to 1975 and defeat the aptly named villain Goldmember, who is working with Dr. Evil.

Director: Jay Roach | Stars: Mike Myers , Beyoncé , Seth Green , Michael York

Votes: 222,882 | Gross: $213.31M

27. The Last Samurai (2003)

R | 154 min | Action, Drama

Nathan Algren, a US army veteran, is hired by the Japanese emperor to train his army in the modern warfare techniques. Nathan finds himself trapped in a struggle between two eras and two worlds.

Director: Edward Zwick | Stars: Tom Cruise , Ken Watanabe , Billy Connolly , William Atherton

Votes: 470,997 | Gross: $111.11M

28. Collateral (2004)

R | 120 min | Action, Crime, Drama

A cab driver finds himself the hostage of an engaging contract killer as he makes his rounds from hit to hit during one night in Los Angeles.

Director: Michael Mann | Stars: Tom Cruise , Jamie Foxx , Jada Pinkett Smith , Mark Ruffalo

Votes: 433,041 | Gross: $101.01M

29. War of the Worlds (2005)

PG-13 | 116 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

An alien invasion threatens the future of humanity. The catastrophic nightmare is depicted through the eyes of one American family fighting for survival.

Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Tom Cruise , Dakota Fanning , Tim Robbins , Miranda Otto

Votes: 475,154 | Gross: $234.28M

30. Mission: Impossible III (2006)

PG-13 | 126 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller

IMF agent Ethan Hunt comes into conflict with a dangerous and sadistic arms dealer who threatens his life and his fiancée in response.

Director: J.J. Abrams | Stars: Tom Cruise , Michelle Monaghan , Ving Rhames , Philip Seymour Hoffman

Votes: 390,679 | Gross: $134.03M

31. Lions for Lambs (2007)

R | 92 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery

Injuries sustained by two Army rangers behind enemy lines in Afghanistan set off a sequence of events involving a congressman, a journalist and a professor.

Director: Robert Redford | Stars: Tom Cruise , Meryl Streep , Robert Redford , Michael Peña

Votes: 52,700 | Gross: $15.00M

32. Valkyrie (2008)

PG-13 | 121 min | Drama, History, Thriller

A dramatization of the July 20, 1944 assassination and political coup plot by desperate renegade German Army officers against Adolf Hitler during World War II.

Director: Bryan Singer | Stars: Tom Cruise , Bill Nighy , Carice van Houten , Kenneth Branagh

Votes: 259,217 | Gross: $83.08M

33. Tropic Thunder (2008)

R | 107 min | Action, Comedy, War

Through a series of freak occurrences, a group of actors shooting a big-budget war movie are forced to become the soldiers they are portraying.

Director: Ben Stiller | Stars: Ben Stiller , Jack Black , Robert Downey Jr. , Jeff Kahn

Votes: 447,972 | Gross: $110.52M

34. Knight and Day (2010)

PG-13 | 109 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy

A young woman gets mixed up with a disgraced spy who is trying to clear his name.

Director: James Mangold | Stars: Tom Cruise , Cameron Diaz , Peter Sarsgaard , Jordi Mollà

Votes: 210,306 | Gross: $76.42M

35. Takers (2010)

PG-13 | 107 min | Action, Crime, Drama

A group of bank robbers find their multi-million dollar plan interrupted by a hard-boiled detective.

Director: John Luessenhop | Stars: Chris Brown , Hayden Christensen , Matt Dillon , Michael Ealy

Votes: 65,779 | Gross: $57.74M

36. Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)

PG-13 | 132 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller

The IMF is shut down when it's implicated in the bombing of the Kremlin, causing Ethan Hunt and his new team to go rogue to clear their organization's name.

Director: Brad Bird | Stars: Tom Cruise , Jeremy Renner , Simon Pegg , Paula Patton

Votes: 528,368 | Gross: $209.40M

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Tom Cruise produced a movie in Eugene during the summer of 1996 about Steve Prefontaine

In 1996 a film crew descended on Eugene to make a movie about Steve Prefontaine.

The film followed the relationship between record-breaking distance runner Steve Prefontaine and his coach Bill Bowerman.

Prefontaine was a star athlete from Coos Bay who ran for the University of Oregon and later competed in the Olympics in the 1970s.

He died in an automobile accident in Eugene on May 30, 1975, at the age of 24.

The film was written and directed by Robert Towne and produced by Tom Cruise.

Hundreds of locals appear as extras in the film at locations around Oregon, Lane Community College and Hayward Field.

The $25 million movie was released and distributed by Warner Bros. in 1998.

Cruise himself visited Eugene in 1998 for a screening of the film at the McDonald Theater.

The movie was well-received by critics but ended up grossing only $777,000 at the box office.

Contact photographer Chris Pietsch at [email protected] , or follow him on Twitter @ChrisPietsch and Instagram @chrispietsch

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Tom Cruise produced a movie in Eugene during the summer of 1996 about Steve Prefontaine

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Tom Cruise Is a London Boy

Sometimes when God closes a door (Taylor Swift says “So long” ), She opens a window (Tom Cruise does the splits). Cruise is living that life in London, and for him that means break-dancing, doing the splits, and watching the British absolutely lose their crumpets. Cruise has lived in London since 2021 and has, in that time, been at the former queen’s Platinum Jubilee, the British Grand Prix, according to the Mercury News . And now he has attended the most British event of all: Posh Spice’s birthday party. Fortunately, he still has the American propensity to do the most. While at the party, Cruise began break-dancing and ended his routine by doing the splits, according to the Daily Mail . “People were absolutely dumbfounded,” a source mentioned. All we’ll say about that is that if there’s one thing the Mission: Impossible franchise could do to s ecure those Imax screens , it just might be a (gay?) club scene in which Cruise distracts the bad guys by jumping into the splits like a Drag Race contestant. Just an idea.

• victoria beckham
• so long london
• david beckham
• mission: complete

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Tom Cruise is the perfect gentleman as he helps fallen paparazzi at Victoria Beckham's 50th birthday party

The paparazzi was knocked to the ground at the entrance to a private member's club in mayfair, london.

Mission: Not Impossible!  Tom Cruise was a willing agent on Saturday April 20 as he helped a photographer who had fallen in the shuffle as Tom arrived at Victoria Beckham's 50th birthday party. 

Amid the melee, the photographer was knocked to the ground at the entrance to Oswald's, the private member's club in Mayfair, London. 

Pictures show that Tom was quick to lend  a helping hand, keeping a firm hand on the photographer's arm as he helped him to his feet, and keeping hold of him to ensure he was safe. "Are you okay?" Tom could be heard asking in video footage, before collecting items on the floor that had also been dropped. 

Victoria's lavish 50th birthday party was attended by A-listers including her former Spice Girls' Emma Bunton, Melanie Chisholm, Geri Halliwell, and Melanie Brown. 

But Victoria herself, who wore a semi-sheer mint-green gown, was forced to arrive on crutches as she is still recovering from a broken foot. 

The Beckhams have been friends with Tom for over a decade; in 2015 David, Tom and Guy partied together to celebrate David's then-recently-launched whisky brand, Haig Club. "Here's a pic of me with my dear friends Guy Ritchie and Tom Cruise from my Haig Club dinner this past Sunday. #HaigClubLondon," David wrote alongside the selfie.

The party looked incredibly swanky and HELLO! has all the best photos of the guests, including Guy Ritchie and Jackqui Ainsley, Gordon Ramsey and wife Tana, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Jason Statham, and Eva Longoria and husband Jose Baston. 

Ahead of Victoria's party, however,  the fashion designer took to Instagram  and shared a gorgeous carousel of photos featuring her husband David, and their four children, Brooklyn, Romeo, Cruz and Harper, dressed to the nines for the event. 

Even though all the Beckhams shone in the photo, it was budding fashionista Harper that completely stole the show in an ivory satin dress that came from her mother's current fashion collection. 

The Beckham boys looked suave in black tuxedos, while Cruz stood out from the crowd in an eye-catching white number.

• Victoria Beckham

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Gallery nhl fever: celebrity hockey fans cheering on their favourite teams through the years, gallery nhl fever: celebrity hockey fans cheer on their favourite teams, david beckham's extreme selfie: star scaled london landmark for photo with tom cruise and guy ritchie, kisses from daddy: david beckham and daughter harper cuddle up as family reunite with tom cruise.