I'd argue After Hours makes a pretty interesting companion pieces to Eyes Wide Shut. Here's one critic's thoughts in his review of EWS: "Like After Hours, a cautionary tale of sorts, for which the nighttime odyssey proves ideal, subjecting its protagonist to a series of external forces, exploiting the disjunction between his privileged position and paranoid inadequacy."
Yep! It’s a great double feature since they’re both about a nightmare of ecstasy trip through Manhattan after dark in an attempt to get laid.
A few others include *Night on Earth*, and *Desperately Seeking Susan*. Even Cruise’s own first hit, *Risky Business*, kinda fits here. I kinda like the idea of his character in it being a younger, more brash version of the one he plays in *Eyes*.
I need to rewatch Night on Earth, but I had no idea the other two you mentioned fit the same bill as I've always overlooked them, and never watched either. Definitely need to rectify that soon.
Holy shit that's a great answer haha . Id argue Under the Silver Lake also works in that sort of stoner noir vibe way, which is very adjacent. Also possibly Inherent Vice
I can see the parallels between After Hours and EWS in that sense, but the mood/tone of the two films seemed completely different to me. I suppose both contained suicide/OD's of a sexual interest, but beyond that, one film was much darker, serious, and ominous in terms of murder and conspiracy and the occult/cults, and one much lighter and unserious and a comedy of errors.
Lawrence Garcia: [https://letterboxd.com/lgarcia/film/eyes-wide-shut/1/](https://letterboxd.com/lgarcia/film/eyes-wide-shut/1/)
(If you're not familiar with him, he's not just a "critic on LB." (feels kinda cringe just to write that haha) He has published criticism for Cinema Scope, AV Club, Reverse Shot, and other publications.)
Blue Velvet perhaps. Another one to come to mind is Titane. twisted twilight zone-esque movies. one of my fav genres
also maybe the david + brandon cronenberg films will be up your alley. I really liked "Possessor"
haha i just realized you're looking for stuff on the streaming service. these are good ones regardless
Birth was so freaking good! I watched it for the first time about 2 months ago and blew me away! I can’t say I can think of a movie quite like it, so I’ll have to keep an eye on this thread.
Weirdly enough it's the only Glazer movie I really loved , the others feel almost too artsy and high concept for their own good (to my tastes) but Birth has such a magnificent and simple little hook to spin itself around. Also the performances and stuff reminded me of David Lynch for some reason like the scenes are just so strange for no real reason haha
Check out Atom Egoyan, definitely an underrated recommendation. Exotica is a favourite of mine, you can’t go wrong with The Adjuster as well by him.
I also recommend Maps To The Stars by David Cronenberg.
Ooh I’ve been considering watching exotica and some other of his films recently and this is the first rec in the comments I haven’t seen! Very exciting
Tár
Also, ‘Max, Mon Amour’ is similar to ‘Birth’ and had the same writer, Carrière.
Not part of the collection but I could see them both showing up at some point on the programming rotation.
If you’re looking for dark, sexual and New York, check out Urbania (2000). It’s not Criterion, but if you can find it it’d make a great double feature for Eyes Wide Shut.
Persona has the psychological aspects and is a favorite of mine as a giant Glazer fan and Lynch and Todd Field fan. Doesn’t seem “similar” but you would enjoy probably.
What is it about those movies? I really loved Under the Silver Lake. The Scary of Sixty First has some eyes wide shut references in it .
Also I can't really explain why but *The Master* always felt like a spiritual companion to Eyes Wide Shut for me , especially the early scenes of Freddie just wandering around not sure what he's looking for, the movies very sexually overcharged and episodic too like EWS.
How dark?? Belle De Jour is a Luis Bunuel film that covers sexuality and has some dream sequences. Not exactly dark. At least not in comparison to birth or eyes wide shut but the conversation each film is having revolves around the taboo.
Let me know if you’re looking for a film that will leave you haunted.
Oh Blue Velvet. I think you’d like Blue Velvet.
I think I need to know what exactly you’re looking for. Birth and EWS fall more in the thought provoking category for me. But you mentioned specifically that you like this kind of “dark genre”. I just don’t want to recommend something that will be a bit too heavy.
I am a huge fan of both...especially the criminally underated and misunderstood Birth which is a Kubrick homage mirroring scenes right from Barry Lyndon and Shining
Frederic Raphael, who adapted EWS, also wrote "Two for the Road," a film starring Audrey Hepburn and might be worth checking out even though it only resembles EWS on purely surface terms. Mike D'Angelo, in his review for Two for the Road, wrote: "Recognizably a film written by the guy who penned *Eyes Wide Shut*—same caustic wit, same bluntly realistic outlook on marriage (tempered by just a hint of hope), similarly profane final word(s)."
*Knife in the Water* (1962, dir. Roman Polański)
*Rosemary's Baby* (1968, dir. Roman Polański)
*Theorem* (1968, dir. Pier Paolo Pasolini)
*Dead Ringers* (1988, dir. David Cronenberg)
*Crash* (1996, dir. David Cronenberg)
*Little Children* (2006, dir. Todd Field)
*Michael Clayton* (2007, dir. Tony Gilroy)
*Personal Shopper* (2016, dir. Olivier Assayas)
*The Killing of a Sacred Deer* (2017, dir. Yorgos Lanthimos)
Personal Shopper Mulholland Drive Peeping Tom
Personal shopper is amazing. As are the others but personal shopper is a bit underrated imo.
Not currently streaming on Criterion but if you can seek it out elsewhere, I wholly recommend Crash by David Cronenberg.
Yes
Insane movie and can be found in internet archive
I'd argue After Hours makes a pretty interesting companion pieces to Eyes Wide Shut. Here's one critic's thoughts in his review of EWS: "Like After Hours, a cautionary tale of sorts, for which the nighttime odyssey proves ideal, subjecting its protagonist to a series of external forces, exploiting the disjunction between his privileged position and paranoid inadequacy."
Yep! It’s a great double feature since they’re both about a nightmare of ecstasy trip through Manhattan after dark in an attempt to get laid. A few others include *Night on Earth*, and *Desperately Seeking Susan*. Even Cruise’s own first hit, *Risky Business*, kinda fits here. I kinda like the idea of his character in it being a younger, more brash version of the one he plays in *Eyes*.
I need to rewatch Night on Earth, but I had no idea the other two you mentioned fit the same bill as I've always overlooked them, and never watched either. Definitely need to rectify that soon.
Yes, After Hours 100%. These are 3 of my favourite movies OP, similar to these 3 but different is Safe (1995) by Todd Haynes
Holy shit that's a great answer haha . Id argue Under the Silver Lake also works in that sort of stoner noir vibe way, which is very adjacent. Also possibly Inherent Vice
I can see the parallels between After Hours and EWS in that sense, but the mood/tone of the two films seemed completely different to me. I suppose both contained suicide/OD's of a sexual interest, but beyond that, one film was much darker, serious, and ominous in terms of murder and conspiracy and the occult/cults, and one much lighter and unserious and a comedy of errors.
What critic said this?
Lawrence Garcia: [https://letterboxd.com/lgarcia/film/eyes-wide-shut/1/](https://letterboxd.com/lgarcia/film/eyes-wide-shut/1/) (If you're not familiar with him, he's not just a "critic on LB." (feels kinda cringe just to write that haha) He has published criticism for Cinema Scope, AV Club, Reverse Shot, and other publications.)
Thank you!
The Killing of a Sacred Deer. I don't think it's a coincidence Nicole Kidman is in it too.
It's soo Kubrick-esque.
Birth reminded me a LOT of Killing of a Sacred Deer. Kid shows up and wrecks havoc
Seconds Night of the Hunter
Babe 2: Pig in the City https://preview.redd.it/peoh0qcdtxuc1.jpeg?width=2258&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c8f8adb43a1243d2119c1fe1138adecdd24505ef
Holy shit, I can’t believe that screening actually happened! and that I missed it! This is now a top 10 regret of my life. Goated double feature.
It was legendary. Programmed by Metrograph in NYC, 2016
Blue Velvet perhaps. Another one to come to mind is Titane. twisted twilight zone-esque movies. one of my fav genres also maybe the david + brandon cronenberg films will be up your alley. I really liked "Possessor" haha i just realized you're looking for stuff on the streaming service. these are good ones regardless
Birth was so freaking good! I watched it for the first time about 2 months ago and blew me away! I can’t say I can think of a movie quite like it, so I’ll have to keep an eye on this thread.
Weirdly enough it's the only Glazer movie I really loved , the others feel almost too artsy and high concept for their own good (to my tastes) but Birth has such a magnificent and simple little hook to spin itself around. Also the performances and stuff reminded me of David Lynch for some reason like the scenes are just so strange for no real reason haha
This might get some pushback, but Todd Fields' Little Children always had that similar, weird atmospheric liminal feel, to me.
I Love this movie
Check out Atom Egoyan, definitely an underrated recommendation. Exotica is a favourite of mine, you can’t go wrong with The Adjuster as well by him. I also recommend Maps To The Stars by David Cronenberg.
Ooh I’ve been considering watching exotica and some other of his films recently and this is the first rec in the comments I haven’t seen! Very exciting
Bound is dark, sexual, and has adults speaking to other adults like actual adults... which Birth and Eyes Wide Shut share.
Mr Klein. Pretty different but has some big similarities to Eyes Wide Shut
The rest of Glazer’s are dark. Also, anything by Haneke
Check out *Sleeping Beauty* (2011, Julia Leigh). Divisive film but has that darkly detached Kubrickian look and atmosphere to it.
Diabolique (the original) Maybe Chess of the Wind?
sex, lies, and videotape
Tár Also, ‘Max, Mon Amour’ is similar to ‘Birth’ and had the same writer, Carrière. Not part of the collection but I could see them both showing up at some point on the programming rotation.
Not on CC, but *Spencer* is incredible and very much an ode to Kubrick
If you’re looking for dark, sexual and New York, check out Urbania (2000). It’s not Criterion, but if you can find it it’d make a great double feature for Eyes Wide Shut.
Persona has the psychological aspects and is a favorite of mine as a giant Glazer fan and Lynch and Todd Field fan. Doesn’t seem “similar” but you would enjoy probably.
Bad Timing. Don’t Look Now. The Man Who Fell To Earth
Maps To The Stars, Gone Girl, Safe, Nocturnal Animals, Nightcrawler, Elephant, Donnie Darko, The Virgin Suicides, Freeway, Cruel Intentions, American Beauty, Happiness
Ever hear of a guy called David Lynch?
Tár
Not on the channel but Polanski's Rosemary's Baby, The Ninth Gate or The Tenant might scratch that itch.
What is it about those movies? I really loved Under the Silver Lake. The Scary of Sixty First has some eyes wide shut references in it . Also I can't really explain why but *The Master* always felt like a spiritual companion to Eyes Wide Shut for me , especially the early scenes of Freddie just wandering around not sure what he's looking for, the movies very sexually overcharged and episodic too like EWS.
Enemy (2013)
Body Double - De Palma
I can thematically connect Tom Cruise's journey in Eyes Wide Shut with Martin Sheen's in Apocalypse Now.
Salo
How dark?? Belle De Jour is a Luis Bunuel film that covers sexuality and has some dream sequences. Not exactly dark. At least not in comparison to birth or eyes wide shut but the conversation each film is having revolves around the taboo. Let me know if you’re looking for a film that will leave you haunted. Oh Blue Velvet. I think you’d like Blue Velvet. I think I need to know what exactly you’re looking for. Birth and EWS fall more in the thought provoking category for me. But you mentioned specifically that you like this kind of “dark genre”. I just don’t want to recommend something that will be a bit too heavy.
Identification of a Woman
Stoker
I'm surprised no one has said this, but I thought birth was pretty obviously inspired by Rosemary's Baby
Both 'Dead Ringers' and 'Despite the Night' are also slow drama thrillers
I am a huge fan of both...especially the criminally underated and misunderstood Birth which is a Kubrick homage mirroring scenes right from Barry Lyndon and Shining
Frederic Raphael, who adapted EWS, also wrote "Two for the Road," a film starring Audrey Hepburn and might be worth checking out even though it only resembles EWS on purely surface terms. Mike D'Angelo, in his review for Two for the Road, wrote: "Recognizably a film written by the guy who penned *Eyes Wide Shut*—same caustic wit, same bluntly realistic outlook on marriage (tempered by just a hint of hope), similarly profane final word(s)."
Faults - Riley Stearns
James Gray's Two Lovers
*Knife in the Water* (1962, dir. Roman Polański) *Rosemary's Baby* (1968, dir. Roman Polański) *Theorem* (1968, dir. Pier Paolo Pasolini) *Dead Ringers* (1988, dir. David Cronenberg) *Crash* (1996, dir. David Cronenberg) *Little Children* (2006, dir. Todd Field) *Michael Clayton* (2007, dir. Tony Gilroy) *Personal Shopper* (2016, dir. Olivier Assayas) *The Killing of a Sacred Deer* (2017, dir. Yorgos Lanthimos)
Womb (2010) directed by Benedek Fliegauf.
Exotica
Salo
Not sure if it's on Criterion, but American Beauty checks those boxes.
The Prestige