Thread by @eyeswidecut

Many don't know that early drafts of Eyes Wide Shut contained voice overs (à la Barry Lyndon) that reveal the inner thoughts of Bill (Cruise) on his odyssey. They not only illumine much of Kubrick's intent but also the thrust (pun intended) of the film. Walk you through 90% here:

01: Bill & Alice make love in front of mirror after flirting at party.

VO: "That night they were more blissful in their ardent love than they had been for a long time."

02: at her father's deathbed, Marion mentions Carl her fiancee.
VO: "I certainly do remember Carl. So she's going to marry him, Bill thought to himself. I wonder why? She surely can't be in love with him. He's nothing to look at, and he hasn't got any money... (cont)

"...He's just an assistant in professor of something or other... But then it's none of my business. Still... if she were my mistress, her hair would be less dry and her lips would be fuller and redder."

03: Walking Bill sees homeless man on a bench.
VO: "The image of the man made him think of the dead man he had just left, & he shuddered & felt slightly nauseated at the thought that decay & decomposition had already begun their work in the body he just left. He was glad he...

was still alive & that these ugly things were still far removed from him, & that he was, in fact, still in the prime of life, had a beautiful wife & could have several women in addition, if he wanted to, although doing so would require more free time than he had."

04: A group of frat boys slam into Bill
VO: "Had he become a coward? He noticed his knees were shaking a little bit. Ridiculous! Why should he get involved in a street fight with some drunken college student who had five friends w/ him. He, a man of 35, a practicing physician,

a married man & father of a child. He might wind up in the hospital or worse & be in the same position as the man he just left... Then he thought about his profession? There were dangers lurking there too, everywhere & at all times -except that one usually forgets about them."

05: Bill continues walking in turmoil
VO: "Surely, it had been nothing but common sense to avoid a ridiculous fight with the student... but if he ever met the Naval officer with whom Alice... But what insanity! After all, nothing happened... What was he thinking about? (cont)

...But then, wasn't it really just as bad as if she had actually fucked him - she might just as well have. Wasn't it even worse, in a way. What a joy it would be to teach him a lesson."

06: Bill leaves Domino's apt.
VO: "Where shall I go now, he asked himself?... Going back to the girl seemed ridiculous now. He was overcome with a sense that he was moving farther & farther away from his everyday existence into a completely different world."

07: Bill rides in a taxi on the way to orgy.
VO: "I must be mad."[novella: “What if I don't get out at all, he thought? But go where? He shuddered slightly & decided he'd rather go anywhere than home... I must go through with this, even if it means death."]

08: After returning home from the orgy and hearing his wife's illicit dream

VO: "Whore of her dreams. There is now a sword between us. We are lying here like mortal enemies."

09: Returning to the scene Bill is handed a letter.
VO: "Second warning? Why the second warning - and not the last? The tone of the note was strangely reserved and seemed to show that the people who sent it by no means felt secure. (cont)

...The note disappointed him, though, in a way, it reassured him. At least, he now felt the woman had come to no real harm, & that it would be possible to find her if he went about it cautiously and cleverly."

10: POV of Alice smiling
VO: "And, he thought, there she sits with an angelic look, like a good wife and mother - the whore of her dreams who made love to a hundred men the preceding night and laughed when he was crucified, and to his surprise he didn't hate her."

11: Leaving apt.
VO: "Wasn't the fact that he had just escaped a possibly fatal infection from the girl a good sign? Everything now seemed so unreal... Bill felt choked with tears...his nerves were gradually giving way. He struck up a quicker pace than he was in the mood for."

VO: "He knew that if it were her face, & her eyes, he would not, could not- & in reality did not want to know. He had imagined her as having the features of his wife & he shuddered to realize that his wife had constantly been in his mind's eye as the woman he had been seeking."

12: Finds mask on pillow
VO: "He thought he must have dropped it in the morning when he packed the costume away, and Alice had found it and placed it on the pillow beside her, as though it signified his face, the face of a husband who had become an enigma to her."

These VO's reveal thoughts and emotions difficult to intuit from the scenes alone. This is, in part, is why I think the film was poorly received. Like all of Kubrick's work, it demands time & insight but I believe it will find its right place in the film pantheon.

For a deeper dive, I edited a version of the film that streamlines the inner life of Bill that you can watch here: eyeswidecut.com My hope is for it to serve as a springboard to a deeper understanding of Eyes Wide Shut and Kubrick himself. Come join the conversation.