Alice is the villain. She had to surrender a family member to be able to join the evil cult. She chose to surrender Bill, but Mandy derailed that plan. When Bill showed up alive, she knew she would have to surrender Helena, and she did, at the toy store.

Not only does Ziegler get away with it, he even convinces you he's not the villain: When Bill mixes up the two places 'the party' and 'the house' in their last scene together.

I think you may have missed another potential villain - Alice. Due to her inability to deal with her own unfounded jealousy, she implants the seed of jealousy and insecurity into Bill by drawing out her fantasies about being unfaithful to him. This shatters his trust in her and sends him out into the night, where he finds various degrees of evil. Prior to Alice cruelly implanting her fantasies into Bill's mind, one could say that they lived the perfect life. There was evil out in the world - human trafficking, prostitution, sex cults - but none of it touched their lives until Alice injected doubt and jealousy into their marriage. She was the window through which external evil had entered their lives. And even though Bill narrowly escaped the cult, surely he and his family will remain watched and targeted by the cult, as depicted in the final scene where strange men seem to be lurking around Bill's and Alice's daughter. Even in the final seconds of the final scene, Alice refuses to give Bill security in their marriage because the word "forever" scares her. This is the final confrontation; she is the real villain.

The villain in the movie in my opinion is definitely Alice Harford. If she didn't berate, humiliate, and belittle Bill when they were smoking the grass none of this would have happened. In addition, the mask on the bed near the end of the movie raises two possible situations: one being that the secret occult put it there as a warning to Bill as a reminder to zip it or that she herself put the mask there to let him know subliminally that she was actually at the mansion during the ritual and is knee deep in it herself.

The villain in the film is Alice. She does not actually love Bill in the traditional sense. She bonds herself to him due to the resources and lifestyle he provides but she will leave him for another man who can offer more resources. There is specific dialogue for her that describes how men are, more or less, walking ATMs and she is teaching her daughter to think in those terms. There is a scene where she disrobes for the camera to clearly display that she is built exactly like the women surrounding Red Cloak..... this is an obvious hint that she is part of the cult and participates in the ceremonies. When she describes her fantasy to her husband and laughs that he doesn't think women "think that way" what she is telling him (and us) that she has her own life and desires that Bill has no idea about and lives in denial about. She describes it as daydreams, fantasies etc.... but she actually does and has led her own secretive life (and the cult puts out great effort to protect its members) this entire time. The part about sacrificing her daughter rather than Bill is not correct. Alice was going to introduce her daughter into the cult the entire time as she had been introduced. Its part of being in the cult... you perpetuate the cult. She will either successfully pull Bill into the cult (if the cult so desires) or she will leave him for a man with more resources and the film begins again with a new wealthy and powerful man being pulled into the cult by one of the female cult members.

I think the stroller is to remind us that Bill is not just cheating on his wife. If he does this, he will also b turning his back on his child. By this point in the film, some of us might dislike Alice…..we might even root for Bill, ‘Do it Bill! She deserves it!’…..but the stroller reminds us that he wouldnt only hurt Alice, he would b hurting his daughter too. Bill is not just a husband or a man with natural urges, he is a father.

His wife is the antagonist. She saw the next level of power dancing with the older man, tried to get him to divorce her when they were smoking trees using the sailor story. had the "dream" about the place he just left. and in the end basically says eventually we are getting divorced so be happy you're alive my secs friends coulda hurt you. Ruthless hussy.

The two true villains in Eyes Wide Shut are not only the villains here, but they are also the subject matters in most of Kubrick's films as well as being the title of his very first film in 1953 - Fear and Desire.

Alice, Alice is the villain. None of this would've even happened had she got over her self and kept her horny, middle aged house wife thoughts to herself. Her husband literally said he wouldn't try to have sex with those two models because of his love and loyalty for his wife [Alice]. But she wanted to hear that he wasn't attracted to them, which she was fooling her own self on. She's going through that whole mid life crisis "oh I don't feel desirable" even though her husband showed that he desired her very much in the movie.

What about Alice as the villain? She guides him to the party, she doesn’t say she knows no one there (he does), she slides away when Nick comes (leaving Nick to entrap Bill), she prompts him into anger, desire and backlash, she may have been at the second party, we know nothing of her background, she’s adept at ‘grooming’ Helena, she confronts Bill with the mask near the end. And she sets the terms of their final reconciliation/relationship (toy store scene). It could very well be her, she is testing him to see how he performs in that world, and she’ll use the results to determine their future path. Cool stuff!

I was sure red cloak was the Hungarian who dances with Alice.

Watching the movie several times I believe that the whole story was about getting Bill to join “the club” and everybody was playing him. The Hungarian guy seducing Alice because they already knew each other, the 2 girls at the party wanting to take Bill to the end of the rainbow, his friend the piano man did his part telling him about the party, the 2 guys outside the mansion waiting for him and bringing him to the door, Ziegler and his wife were waiting for him to arrive and they knew exactly where he was, the girl he saved at the Xmas party was also there, red cloak guy telling him not to say anything, Alice as one of the them with the mask on top of the pillow, I mean the whole thing was about Bill becoming one of them. Maybe Helen was not Bill’s daughter and Alice got pregnant by anyone in one of those crazy parties and at the end she had to return the kid as part of their deal. We can go on and on and on and no matter which way you go you’ll find a new thing that will spin your head. A great movie it really is. The villain is definitely Alice!

When I watched this movie high on weed, i caught so many things I wouldn’t catch sober, honestly I believe this movie was made to watch it high (on weed) because it slows down everything and the expressions and wording make so much more sense.

I would say the main villain - there seems to be a fair few in this film - is Ziegler. He presents himself as a kindly guiding soul of great influence and clout, but actually behind closed doors he’s a ruthless and clearly deeply perverted man. This is actually a representation of real people in our world. These sorts of people really do exist, and they cause all manners of problems in our world. Bizarrely enough, these mask ceremonies are not a figment of the imagination, they actually do exist. It’s pretty weird that the version of this film that Kubrick wished to release never light of day, as he suddenly passed away before it got released. Who knows what else he would have revealed had he not passed away so suddenly…..as it is, from what I can see of this film watching your truly fantastic analysis, Eyes Wide Shut is in clearly an expose of the world of the super rich and ‘powerful’. It’s not going to end too well for them in this day and age. Just my hunch.

A definitly underrated youtube channel, very Good videos and Infos

If Zeigler had been played by Harvey Keitel, as originally planned, we would not be inclined to accept Zeigler's denial of murder.

Alice is 'The Pink Panther', a predatory big cat that preys on rabbits and birds at night.

Thanks for this new video. I have been wanting to know this myself.

Ziegler, Nick, Alice were all villains. They all in their own way led Bill into temptation. Bill was perfectly content with his situation at the beginning of the film....

Very cool thx! I think the villain is the spectator, is us. Because we keep the eyes wide shut when we are confront to a power higher of us.

For me the meaning of Eyes Wide Shut more clearly comes from the original story, Dream Story/Traumnovelle, written by Arthur Schnitzler. There is also a TV movie with the same titles which more closely follows the novel. Both the TV film and the novel, take place in early 1900s Vienna. This is very helpful in understanding the motivations in what is happening. * The novel/TV movie characters are still in the very conservative Victorian age. So, the depiction of sexual dreams, infidelity, prostitution, orgies and abuse by the aristocracy was shocking to some story characters. Having the setting in an older time gives more clarity to Dream Story/Traumnovelle's plot. - The writer, Arthur Schnitzler, was a medical doctor and had a correspondence with Freud. Schnitzler therefore explores the psychology of the characters. - First antagonist; The first antagonist is within the protagonist, Doctor Fridolin (novel/TV movie)/Dr. Harford (Eyes Wide Shut). - Instead of the protagonist directly facing the confessions of his wife, he goes off, wanders the streets, and is attracted to sexual adventure (an orgy) and becomes a witness to sexual perversion. - The protagonist is exploring his own psyche. What is exposed is that underneath the surface of a seemingly happy marriage are the hypocrisies of the protagonist in exploring his repressed fantasies and passions. * Second antagonist; The writer of the story, Arthur Schnitzler, was Jewish and railed against anti-Jewish sentiments in Europe during his life. In the TV movie the protagonist, Doctor Fridolin, is pushed aside by a German student. Dr. Fridolin is an outsider as a Jewish man. That dynamic adds meaning to the secret society of aristocrats who banish Fridolin from the masked ball as he was again an outsider (a Jew). * Who are the villains of the original story? The anti-Jewish aristocrats of Vienna at the beginning of the 20th century. They engage in various perversions which can lead to murder. The danger which Schnitzler pointed out, later in history became a menace which would eventually lead to the Holocaust. * How do these antagonists fit with Eyes Wide Shut? - The key thing is that Eyes Wide Shut takes place in 1990s New York. That alone changes the motivations of the married couple from the novel in removing almost any direct connection to reality. - By the 1990s anyone could read women's sexual fantasies which had been widely published for over 2 decades. Prostitution in New York? Widely known. Go to Times Square at night. Watch Taxi Driver.
 - The EWS protagonist, a 1990s New York medical doctor, (who would have some expertise about psychology), being deeply disturbed by his wife’s sexual thoughts is fantasy. * Also, EWS as a commentary on sexual slavery and exploitation which is trying to fit that into a masked ball based on the actions of early 1900s European aristocrats and somehow connect that to modern New York organized crime? On a literal level EWS provides fodder for far fetched conspiracy theories. - But as a representation of actual crime, EWS is symbolic and not literal. Even the Ziegler character, which Kubrick added and is not in the original story, is not to be taken literally. He is symbolic in a fictional world which is more fantasy than real.

The villain is ignorance. It is better to be aware and yet to solemnly accept while making small concessions...learning how to shift the general consciousness of the world slowly for the better instead of being horrified by humanity's slow progression.

Bill could throw all that money away because Victor gave him $5000 for helping Mandy and promising not to tell.

I really enjoyed and learned a lot with your take on this movie.

The sad fact of the matter is that films like Eye's wide shut and Angel Heart, two of my favourite films will never be topped. So l have come to the conclusion that l will never see another masterpiece in my life time.

Alice is the Villain!!!

This movie will be for ever discussed and enjoyed. I still remember when it on the news with its release and Kubrick's passing. I was just 15.

loved this!

Nichole Kidman is the villain. She sent him on the entire journey and he ends up stuck in the end with her, unable to escape.

The villain of the story is greed, lust and debauchery. And Ziegler represents greed, lust and debauchery. The first Christmas party and the final secret party are the exact same party. It’s just the secret party doesn’t have fake smiles, small talk, and fake pleasantries. Bill has at least 5 or 6 opportunities to cheat on his wife after Alice says that she has fantasies of cheating. But Bill just can’t do it because he loves his wife, at first Bill is eager to get revenge on his wife by cheating, but as he sees the more debauched life gets by others around him, Bill starts feeling disgusted by it. Also there are undertones of grooming in some scenes. The fancy dress store owner sells his underage daughter for prostitution, and at the end of the movie we see Bill and Alice’s daughter being very subtly suggested that she’s being followed at the toy shop, that it’s a blink and it will go over your head scene if you’re not paying attention. Obviously the famous conspiracy theory is that Kubrick was killed after he wanted to show how the wealthy like to groom the underage in some scenes in Eyes Wide Shut, as 25 minutes of the movie was cut after Kubrick had died. Whether or not there is some truth to that or not is hearsay but there does seem to have some grooming undertones to the movie with two scenes, and one of them being very subtle at the end. Also what I find interesting is when Bill (Tom Cruise) sees an aggressive mob of guys that questions his sexuality, as there has always been people that think Tom Cruise in real life might be gay or at least bi sexual, and that Tom wants to keep it in the closet. Not too dissimilar to John Travolta, a lot of people think he might be gay as well, but wants to keep it in the closet.

Throwing this out before watching to see if my opinion changes. I've only seen the full-movie once so could be missing some things, especially about the ending. To me, Bill and Alice are the villains. I believe the movie is a moral commentary on society and the choices between what we value - do we value things of the heart (family, relationship, peace, contentment) or the things of the flesh (sex, money, power). Do we accept the limits of both choices - whichever side we pick? We cannot have both heart and flesh (at least to the degree shown in the movie). Circumstances force Bill to confront where he stands on these values and he can no longer walk around with his eyes wide shut. I see Alice as the main villain during the movie because of how she blatantly disrespects someone she is supposed to love (Bill) for not being the object of her earthly desires, but ultimately Bill becomes the villain as he makes the final choice it appears to give in to Alice's final request. Alice's choices are clear, she has no interest in things of the heart, but is willing to pervert terms such as love, family, and marriage to fit her desires. Bill seeks out meaningfulness but has such a limited way to view them, that he ultimately ends up going for the ultimate 'giving in' of fleshly desires (the party), which leads to his eyes being open via threats to himself, his family, and others he supposedly cares for. Alice, though, is the one who pulls him back from that perspective through her false victim portrayal (or whatever you might call it), only to regain control of Bill by the end of the film. Bill had numerous opportunities to change or avoid many of the personal tragedies that occur, but doesn't. The question about what happens to the daughter is generally irrelevant in the sense that Bill has chosen Alice and the fleshly desires she offers and the fate of his daughter is sealed either way, making her the ultimate victim (similar to many of the other character - especially the women). By choosing the worldly path, he essentially closes his eyes again, making him, to me, the ultimate villain.

Mandy and the "Mysterious Woman" are not the same person

Channels like yours are interesting because of the ideas they point out and the films they introduce me to. I saw Eyes Wide Shut when I was young but I didn't understand any of that stuff about subtle symbolism or etc. As far as I was aware, some weirdos try to have an orgy in fancy bathrobes and masks with pirate hates, lol. And I think I might not've even heard of Angel Heart before. Keep up the good work.

This is good stuff.👍

The Villain is obviously Bill's wife.. her lack of consideration and sheer rudeness is literally why everything took place

Fascinating. I just did an Esoteric Commentary Track for this a few days ago. I agree with your assessment, but from a slightly different point-of-view. I take Bill as being what I call a "Base Thinker". Basically, evil, in his own way. The villain, if you will.

Wow. 24 years later, THIS is the best analysis I've seen

The villain is scientology

Very long movie remember watching it in a theater

I have a theory that this was a set up to keep Bill quiet about the overdose at the beginning of the film. Victor Ziegler had no choice but to involve Bill, he was desperate & time was of the essence. This gave the doctor a view he was never suppose to see. Instead of directly threatening Bill, Ziegler pays the old friend of Bill, Nick the piano player, to dangle a carrot. After, the events play out as planned. Just as this channel stated, Nick doesnt die, he went away temporarily as part of the plan to manipulate Bill. By the time Bill’s mind puts the puzzle together, he certainly has no intention of talking or even looking beyond the surface of these wealthy patients ever again. He will feel relieved if they allow him to just forget any of this happened. I think the mask party was real & probably common practice as mentioned by Nick, I just think it was used, this time, to also help a member, Ziegler, out of an uncomfortable realization that Bill could use what happened against him. Wealthy men of power see everything in these terms. Bill now had leverage, the upper hand, & leadership of a secret society would b more than capable & willing to help a serious long term member out of a jam. So, they lead Bill to their annual shin-dig & out him while not actually hurting him physically. Then, the cherry on top, the final threat from the unknown, is the mask on the pillow that tells Bill, we know who u r & we can get to ur family. The end (both parents taking their daughter shopping) is a scene showing they have chosen to protect their child in place of going to the police.

the whole film is pretty much just Kubrick's big middle finger to all his fans. I lol at Victor Zeigler's final reveals

If you really think about it Nick Nightingale was the one who started all of this, including being there when it all gets started. He also is gone when Bill is under the radar. If Bill’s daughter is the real goal then Nick lured her through Bill

Red cloak's voice sounds a lot like Aleister Crowley's.

Dear Fellow Commenter's, Bill is in control of how he reacts to his wife, not his wife. Even if she can predict with certainty how he will react, his reaction is still his own. Is your reaction because you don't like something you did and want to and need to blame another to absolve yourself?

Everyone except Bill and Helena. Even Alice was only his wife in order to recruit him.

No Kubrick movie has a hero or a villain. Instead, Kubrick explores internal conflicts.

I'd like to point out that Nick was obviously part of the plot. But having said that, I'm oretty sure Alice was the main villan.

if it wasnt obvious enough that ziegler is red clock- the pool table is red, and he taps the white ball and also the chalk on the table the exact same way red cloak taps his staff in the ritual.

🙋‍♂️ I'm here for the rage, anxiety and disbelief.

"he's a little short on morals." LMAO

Everybody and nobody was the villain...."All have sinned and come short of the glory of God". Find one featured character in the movie that was not somehow depraved. Even the waitress at the coffee shop next door to the Sonata was having an affair with Nick the piano player. Bill was flying pretty straight until everybody began taunting and tempting him.

I could swear that the first time I saw this movie way back when it was first released that a woman was sacrificed by redcloak during the party scene. I don't think I'm just misremembering it because without that scene there really isn't any reason for the cult to care that much about cruise. He saw a swingers party. big deal.

Cruise is the villain. The coward let a woman be mutilated, to save his ass.

Also the pool tabletop in Victor's house is red. Red cloak, red table, red herring!!

The wife was the real villain

So we could say Bill was a............Maverick? 😎 Love this theory & all your channel's vids!

Desire. That's the villian.

This movie was incomplete. Lots of scene from the climax was cut.

Phobos/Deimos and Eros Pandemos. All three of them were the sons of Ares and Aphrodite in Greek mythology. There has an undercurrent of symbolical religious references tied to pagan religions and Abrahamic mysticism, in all of Kubrick's films. The nameless archvillains of Kubrick's shared cinematic multi-verse, they who threateningly watch after all of Bill's whereabouts and made his vicinity almost consistently phases out after-party, are ones and the sames with the obscure forces behind Shining and the Stephen King multiverse, one and the same with 2001: A Space Odyssey and so on and forth.

Pretty good! Your analysis sheds light on the overall doom of the film. Now it gets darker than the shining and directs me not to look any further. Incredible.

Alice is pure evil

The villain is lust

The film is basically about female hypergamy - which Bill is blissfully unaware of. There's a great blink-and-you'll-miss-it scene where Alice helping their daughter with a maths question: "Joe has $2.50 and Mike has $1.75. Joe has how much more money than Mike?". This small detail that Kubrick left in the film really spells it out. Alice is teaching her daughter to evaluate men on how much money they have. Of course, Bill is kept out of this secret in the film, because being made aware that women take advantage of men like this not only threatens his marriage, but all of society. Who would wait tables and take out the trash if men simply didn't have to support their wives - who might well be sleeping with someone who isn't even emotionally or financially invested in her?

Victor was Red Cloak

İlluminati Movie!!!

Who was the villain? It's obvious - György Ligeti and that damn piano piece of his. 🤔

Villain was self and those who were clearly out to harm ppl like guy who followed bill and red mask man

Everybody

Bill is no hero he's a smug self important guy who takes his wife and ife for granted.

Bill.

I think it’s all a test all of them are part of it including his wife. They are doing it to see if he breaks or goes to the police or take his daughter away or report the pimping out of the daughter in the fancy dress shop (the 21mins missing would show why he should be taking his daughter away fas it includes child abuse in the mansion) he doesn’t do anything he just keeps going. The end scene shows he’s been accepted and that he’s ok with everything as his daughter who he’s distant from anyway walks away with the the two men. He lets it happen and the generational abuse continues

Alice reminds me of Alice wonderland Where I fell she knows more than what she lending on the drink me eat me can be link to the movie I have a theory on how the two movies are connected but I don’t feel writing it but there a lot connection between the movies

JEFF EPSTEIN. The guy in the billiard room.

Who made the arbitrary rule that there is always one primary villain? I disagree that Bill would be the main villain in the world of this film including the wicked villains he was confronted with. I’m pretty sure they’re worse therefore calling him the main villain seems illogical and silly.

The secret society or whoever is behind the murder of the model is the villain. That's not my real answer, that's just what everyone expects. But my thinking that 'Lust' is the main villain.

0:27 Looks like Alice is going to kiss Ziegler.

The villain was the masks

Dear Mr. CineG, (Sinergy), your theory is becoming too close to the truth. We ask you to give up on your pursuit to rationalizing the plot to EWS. Please consider this your first and last warning. (This is me just talking B.S. just in case you're taking this seriously).😊

The class system in the film highlights how much of a villian Bill truly is. We mustn't forget how he comments on the piano player. He is quite fast saying; "He's not a doctor." In other words, Bill sees himself superior to his former classmate, There is always someone higher up on the ladder. There was a comment about Bill's daughter as never being satisfied with what she has. Maybe she learned this from her dad. Being a doctor is a status filled career. Bill isn't satisfied. As for blaming Alice, Bill is a grown man. His choice to hunt around is his own. She isn't following her fantasy.

who is the villain when everyone is a victim?

Alice!

I think desire was the villain, it wasn't a monolith.

i would say yes bill is the antagonist. his fear of being cucked, his inability to get payback and then going back to the woman who was clearly preparing to cuck him if she hadn't already. that man or at least that part of his personality was the villain.

Everyone saying his wife but it was bills curiosity which lead him down this road of destruction the girl saved him by sacrificing her own life so he could get out he wasn’t suppose to leave that house that night his wife was the pawn they used her

Almost everyone is a villain in this movie except Bill, Helena and Mandy

The villain...? Dunno!!!😢😢😢😮😮😮

The Wife...

Movie is about all sin including pedophilia. The last scene 2 guys are walking behind bill and just family while his daughter Carrie’s a huge stuffed tiger. What does a stuffed animal tiger mean in the pedo world

Red cloth = Red Cloak Ziegler Pool table

alice

colour red is the villain.

dont think being selish and all makes you a villain. a lot of protagonists can be selfis to get or find what they want like captain willard for example in apocalypse now who was so determined to get to the end of the river and knew the risks, he let a 17 year old die. yet again not evil but rather mentally unstable mind sets.

Bill's wife was the villain.

Bill's parents are the villains. Had they never copulated, there'd be no Dr Bill prancing around New York late at night.

algorithm stuff

If every Kubrick movie is a piece of clothing from an elegant suit, then Eyes Wide Shut is the crap under the left shoe.

06:00 09:00

You're the villain

This is a good anti-marriage movie

meh