Stanley Kubrick’s influential work spans decades, genres, and tastes. Asking a movie buff which work of the capricious filmmaker is their favorite is almost impossible. Some days I remain convinced that “2001: A Space Odyssey” is not only Kubrick’s best, it is one of the greatest films ever made. Other days, however, I find myself applying the same meter to the masterful career coda that is “Eyes Wide Shut.” Based on the short story “Traumnovelle” by Arthur Schnitzler, the 1999 erotic drama is a spellbinding collision between opulent sexual fantasy and stone-cold reality, where the difference between one or the other lies in what Tom Cruise’s Dr. Will Harford does with it. “Eyes Wide Shut” went from one of Kubrick’s most controversial films upon its initial release to an undisputed masterpiece of fear and desire. It’s even getting a 4K remaster from the good people at Criterion, scheduled for release next month.
Each scene in “Eyes Wide Shut” deserves its own masterclass, but perhaps the most infamous sequence is Will’s infiltration of a masked gathering for wealthy socialites. It’s a spectacularly strange fall down the rabbit hole involving a ritual mass, a chilling confrontation, and orgies as far as the eye can see. Although “Eyes Wide Shut” is set in New York, the film was largely filmed throughout the United Kingdom because Kubrick wanted to stay local. The exteriors of the Long Island mansion were filmed outside Mentmore Towers in Buckinghamshire, England, while much of the interiors, such as the main hall, were filmed inside Elveden Hall in Suffolk, England. But perhaps the most infamous part of this sequence was filmed at Highclere Castle in Hampshire, a location which should come as no surprise to fans of the ITV television phenomenon ‘Downton Abbey’.
The orgy scene from Eyes Wide Shut was partially filmed inside Downton Abbey’s Highclere Castle.
Many films and TV shows have been filmed at Highclere Castle, but ‘Downton Abbey’ transformed the Victorian estate into an instantly recognizable location for global audiences. Interiors and exteriors became the central focus of the aristocratic Crawley family and their loyal downstairs staff throughout. I’ve seen “Eyes Wide Shut” God knows how many times now, but it wasn’t until very recently that Highclere served as the interior for the part where Cruise goes through all the different orgy rooms.
It was hard to believe that I had never noticed many of the same locations in which the Crawleys held balls and drank tea in six series, five Christmas specials and three feature films that were previously filled with an array of naked guests (via The Daily Mail). The three areas shown are the entrance hall, one of the lounges and the library. It shows how well Kubrick managed to seamlessly morph three different locations across the UK to resemble an area that seems out of our reach.
I find it hilarious that some lists about Highclere’s production history tend to omit “Eyes Wide Shut” entirely, which makes sense given the pomp and circumstance of the series (via WGBH). We wouldn’t want Robert Crawley (Hugh Bonneville) to burst another ulcer, would we? “Downton Abbey: A New Era,” ironically enough, is partly about a silent-turned-talkie film shot on the estate. If only the Crawleys knew what would come knocking on their door more than six decades later. The Dowager Countess (Dame Maggie Smith) surely would choice words about all the buttocks exposed on the furniture.
“Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale” is now playing in theaters nationwide.
