I saw the uncensored version, also, so perhaps that made a difference. Nothing's missing on the reels between the two films, but for the American release they did some computer magic to block most of the explicit sex.
Basically, I watched it for a course. It was probably the tamest film we've seen, in terms of explicit sex. Others included Sweet Movie, Romance, Realm of the Senses.
The introduction we got for Eyes Wide Shut was the sacred feminine. We were told that Eyes Wide Shut, Brown's Da Vinci Code, and Scorcese's Last Temptation of Christ were probably the best pieces of "mainstream" art to accurately represent the sacred feminine. In fact, Brown mentions Eyes Wide Shut in the book. Aside from those brief points, we didn't talk about it after we watched it. I could be crazy when it comes to the following points, but I'd really like to know more about what people think about this film.
So basically what it's come down to, for me anyway, is that the film, marketed as a sex movie, isn't really about sex; instead, how people think about sex. Particularly, the scenes in the mansion, which a lot of people think is an orgy.
Instead, that scene was a representation of the religious hieros gamos ritual, also found in Da Vinci Code, which makes it clear that the point of the ritual is spiritual, not erotic, connection to the sacred feminine. Remember also the password, "fidelio." It could be an ironic twist since Bill is wallowing on the edge of infidelity, or a more literal translation: faith. Also, note Alice's monologue about her dream, where she makes quite a few allusions to Eve and the ritual, although she felt ashamed about it.
And that, I thought, works back to the title. Consider (this coming from the Da Vinci Code) how the Catholic church obliterated the sacred feminine from what was then mainstream culture, and turned sex into something shameful and obscene. A quote from da Vinci in the novel references how mankind is "blind" to the feminine, and how he wishes them to "open their eyes."
