"Most of Kubrick's films show his characters in relation to, and their interaction with, their environment" - Paul Duncan....

Ok so baring that in mind, why is it Bill Harford in Eyes Wide Shut and Jack Torrance in The Shining are so similar? Their environment? Maybe...

Bill enters the scene of Marion Nathanson and her father who just passed that day, he walks in from an elevator. This shot is, very obviously, like the elevators in The Shining in the way that there is symmetry, a bin in the middle, and lights from the side and above.

The house of the orgy is presented in a similar disorientating way to the hotel and the maze in The Shining. We follow Bill from in front and behind, being led deeper and deeper into the maze structure of the house, making us feel in a dream like scene.

What I have found most interesting is the way Bill tends to repeat; he often repeats what people say to him as if he doesn't understand, or is questioning what they are saying. This reminded me of the madness seen in Jack when he repeats "all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy", but he also repeats things Wendy says.

But why make Bill like Jack? Possibly because the character was ruined by the familiar face of Cruise. Furthermore, characteristics of Jack seep through presenting us with reasons to look beyond Cruise's face.

After all of this, why did Kubrick cast them in the first place? He wanted his last picture to be big and these famous actors could provide that? But that never phased him before so why the change...?