Barry Lyndon

directed by Stanley Kubrick (1975)

I have to say I was thoroughly entertained by this.  I was expecting to be bored, because I was so bored with Emma, but this period piece has lots more stuff going on during the 3 hours plus running time than the slight romantic comedy of relationships found in Emma.  Perhaps it's unfair to compare the two, since they are different genres and even different eras, but they are both about the gentry/ruling class,  just that NOTHING happens in Emma, except some people get married.  I was also expecting to be bored because I'd had this movie for years and years and years, and could never bring myself to watch it, even though it was a Stanley Kubrick flick, and every film I've seen of his has been genius.  I'd glace at the spine when looking amongst my collection of VHS for summat to watch, and groan feeling like oh noes, homework time, when I'd consider watching it.  It's like reading a classic because you feel like you "should" have.  I don't have a VHS collection anymore, so when it came up on one of the movie channels, I jumped on it out of the same old feeling of obligation to watch something I believe that as a self avowed movie nerd, I should have already seen.  It's not quite like not having seen The Godfather, Citizen Kane, or Star Wars, but it's in that neighbourhood.

It starts off great, with a duel and quickly moves on to introducing our protagonist, Redmond Barry (Ryan O'Neal), the son of the man who died in the duel.  Kubrick wanted Robert Redford for the role,  but Redford passed due to scheduling conflicts.  Kubrick had to chose from the 10 top US box office draws that year to get financing for the film.  O'Neal and Redford were the only ones who came close, both being about the right age and of Irish heritage too.  I wonder what it would have been like if Clint Eastwood, or Charles Bronson played the lead.  Very different flick I tell you what. Who would Kubrick have cast if he had free rein? Maybe Malcolm Mcdowell would have landed the role.  He'd have been more interesting I think.  Though O'Neal's opaque quality was a good fit, he's not nearly as nuanced an actor.

The film tracks Barry's progress out of the gentry and his climb towards nobility, through duels and deaths, wars and intrigue. They were mad about duelling back then, duel duel duel, it was the all the rage.  There are 3 duels in the flick and they are all crazy.  Who the fuck does this stupid shit?  Stand in front of each other and shoot for honour.  EVERYONE, well every soldier anyhow, because that's how they used to fight wars.  Just line up in and shoot each other into oblivion.  Reload and do it again.  Nutty!  It's based on a serialised novel by Thackeray and it's narrated.  That's one of my favourite plot forwarding movie devices.  I really, really, like narration, not all the time, I just like how it functions, how much it simplifies the story when there's an omniscient device that can delve into character's minds and express their thoughts and motivations.  Stuff like that can be extremely hard to convey with just visual action, and too much expository dialogue can be unrealistic as most people don't naturally go around explaining themselves or their actions.  I also like movies that have sequences where people read letters.

The movie is really really gorgeous, I'm serious, it looks like master's paintings. Kubrick wanted it to look like Gainsboroughs and it does.

screenshots vs paintings

Luscious locations, landscapes, castles, and costumes oh my! At times, the action is framed so statically I felt like I was falling into a painting.  Slow sweeping pans and deep zooms suck you right in, or pull you out to a breathtaking splendour.  Absolutely incredible cinematography. Kubrick used a wide aperture lens for the candle light scenes and there's such a warm glow to the images.  Beautiful, beautiful flick.  It won Academy Awards for art direction, cinematography, costume, and music, and distinguished itself with 13 other awards and 11 nominations.


I recognised the caretaker from the Shining.  Philip Stone, plays a servant/accountant type.

Phillip Stone site

And I really liked the musics, especially the theme by Handel.

..and this bit of dancing too.

It's a long movie, Kubrick shot for 300 days for the 184 minute runtime but that's not a record. He beat that with  Eyes Wide Shut: 15 months, with an unbroken period of 46 weeks, setting a Guinness Record for Longest Constant Movie Shoot.

I didn't mind a single minute.  I even went back and rewatched some scenes the next day, and again later.  It took me awhile before I felt like I could delete it from the PVR and it pained me some to do that.  It's so gorgeous, I'd be willing to watch it again some day, especially in a theatre.  It's Martin Scorcese's favourite Kubrick film and I agree. It's awesome.

original theatrical trailer

fun action style fan made  trailer