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The films begins with Barry's father being killed in a duel, it then goes to explain his experiences of first love and frustration when that love is lost to an English officer John Quinn (played by Leonard Rossiter who had previously acted in 2001 A Space Odyssey).
His frustration and ... Read review
Perhaps Stanley Kubrick's most underrated film,Barry Lyndon--adapted from the picaresque ... more
novel by William Makepeace Thackeray--inhabits the 18th century in the wayA Clockwork Orangeand2001: A Space Odysseyinhabit the future: perfect sets, costumes and ...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Perhaps Stanley Kubrick's most underrated film,Barry Lyndon--adapted from the picaresque ... more
novel by William Makepeace Thackeray--inhabits the 18th century in the wayA Clockwork Orangeand2001: A Space Odysseyinhabit the future: perfect sets, costumes and ...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
BARRY LYNDON is Stanley Kubrick's epic costume drama based on William Makepeace ... more
Thackeray's beautiful novel. It tells the story of a young rogue who wanders through life getting lost in various adventures meeting his share of women and oddball charact...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
How does an Irish lad without prospects become part of 18th-century nobility? For Barry ... more
Lyndon (Ryan O'Neal) the answer is: any way he can! His climb to wealth and privilege is the enthralling focus of this sumptuous Stanley Kubrick version of William ...
How does an Irish lad without prospects become part of18th-century English nobility? For ... more
BARRY LYNDON (Ryan O'Neal) theanswer is: any way he can! His climb to wealth and privilege is theenthralling focus of this sumptuous Stanley Kubrick version ofWilliam Makepeace Thackeray's novel. For this ravishing, slylysatiric winner of 4 Academy Awards? Kubrick found inspiration inthe works of the era's painters. Costumes and sets were crafted inthe era's designs and pioneering lenses were developed to shootinteriors and exteriors in natural light. The result? BARRY LYNDONendures as a cutting-edge movie that brings a historical period tovivid life like no other film before or since. Special Features: Trailer
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
Production Year: 1995 - Drama - Director: Ang Lee - Original Language: English - Classification: Universal - Starring: Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant, Greg Wise, Hugh Laurie, Robert Hardy
Advantages: Beautifully shot and acted Disadvantages: Requires time and patience
...between the two parties and Barry is forced to move from his home town.
His fortunes take a turn for the worst and he ends up in the army, where the glory appeals to him until during a battle he finds out the true cost of war.
War is an often used theme for Stanley Kubrick and while not gruesome in any way the futility of war is perfectly portrayed.
From his experiences of war he decides that he no longer ... ...film follows what happens to Barry after he has attained all the wealth he desires but through his nature, and cruelty (especially to his step son) loses it all.
He manages to alienate himself from the upper class he has tried so hard to impress and he has a major disaster in his life that sets in motion his demise.
He aspires to a peerage and this almost ruins him.
Costume drama is big business these days, at the time of writing, a new version of Pride and Prejudice is firmly planted at number one in the cinema charts.
So now is the prefect time to spend three hours of your life on what is perhaps the most beautiful film ever made.
Stanley Kubrick has cut his teeth in the early fifties and had honed his art making some great pictures. During the sixties and early seventies he made some ground breaking and in some cases controversial films.
He had basically won his freedom and given by Warner Brother free rein to create pretty much any film me wanted.
This brings me to this film, Kubrick had written a screen play for a film based on the life of Napoleon, but another film "Waterloo" has been released and performed poorly at the box office so that project was scrapped. I often wonder what that film would have been like but will now never know.
In its place he decided upon a film based on the book by William Makepeace Thakery. Which I understand he did not consider his best work.
The film is two parts that are introduced with text.
The film is narrated by Michael Horden, as in A Clockwork Orange there is a lot of narration. The narrator often tells you what will happen before it happens, this follows with the past tense of the film.
The films begins with Barry's father being killed in a duel, it then goes to explain his experiences of first love and frustration when that love is lost to an English officer John Quinn (played by Leonard Rossiter who had previously acted in 2001 A Space Odyssey).
His frustration and anger leads him to commit a violent act towards the officer.
This leads to a pivotal moment of the film where a duel takes place between the two parties and Barry is forced to move from his home town.
His fortunes take a turn for the worst and he ends up in the army, where the glory appeals to him until during a battle he finds out the true cost of war.
War is an often used theme for Stanley Kubrick and while not gruesome in any way the futility of war is perfectly portrayed.
From his experiences of war he decides that he no longer wants to live such a life and only to have the best. It is at this point that his true nature as an opportunist starts to come out.
He meets up with a wealthy woman who he seduces with great skill (a beautiful series of scenes shot using new lenses that capture candle lit scenes well)
The second part of the film follows what happens to Barry after he has attained all the wealth he desires but through his nature, and cruelty (especially to his step son) loses it all.
He manages to alienate himself from the upper class he has tried so hard to impress and he has a major disaster in his life that sets in motion his demise.
He aspires to a peerage and this almost ruins him.
Ultimately he gets what he deserves, he is an anti-hero, just like Alex from Clockwork Orange. Kubrick creates the uncomfortable feeling in the viewer of cheering on a bad person.
A special note has to be given to the music in the film, all classical pieces from Mozart, Handel, Vivaldi, Schubert etc. Skillfully chosen by Kubrick, it really helps to set the mood of the scene. The DVD sleeve notes detail the pieces used in each scene. It won an Oscar for it's music.
In many ways this is Kubrick's most perfect film, just not his most commercial. I understand he was disappointed with the criticism of it and rightly so.
This deserves a place in any film fan's collection, a film to be watched when in the right mood and time allows.
Main Cast List :
Ryan O'Neal - Barry Lyndon Marisa Berenson - Lady Lyndon Patrick Magee - The Chevalier de Balibari Hardy Krüger - Capt. Potzdorf (as Hardy Kruger) Leonard Rossiter - Capt. John Quinn
Advantages: It's Kubrick doing what he does best Disadvantages: It's quite long and slow
...known work, The Memoirs of Barry Lyndon which tells the tale of an Irish commoner making his way through the English aristocracy. A great innovation by Kubrick specifically for this film was to use a special lens which was initially designed for NASA, a lens capable of allowing more light in than was standard on cameras then. Coupled with the stunning locations used throughout, it must be said that this film is one of the finest shot pieces you will ... ...his rich body of work, Barry Lyndon features film making at it's finest, outstanding performances from it's cast, stunning cinematography and excellent use of music. The costume drama might not be everyone's taste, particularly as the film is quite slow moving and very long but just as Kubrick could reinvent the science fiction, the war or the comedy genre, here too he creates a film like no other. ...
psymonb 22.04.2009
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Barry Lyndon (DVD)
A lavish story about an 18th Century rogue who yearns for success, but in his quest for riches he loses his sense of perspective. Based on William Thackeray's novel.
Kubrick's superb version of William Thackery's first novel is meticulous and philosophically stimulating... (Empire, 18/12/2008)
DVD Description
BARRY LYNDON is Stanley Kubrick's epic costume drama based on William Makepeace Thackeray's picaresque novel. It tells the story of a young rogue who wanders through life getting lost in various adventures, meeting his share of women and oddball characters. When Redmond Barry (Ryan O'Neal, trying desperately to maintain an Irish brogue) becomes jealous of Captain Quin's advances on Barry's beloved cousin, he challenges the man to a duel. Winning the duel, young Barry is forced to leave his home and his mother, and off on his adventures he goes. He meets thieves, lonely soldier brides, Prussian army leaders, and British widows, inventing new stories about himself at every turn of the road. BARRY LYNDON is lush and magnificent, sparkling with color, every frame reminiscent of the finest European art. The blues of the Prussian army uniforms and the reds of the British contrast sharply with the majestic green land and mountains in nearly every background. Kubrick often begins a shot close in, then zooms out to reveal the beautiful natural landscape and ornate rooms surrounding the now seemingly insignificant characters. With rousing performances from O'Neal, Marisa Berenson, Hardy Kruger, and Leonard Rossiter, jaw-dropping camerawork, spectacular natural lighting, and a marvelous classical-music soundtrack painstakingly put together by Kubrick, BARRY LYNDON is a dramatic romantic epic that may be Kubrick's most beautiful film.
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