Barry Lyndon
1975
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 .. Read more
| Starring | Ryan O'Neal, Marisa Berenson, Hardy Kruger, Patrick Magee |
|---|---|
| Director | Stanley Kubrick |
| Genres | Drama |
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Barry Lyndon
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.
| Starring | Ryan O'Neal, Marisa Berenson, Hardy Kruger, Patrick Magee, Steven Berkoff, Gay Hamilton, Andre Morrell, Leonard Rossiter, Philip Stone |
|---|---|
| Director | Stanley Kubrick |
| Studio | WARNER HOME VIDEO |
| Run time | DVD: 2 hrs 57 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Drama |
| Language | English |
| Dubbed | French |
| Hearing-impaired | English |
| Subtitles | Arabic, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Spanish |
| Released | DVD: 10 Sep 2001 Production year: 1975 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews (3)
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This awesome work might be retitled 1789: a Georgian Odyssey, for Stanley Kubrick gives to the past what he gave to the future in 2001: a Space Odyssey, providing this film with an authentic 18th-century look and a unique atmosphere that totally convinces. This is a period film like no other, a slow (and we mean slow) and utterly hypnotic tale of an Irish youth whose adventures and misfortunes take in the Seven Years' War, the gambling clubs of Europe and marriage into the English aristocracy. In Kubrick's scheme of things, character means less than context, so Ryan O'Neal may appear bloodless and Marisa Berenson wholly vacant, but this turns out to be a strength, not a weakness. Anyway, there are fine turns by Leonard Rossiter, Hardy Kruger and, best of all, Leon Vitali as O'Neal's stepson. There is a definitive climactic duel scene, a confiding narration by Michael Hordern and ravishingly beautiful photography on locations ranging from Castle Howard, Wilton House and Blenheim Palace to the Irish wilderness. Give it time, adjust to the pace and enjoy Kubrick's grandest gamble.
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A curiously cold-hearted enterprise, like an art gallery in which the backgrounds are sketched in loving detail and the human figures totally neglected; there is much to enjoy, but script and acting are variable to say the least, and the point of it all i
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Most helpful member's review
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16 out of 17 people found this review helpful
Absolute masterpiece
You would think that adapting Thackeray's delightfully ironic book, maybe his best after Vanity Fair, would be a tall order. Indeed, it takes a Kubrick at the top of his abilities to make it justice. But what a result!
The casting and the acting are perfect; if Ryan O'Neal got on your nerves in Love Story, watch him here as an Irish boob making his way, half by scheming, half by accident, into english nobility. The photography, whether of landscapes across Europe, or of interior scenes in various castles, is simply breathtaking. And the soundtrack, a mix of irish folk tunes and classical music, is masterfully used to conjure up the delightful, if sometimes slightly melancholic atmosphere of late XVIIIth century Britain.
Truly a memorable experience. Rent it, watch it, and buy it to see it again and again. -
Most recent members' review
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16 out of 17 people found this review helpful
Absolute masterpiece
You would think that adapting Thackeray's delightfully ironic book, maybe his best after Vanity Fair, would be a tall order. Indeed, it takes a Kubrick at the top of his abilities to make it justice. But what a result!
The casting and the acting are perfect; if Ryan O'Neal got on your nerves in Love Story, watch him here as an Irish boob making his way, half by scheming, half by accident, into english nobility. The photography, whether of landscapes across Europe, or of interior scenes in various castles, is simply breathtaking. And the soundtrack, a mix of irish folk tunes and classical music, is masterfully used to conjure up the delightful, if sometimes slightly melancholic atmosphere of late XVIIIth century Britain.
Truly a memorable experience. Rent it, watch it, and buy it to see it again and again. -
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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 ... -