It's fascinating to see such an intense filmmaker like Kubrick put his obsessive perfectionism to a much more subdued and quiet story. An epic three hour poem that feels like a great novel, a beautiful painting and a stunning symphony.
One of those films that at the end you'll get the sensation that the beginning happened in another lifetime. It's very long but not boring at all. Loved the photography. If you enjoy period films do not skip this one ;)
Not only one of the most beautiful movies ever made, but the Thackeray's story and Kubrick's screenplay are brilliant observations of human nature and the fortunes and misfortunes that cause Barry's rise and fall. Music, costumes and sets are also perfect. Only Ryan O'Neal lets the side down with a performance that, while serviceable, doesn't match up to the brilliance going on around him.
I'm not a Kubrick fan but whenever I mention to Kubrick lovers that I loved this film, they smirk. I honestly do not understand; this film did much more for me than 2001. I was completely absorbed and astonished by the manipulation of time and the noticeable but subtle shift in Barry's character. And the cinematography. Just stunning.
As almost in any Kubrick film, the visuals and sound is amazing. The landscape filming is beutiful, and i love his technique of starting close on an object, and zooming slowly out.
It's a long film, but it's also a well made film, and the acting is superb.
Beautiful to look at. Having empathised with Barry in the first half, I disliked his character after the intermission. However, you then realise that he has been lucky all along, had fallen into things by chance, and his character never really changed.
There aren't too many of Kubrick's trademarks in the film. The music is there, the attention to detail and there is quite a long tracking shot towards the end, but otherwise you don't get the Kubrick feel you would from 2001 or Clockwork Orange.
I have seen others online, in the past, complaining that this film is too slow. I found it skipped along quite quickly, with the plot constantly unfolding. In fact, for a three hour film, there is hardly a moments rest.
Having put off watching this film for a while, despite being a Kubrick fan, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie when I finally got round to it.
Tragic, funny, beautifully filmed. Perhaps the lead actor is not totally convincing, but somehow that seems to work for the story, as the events that unfold seem unbelievable themselves.
I'm used to Stanley Kubrick playing distancing tricks on the audience, but Barry Lyndon, based on Thackeray's The Luck of Barry Lyndon, takes the cake. The book is a 19th-Century picaresque set in the 18th, following the good and bad fortunes of an Irish rogue who eventually marries into the aristocracy. It's a story book-ended by duels, and wryly narrated by Michael Hordern's rich voice, but that's just it - we're often told things and not actually shown them, especially where emotional context is concerned. The lead, Ryan O'Neal, spends most of the film, stone-facedly moving from one circumstance to another, do while I wasn't exactly bored (restless perhaps, but not bored), I definitely had a hard time engaging with the story. But this is Kubrick, so it's all part of the plan, of course. The achievement here is to create what is clearly the product of 18th-Century high art. Every frame is a painting (some shots inspired by the art of the era). Every note of the soundtrack a classical piece. The narration, literary. So when he puts us at a distance, it's the distance one feels from a painting, from the past, from the artifice of the century. We're meant to be detached, but to also take in the beauty of the image - perhaps an exploration of the difference between painting and cinema on his part - albeit, intellectually. As a piece of cinematography, it is impressive; as a story, it (necessarily?) leaves me cold.
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Comments 1 - 15 of 29
devilsadvocado
Imagine if a wonderful painting could take up three hours of your time.mi-16evil
It's fascinating to see such an intense filmmaker like Kubrick put his obsessive perfectionism to a much more subdued and quiet story. An epic three hour poem that feels like a great novel, a beautiful painting and a stunning symphony.MewSa
One of those films that at the end you'll get the sensation that the beginning happened in another lifetime. It's very long but not boring at all. Loved the photography. If you enjoy period films do not skip this one ;)ChrisReynolds
Not only one of the most beautiful movies ever made, but the Thackeray's story and Kubrick's screenplay are brilliant observations of human nature and the fortunes and misfortunes that cause Barry's rise and fall. Music, costumes and sets are also perfect. Only Ryan O'Neal lets the side down with a performance that, while serviceable, doesn't match up to the brilliance going on around him.Miss Jitterbug
The most beautiful cinematography I've ever seen!missjazzage
I'm not a Kubrick fan but whenever I mention to Kubrick lovers that I loved this film, they smirk. I honestly do not understand; this film did much more for me than 2001. I was completely absorbed and astonished by the manipulation of time and the noticeable but subtle shift in Barry's character. And the cinematography. Just stunning.Vetle Haeg Nymoen
As almost in any Kubrick film, the visuals and sound is amazing. The landscape filming is beutiful, and i love his technique of starting close on an object, and zooming slowly out.It's a long film, but it's also a well made film, and the acting is superb.
Dieguito
The most realistic of Kubrick movies, very intense and astronomical budgets for its times. One of the 3 best movies from Kubrick, definitelyBigAwesomeBLT
Beautiful to look at. Having empathised with Barry in the first half, I disliked his character after the intermission. However, you then realise that he has been lucky all along, had fallen into things by chance, and his character never really changed.There aren't too many of Kubrick's trademarks in the film. The music is there, the attention to detail and there is quite a long tracking shot towards the end, but otherwise you don't get the Kubrick feel you would from 2001 or Clockwork Orange.
I have seen others online, in the past, complaining that this film is too slow. I found it skipped along quite quickly, with the plot constantly unfolding. In fact, for a three hour film, there is hardly a moments rest.
Having put off watching this film for a while, despite being a Kubrick fan, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie when I finally got round to it.
Paper_Okami
Freaking brilliant. My second favorite Kubrick after 2001.aussieflickfan
Tragic, funny, beautifully filmed. Perhaps the lead actor is not totally convincing, but somehow that seems to work for the story, as the events that unfold seem unbelievable themselves.Siskoid
I'm used to Stanley Kubrick playing distancing tricks on the audience, but Barry Lyndon, based on Thackeray's The Luck of Barry Lyndon, takes the cake. The book is a 19th-Century picaresque set in the 18th, following the good and bad fortunes of an Irish rogue who eventually marries into the aristocracy. It's a story book-ended by duels, and wryly narrated by Michael Hordern's rich voice, but that's just it - we're often told things and not actually shown them, especially where emotional context is concerned. The lead, Ryan O'Neal, spends most of the film, stone-facedly moving from one circumstance to another, do while I wasn't exactly bored (restless perhaps, but not bored), I definitely had a hard time engaging with the story. But this is Kubrick, so it's all part of the plan, of course. The achievement here is to create what is clearly the product of 18th-Century high art. Every frame is a painting (some shots inspired by the art of the era). Every note of the soundtrack a classical piece. The narration, literary. So when he puts us at a distance, it's the distance one feels from a painting, from the past, from the artifice of the century. We're meant to be detached, but to also take in the beauty of the image - perhaps an exploration of the difference between painting and cinema on his part - albeit, intellectually. As a piece of cinematography, it is impressive; as a story, it (necessarily?) leaves me cold.I-M-Pulsive
Although moving at a very slow pace it was intruiging almost all the time.senorroboto
Really beautifully done. I know it precedes one of them, but this movie plays out like a bastard child ofStefanoEarnest
I do believe that this tied with Nashville for the National Board of Review Best Film award in '75.Showing items 1 – 15 of 29