Rating: 
Summary: Kubrick's sublime masterpiece.
Review: 'Barry Lyndon' is that rare work of art, one which achieves what Walter Pater suggested all art aspired to: the condition of music. Its thematic development is in counterpoint - the opening sequences announce the themes (fathers, duels, money/gambling, women, war etc.) that will be subjected to variations throughout. The narrative movement is as hypnotic and static and abstract as its Baroque score. The film is not just visual music, but a conflation of all the arts - cinema, literature, painting, pantomime, architecture etc. - creating one spellbinding Uber-artwork.This is the ultimate Kubrick movie, the one where all his concerns coalesce and reach perfection - the rise and fall of a hubristic masculine hero; the conflict between a criminal outsider and a society that will legitimate criminality to defend itself; the need for the individual to wear masks to play society at its own game, and the profound loss of identity this entails; the farce of war; the tension between historical time, in which society and Great Events function, and a circular, Purgatorial time, where the hero is doomed to repeat his mistakes; the failure of the Enlightenment, the impossibility of change and the regression to tribalism and barbaric rituals; the possibility of salvation and redemption. All Kubrick films are schizophrenic, sometimes to their detriment. Here, he manages to pull off a film that is at once philosophically serious and an emotional and hilarious character study. 'Barry Lyndon' is also one of the few historical films that represents its world on its own cultural terms - the inertia, the tableaux, the pageantry are all true to the 18th century. A final word of praise for Ryan O'Neal. There is a mistaken belief that great acting consists in excesses of emotion and grotesque gestures. Rather, it lies in formal subservience to a film's mise-en-scene. O'Neal does this generously and brilliantly, and rewards Kubrick with one of the finest performances in the cinema, one that always has me blubbing like a big baby.
Rating: 
Summary: Great, but not Kubrick's best
Review: I bought this on amazon.com before seeing it. I watched it the day it came. This is a powerful film and easily the most beautiful as for costumes and scenery, but it wasn't his best. This to me was great and meaningful but it doesn't really qualify of Kubrick films. When I think of Kubrick I think of THE SHINING or A CLOCKWORK ORANGE. Not BARRY LYNDON. Although I really liked this film, it doesn't have the Kubrick touch that DR. STRANGELOVE, A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, THE SHINING, FULL METAL JACKET, EYES WIDE SHUT, or LOLITA brings to the screen. Don't get me wrong, this was an excellent film, but very unlike Kubrick films. This in a way falls in the catagory of 1956's THE KILLING and 1960's Spartacus. Those were both great films but they didn't feel like Kubrick. But do see this movie! I liked the first video better than the second (BARRY LYNDON had two tapes because it's a little over 3 hours). But if you enjoy good cinema, rent or buy this!
Rating: 
Summary: Ryan O'Neal/Barry Lyndon - Blank and Pretty
Review: Ever so often one discovers a movie that, although not well known, has a credible pedigree and an enthusiastic fan base. Barry Lyndon is not one of those movies. And, unlike many of these hidden treasures that I have found throughout the years, BL was the diamond in the rough that I had hoped (and so many had said it was). It is a VERY pretty movie. The sets, costumes, scenery, music, and horses are all breathtaking; if gazing at beautiful but inanimate objects is your idea of a good film, this is your Citizen Kane. I applaud the rigorous use of only period music and costumes for an authentic look, but superficial beauty cannot carry a film alone. The music, though, can stand by itself, and is more worth the price than the movie itself is. Revel in it... I am sure that Kubrick was very aware of the awe-inspiring authenticity and prettiness of this picture, and unfortunately, this comes across very strongly. It seems that the idea was something along the lines of "heck, even if the actors can't act, who cares? The audience will just be looking at the scenery anyway." This leaves the driving force of the film, the actors, as merely icing on a frivolous cake. A good actor can make even the most gratituous role into a stunner; Ryan O'Neal is not that kind of actor. When in the role of Redmond Barry, a cad and social climber, O'Neal is asked to be devious, calculating, and grief-stricken - all the audience sees is a face devoid of emotion. A vacant stare does not a thespian make. I feel that Kubrick cast O'Neal to attract viewers with his star power, much like Jean Jaques Annaud did with Brad Pitt in Seven Years in Tibet. It is a pity that such a great director failed to elict a competitive performance out of his star. The rest of the cast aquits themselves very nicely, though, with the exception of the man who plays Barry's step-son, who overacts most egregiously. The script. Ah, the fans and the critics are already queueing up, ready to give their opinions. Is it a deep psychological rendering of society and it's follies, or is it a tedious too-literal adaptation of a classic novel? I think it is a mish-mash of both, with the master of psychological movies fighting the bonds that come with adapting someone else's thoughts. My only large complaint is with the epilogue. The message of the movie itself seemed to be that one will get one's just desserts, but the epilogue's message is that it does not matter what one does in life, for all will be equal after death. These two ideas seem to conflict strongly - heightening my feeling that two minds were in opposition here - Thackeray and Kubrick. The editing also leaves something to be desired. Yes, as was already stated, the views are pretty, but many of the scenes could have been drastically cut without damaging the movie or the aesthetic pleasure of viewing it. See especially the card game at the beginning, and the endless shots of Ryan O'Neal looking blankly into space. All in all, this is a gorgeous movie with some very rousing battle scenes (albeit bloodless), but not much in the way of acting, drama, or substance.
Rating:
Summary: An underrated masterpiece
Review: When Barry Lyndon was released, it was roundly panned by most of the critics, who called it slow and tedious. Yet I found it to be elegant, almost poetic in its pacing. I found my attention so riveted to the screen that I barely noticed the passage of time. For any fan of Kubrick, all the qualities that characterize his best films can be found in Barry Lydon. The characters are drawn with great precision, and portrayed vividly. Each image, each scene is painted in crystal clear detail. There are no wasted scenes, no throwaway shots, not a bit of wasted dialogue. Everything there is there for a purpose. If you haven't seen Barry Lyndon, rent it and form your own opinions. As for me, I think it ranks among the best of Kubrick's films, and among the best of all late 20th century films.
Rating:
Summary: Very Good
Review: Kubrick's version of the 18th century through the Seven Years War to roughly the American Revolution is beautiful and worth seeing. The ending sums up the point of the film...
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant!!!
Review: As a director... this is with out a doubt Kubrick's best work... I don't think any director can achieve what Kubrick did in Barry Lyndon... Some savages might find this film boring... Well , It's not an action film... And it is a little bit long... But I think it's perfect... the story has so many stories within.. Prolly it's not Kubrick's best movie... but the directing is flawless...
Rating:
Summary: They are all equal now.
Review: Let us dispense with the phrase "period piece" that inevitably pops up in most reviews of Stanley Kubrick's "Barry Lyndon". If there is any common thread that runs through all Kubrick films, it is the essential timelessness of the human comedy, whether the protaganists are fighting sabretooth tigers, Romans, Napoleon, in WW 1, in the Cold War, in Vietnam, evil computers in outer space, or thier own sexual urges. "Barry Lyndon" just happens to peek in on the silly earthlings while they are struggling through the 18th century. Kubrick coaxes a career-best performance from Ryan O'Neal, who is perfectly appointed as the handsome, "rougeish" opportunist of the movie title. The film is peppered with memorable supporting performances and lorded over by a wonderfully droll voiceover "narrator" (a Kubrick trademark!). The jaw-dropping, "oil painting coming to life" visuals alone are worth the price of admission. History buffs will probably observe that Kubrick's trademark use of classical music is "era appropriate" for once! Like any true work of art, "Barry Lyndon" is something to be treasured.
Rating: 
Summary: 3 hours of excruciating boredom.
Review: The dullest movie I've seen in a long time. Over 3 hours of excruciating boredom. The slowest moving movie I've ever seen. If this movie is supposed to be about the meaning of life, any kind of life, good or bad, then it teaches me nothing except the fact that people like to look at each other and stare for long periods of time without saying anything meaningful. Stanley Kubrick, you should be embarrassed. If you want to see a good Kubrick film, watch Dr. Stangelove.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing picture quality for a masterful experiment
Review: I bought this DVD as part of the Stanley Kubrick Collection (from Amazon, no less). The film would get five stars; the DVD quality 3, so this averages out to 4. Technically it is an undistinguished disc, excellent color fidelity offset by distracting digital noise. The sound is no better. Subjectively, it's like high-quality AM radio reception. As for the film itself... Critics and fans often marvel at Stanley Kubrick's versatility - how he paradoxically made films of such diverse subject matter that all, nonetheless, bore his uniquely identifiable stamp. No other director's films look or feel like his. I think Kubrick was, in part, a detached experimenter. As fans would wonder what a Stanley Kubrick costume drama would look like, so did he. Barry Lyndon is the answer. Deeply pessimistic, Barry Lyndon is full of the usual Kubrick satire and sardonic wit. This wit extended off screen to the casting of Ryan O'Neil (a much criticized choice then as now) in the title role. But O'Neil had the right qualities - he seemed like a charming bad-boy with a soft, naive center. He also seemed to not quite fit among the fine European actors that surrounded him - as his character did not quite fit among the aristocracy to which he aspired. O'Neil was also bankable, which made it easier to secure financing after the shocking A Clockwork Orange (which was full of unknowns). Often when the film seems to be straying into earnest mawkishness (Barry bursting into tears at the drop of a hat, his friend Grogan spouting clichés about virtue), it is really indulging in deadpan satire. Just look a few minutes later for the droll punch line. Like Hitchcock's similar manipulations in Psycho, Kubrick is setting us up. Just when we are comfortable that we can let down our emotional guard, Barry's life takes its inevitable downturn. Here Kubrick's immense skill as a film-maker becomes readily apparent as the same kind of material plays out with a shockingly different tone. The 18th-century-costume-drama-isms that Kubrick had fun with earlier serve as the bars of Barry's opulent cage - and the genuinely tragic instruments of his fall from grace. Barry Lyndon has gone from icily observant to emotionally shattering in just over three hours. If you have the patience, it's a journey worth taking. Barry Lyndon lingers in the mind for years.
Rating:
Summary: Exquisite
Review: When I first watched this I was taken aback at how meticulous it is photographed - it almost seems like it was filmed in the 18th century. Obviously it isn't a film that will suit all tastes, and one which many will admire for Kubricks attention to detail rather than the enjoyment they may get from the story. The highly interesting first half, which details Barry Lyndons experiences and encounters when travelling Europe, does make the second part (where he settles) seem slightly less interesting and disrupts the overall momentum a little but the cinematography is nevertheless perfect all the way through and is enough alone to maintain interest. Ryan O'Neal is also extremely well cast and the music score is perfect, though the uneven picture quality on the disc doesn't do this gorgeous film justice at times.
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