Barry Lyndon

Rating:
Summary: Ryan O'Neal can ACT!
Review: Contrary to other reviewers here, I believe Ryan O'Neal played just the kind of character that Thackeray intended -- someone who is smart but not too smart. Indeed, he has to rely on the position and cleverness of others to succeed. His saving grace is that even in his worst moments, he is insufficently introspective to stop loving himself, and the good feelings he can't repress are something others cannot fail to respond positively to, despite their better judgement. [Dare I say, not unlike our current President!?!] O'Neal effortlessly conveys this, and yet when his character is called upon to be ruthless and physically violent, he does so with satisfying abandon. The narration is perfectly done - i felt as though I were reading the novel myself. One last thing -- the photography is overwhelmingly beautiful. The cinematography constantly evokes the landscape paintings and prints of the time.

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful and eloquent...but Ryan O'Neal?
Review: Here is Stanley Kubrick's most beautiful and eloquent film, taken from the novel by Thackery, of an 18th century slacker turned hustler turned wealthy denizen who ends up the same way he started -- poor, uneducated and living in squalor. It is a morality tale to compete with those of that other great English novelist, Dickens.

The story involves Barry's attempts at romance, which tend to backfire, his departure from home, travels, involvement in European wars, involvement with a thief and, finally, his marriage to the Duchess of Lyndon, from whom he gets his name. This is where his life begins to go backward in a never ending spiral of betrayal, promiscuity, brutality and overspending.

Filmed in natural lighting in fine European settings, this is Kubrick's most opulent and staggeringly beautiful film. Its story is so eloquently told it is difficult to find fault. Two things, in my mind, separate this film from a typically great film: casting and the use of music.

To this day I still don't understand why Kubrick cast Ryan O'Neal in the lead. Here is a one-dimensional actor that could not find a second dimiension even with this wonderful script and when being directed by the world's greatest filmmaking genius. Even though I enjoy this flim enormously, I always wonder what it could have been had an actor the stature of Jack Nicholson or Robert DeNiro played Barry.

My second complaint is the way the music is done in this film. People that have seen "Dr Strangelove", "2001 A Space Odyssey" or "A Clockwork Orange" know Kubrick has an odd sense of humor with music in his films. Until this movie, he used this music in natural arrangements.

However, in "Barry Lyndon", Kubrick allowed a music producer to rearrange the music as a way to affect the on screen action. In particular, Schubert's andante theme from his Piano Trio No. 2 was used as Barry's theme of failure in the latter portions of the movie.

The music was performed in trio form for the movie but taken at a slower pace than was prevailing at the time. The effect was to deaden the film. It added futility, not drama or despair. Kubrick understands music and its effects and still allowed this to happen thoroughout this otherwise splendid movie.

I will never be long between viewings of this movie, for it is a work of art rare in moviemaking. But I also will never forgive the two major shortcomings that keep it from ascending to the summit of Kubrick films. Instead, this one is grounded in the middle drawer of his movie cabinet.

Rating:
Summary: Ryan O'Neal Sucks
Review: I rated this a one star entry hoping to catch someone's eye. This is absolutely Stanley Kubrick's best movie. If you had lived back then (the 1750s), this is what it would have looked like. The battle scenes are great, the music is beyond great, and Ryan O'Neal (the worst actor of his generation) doesn't ruin the film.

Remember: "Money well timed and properly applied can accomplish anything." Thackery/Kubrick

Just ask John Kerry.

Rating:
Summary: Kubrick can do no wrong
Review: I saw this movie on TV for the first time. The small screen didn't give it justice. I now own a large screen TV and watching this dvd was unblievable. It was like fliping through a beautiful art book. The cinematography will blow you away and the story of one who goes from rags to riches and back to rags is timeless. Some may find the movie a bit too long (there is an intermission) but I was asking for more after it was over. Stanley Kubrick seems to always have surrounded himself with some of the most talented people in cinema. This is what you pay a good director to do. This brilliant man has always been shortchanged by the academy with such masterpieces as Clockwork Orange, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Full Metal Jacket, Spartacus, Dr. Stangelove, Paths of Glory, The Shining and last by not least Barry Lyndon. The academy has given major awards to some classic movies but should have given this genius his just deserts.

Rating:
Summary: kubriks old colonial movie
Review: its a bit long in spots.theres this guy barry lyndon who is somewhat of a prick.he does whatevers in his advantage at the moment to survive.he goes into the military a lot and ends up in a domestic situation.the kids will get bored.stanley kubrik directed so you know its a great great movie!there are a couple cool parts like these 2 duels.he gets in one where the rules are both aim and fire.the second one was i shoot then you load and shoot.i shoot then you load and shoot.thats dangerous buisness there.all the chicks are all proper and stay very very clothed the whole time.thats a bummer.barrys step son is very much obnoxious.kubrik means classic,dont forget that.

Rating:
Summary: Barry Lyndon
Review: Truly an amazing epic. The narration is wonderful. The camera as always in Kubricks films is a wonderful vista on the world, though, in this film due to the AMAZING costumes, sets and acting, it surpasses in my estimation any of his other films. I particularly enjoyed the candle lit scenes which I have never seen in any other film (for which he had special lens developed for the low light atmosphere and used an extreme amount of candles for). This is the most underviewed yet of his films. Yet in my estimation is the best. Truly wonderful and thought provoking. The only negative in the film is the length, a common issue in his films, though I enjoy longer films that continue to develop the story. The finally is a must see.

Rating:
Summary: Kubrick's greatest masterpiece
Review: Jack Warner is said to have once told an underling not to bring him any movies about people who write with feather pens. The mogul believed that costume epics were dull and plodding, guaranteed to test the patience of most audiences.

When Stanley Kubrick delivered his film "Barry Lyndon" to Warner Bros. in 1975, the studio's namesake was long gone, and that was probably for the best since he may have chosen not to release what is the ultimate feather pen movie and also Kubrick's greatest masterpiece. If asked to do the impossible and name the best film ever made, I wouldn't hesitate to give my vote to "Barry Lyndon."

Plodding? Yes. Dull? To those who demand rapid fire editing, it may be the dullest movie ever. For those who appreciate fine literature and fine art, "Barry Lyndon" is an absolute feast, visually, aurally, and dramatically. Based on an obscure novel by William Thackeray, it's the story of an Irish lad climbing the ranks of English society, alienating everyone in his path.

As Redmond Barry, Ryan O' Neal's Irish brogue comes and goes, but despite that inconsistency, he acquits himself well. Also worth noting is Michael Hordern's narrator, often seeming to express disapproval for the main character as he perceptively surveys his exploits.

The real star of the film is Kubrick and his production team who recreate the 17th century in a way that makes the viewer truly appreciate what life must have been like at the time. Watching the women, most notably the beautiful Marisa Berenson, sashaying about in glamourous dresses, one wonders how they could endure the apparent discomfort of such cumbersome clothing. It's no wonder they took so many baths. And watching Barry rise in society, one is aware that the society is ultimately every bit as superficial and uncouth as the rogue "hero" himself.

The movie is slow, very slow, but so was life in the era depicted, and the achievement of "Barry Lyndon" is that it transports the viewer to an earlier but far from simpler time in a way that no other film has done. The cinematography and art direction are peerless, as is Leonard Rosenman's score which adapts the work of some of the greatest classical composers.

Most movies, even the good ones, are as light as popcorn, easily forgotten when the lights come back on. The patient viewer who gives "Barry Lyndon" a chance to work its magic will be rewarded with a true cinematic experience.

Brian W. Fairbanks



Rating:
Summary: Underrated Kubrick Masterpiece
Review: I am an unabashed Kubrick fan. I was initiated into his work with "A Clockwork Orange" when I was 16 and went from there. Why is it that "Barry Lyndon" has in my mind surpassed other more revered works. You can cite the magnificent technical attributes of the film(cinematography,art direction, costume design,music), however, a technically proficient movie is not necessarily a moving experience. I would have to say that what elevates this movie is the screenplay and the acting. Kubrick does a great job moving the story from Redmond Barry's youth to his downfall among the English aristocracy. Kubrick has also gathered a great cast of actors here in supporting roles(Parick Magee, Leonard Rossiter, Marie Kean, Godfrey Quigley, Steven Berkof, etc.). What cannot be overlooked is the performance of Ryan O'Neal. If some find him wooden or off-putting should consider that he is essentially playing an unsympathetic rogue. It is a daring performance and O'Neal is utterly convincing whether playing a headstrong teenager or a cold manipulator. One gripe about the DVDs in the Kubrick Collection: with the exception of "The Shining", the only extras on these discs are trailers.