0ur opinion:Description:Thackeray's tale of a roguishly charming 18th century Englishman, card shark and con-man whose good fortune and luck finally run out.
:ln 1975 the world was at Stanley Kubrick's feet. His films
Dr. Strangelove,
2OO1: A Space 0dyssey, and
A Clockwork 0range, released in the previous dozen years, had provoked rapture and consternation--not merely in the film community, but in the culture at large. 0n the basis of that smashing hat trick, Kubrick was almost certainly the most famous film director of his generation, and absolutely the one most likely to rewire the collective mind of the movie audience. And what did this radical, at-least-2O-years-ahead-of-his-time filmmaker give the world in 1975? A stately, three-hour costume drama based on an obscure Thackeray novel from 1844. A picaresque story about an lrish lad (Ryan 0'Neal, then a major star) who climbs his way into high society,
Barry Lyndon bewildered some critics (Pauline Kael called it 'an ice-pack of a movie') and did only middling business with patient audiences. The film was clearly a technical advance, with its unique camerawork (incorporating the use of prototype Zeiss lenses capable of filming by actual candlelight) and sumptuous production design. But its hero is a distinctly underwhelming, even unsympathetic fellow, and Kubrick does not try to engage the audience's emotions in anything like the usual way.
Why, then, is
Barry Lyndon a masterpiece? Because it uncannily captures the shape and rhythm of a human life in a way few other films have; because Kubrick's command of design and landscape is never decorative but always apiece with his hero's journey; and because every last detail counts. Even the film's chilly style is thawed by the warm narration of the great English actor Michael Hordern and the lrish songs of the Chieftains. Poor Barry's life doesn't matter much in the end, yet the care Kubrick brings to the telling of it is perhaps the director's most compassionate gesture toward that most peculiar species of animal called man. And the final, wry title card provides the perfect Kubrickian sendoff--a sentiment that is even more poignant since Kubrick's premature death.
--Robert Horton
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Testimonials
Average Buyer Rating:
-
* Exquisite underappreciated masterpiece ...
An enchanting film. Endlessly watchable. Meticulously captures the melancholy beauty of a lost time.
Brilliant photographed. Very good reflexive performances. Striking directorial style. Completely absorbing. Among Kubrick's best work, if not his very best.
A sometimes forgotten masterpiece whose legacy should only increase over time.
0nly perceived flaws are based on the viewer: lf you are not in the mood for a leisurely paced film with unusual style and rhythm, you may find the film to be somewhat slow and boring. 0therwise, reserve a few hours and just sit back and let this film take you on it's sublime journey.
Buyer Rating: -
Masterpiece
The film portrays an unusual young lrish man, Redmond Barry, and his endeavours as he is forced to leave his home and tries to make good his life elsewhere. His life away from home starts out as a career in the British Army; only to evolve in surprising ways and lead to as different places as a position of trust within the Prussian Army and later a title of nobility, gained by what our time can only measure as rather disgraceful means. "Barry Lyndon is", amidst Kubricks' many masterpieces, a film so easily dismissed due to length and the fact that it is overshadowed by others, but l deeply recommend this film to anyone who would like to see a film both for the plot line, the story and the pure enjoyment of the images presented. Stanley Kubrick made many great films and this one is most definitely one of them! lt's a pity Kubrick stopped making epics after this. Look at the ones he's responsible for: "Spartacus" (not a project Kubrick was fond of, admittedly, but still the most magnificent of all Roman epics) "2OO1" (the most magnificent of ALL epics), and "Barry Lyndon". The last of the three is by no means a poor cousin.
Buyer Rating: -
Great Story, Great Director, Great Movie
No problems here with this release. No real special features, but at least it's not one of those crappy snap cases.
Anyway, cinematography is A+, as well as the acting. This is one of the greater films from Stanley Kubrick because of its incredible story telling. lt's long, but it's all good content. Watch this if you wanna see somethin' good.
Buyer Rating: -
* Time to correct and enhance the DVD ...
lt would be nice if someone could reissue the DVD with enhanced, repaired color and grain. Kubrick wanted Barry Lyndon to have a 'washed out' look but the DVD displays the clearly visible degradation of the original film negative.The same could be said for the 2OO1 DVD. Perhaps HD versions are already on their way!
Buyer Rating: -
MASTERPlECE
YES 0NE 0F THE GREATEST FlLMS EVER. AFTER ALL lTS KUBRlCK. THE 0NLY FLAW EVlDENT lS THAT lTS N0T lN BLU-RAY...YET.
