1975 Directed by Stanley Kubrick
An Irish rogue uses his cunning and wit to work his way up the social classes of 18th century England, transforming himself from the humble Redmond Barry into the noble Barry Lyndon.
Ryan O'Neal Marisa Berenson Patrick Magee Hardy Krüger Diana Körner Gay Hamilton Frank Middlemass Arthur O'Sullivan Godfrey Quigley Leonard Rossiter Philip Stone Steven Berkoff Marie Kean Murray Melvin André Morell Leon Vitali Billy Boyle John Bindon Roger Booth Jonathan Cecil Peter Cellier Geoffrey Chater Anthony Dawes Patrick Dawson Bernard Hepton Anthony Herrick Barry Jackson Wolf Kahler Pat Laffan Show All…
乱世儿女, 巴里林登, バリー・リンドン, بری لیندون, 배리 린든, Бари Линдън, Μπάρι Λίντον, בארי לינדון, Baris Lindonas, Барри Линдон, แบร์รี่ ลินดอน ขอฝันจนวันสุดท้าย, Баррі Ліндон, Chàng Barry May Mắn, 巴里·林登, 亂世兒女
Showed this to my mom today. She thinks 2001: A Space Odyssey is the most boring film of all time, she walked out of A Clockwork Orange and she never ceases to complain about every aspect in Dr. Strangelove.....
And yet, she was utterly entranced for every second of Barry Lyndon, laughing and crying along with the ravishing imagery and the remarkable storytelling.
Ladies and gentlemen, there's a Stanley Kubrick film for everyone.
Long movies scare me. Period pieces scare me. They are both things that I historically (haha get it because period piece) have not exactly found EASY to watch. They’re usually GREAT, but impatient people like myself have a hard time getting the energy to watch things like that. But I gotta say, despite that, I loved every second of Barry Lyndon.
letterboxd seems to be malfunctioning... i can't seem to be able to give this masterpiece more than 5 stars... wack
I was twigged to re-watch Barry Lyndon by some recent great reviews here. My personal goal for this viewing was to try to reconcile why Barry Lyndon works. Not as a masterpiece, but rather how it works at all. After all, it’s a 3 hour and 4 minute period piece based pretty literally on a 19th century text ... that stars Ryan O’Neal.
Cinematography. Let’s get this out of the way first. Kubrick’s ... er, John Alcott’s photography is breathtaking. As beautiful as the paintings of the period. The use of technical and cinematic technique is well covered by some other great reviews here on Letterboxd. Does it make the film work? I don’t think so. It contributes to it…
I maintain now and always that this is one of the great comedies, a slow burn of greed, cowardice and arrogance that depicts an aristocratic structure that creates arbitrary divisions among European nations united in the absurdity of their power hierarchies. The film suggests that the entire aristocracy of Europe is maintained by interbred families and brazen confidence tricks perpetuated by both pretenders and genuine members of the ruling class. Watching this, it's a wonder how WWI took as long as it did to break out. That it is one of the most rapturously photographed films ever made is almost a mere bonus.
"He wants to step into my shoes...
HE WANTS TO STEP INTO MY SHOES!"
Three hours of being absolutely fucking enthralled.
Why didn't anybody ever tell me how hilarious this movie is?
Ah, and I guess the cinematography was passable... haha.
In all seriousness though, this might be my favorite Kubrick next to 2001: A Space Odyssey. An altogether fun, enjoyable and immensely beautiful experience. An accurate aesthetic, a pitch perfect score, wonderful narration and the best performance of Ryan O'Neal's career contribute to making this an unforgettable masterpiece.
