Barry Lyndon
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Movie Reviews of Barry Lyndon
Movie Review: A Filmed Painting
Summary: 5 Stars
My comments are going to address the film itself (just as my 5-star rating is for the movie, not the DVD transfer), since many other smart and observant reviewers have pointed out the failings of Warner Brothers' shoddy treatment of Barry Lyndon on DVD. I absolutely urge any fan of poetic cinema or Stanley Kubrick to invest in a copy of this movie, but better to wait for a beautiful transfer of one of the most beautifully photographed films ever made.
As for the film... A hipster friend once told me Kubrick was his favorite director. I asked him if he liked "Barry Lyndon." "Barry what?" was the answer, confirming my suspicion that "Lyndon" is an underrated work even among Kubrick devotees. I can understand. Despite being a period-piece based on a picturesque adventure novel, Lyndon is as aggressively experimental as Kubrick's previous film, "A Clockwork Orange," and does not reward the passive or impatient viewer.
Thwarted in his desire to film a Napoleon biopic, Kubrick turned to William Makepeace Thackeray for inspiration and the result is an arrestingly beautiful, strangely haunting, and thoroughly original work of cinematic art. In two parts separated by an intermission, Barry Lyndon follows the rise and fall of one Redmond Barry, an 18th century Irishman whose good looks, ingratiating manners, talent for fighting, and cutthroat ambition mark him for something "greater" in life than tending farms. During the course of the narrative, Redmond duels an Englishman, joins the regiment afoot, deserts, gets dragooned into the Prussian army, becomes a Prussian spy, escapes again, takes up the profession of gambling, travels the Continent in the company of a Chevalier, and pursues a nobleman's wife.
And that's just the first part. Sounds like an exciting romp, doesn't it? Er, actually -- it's not. For all its visual pomp and splendor, "Barry Lyndon" remains one of the strangest, most idiosyncratic films I've ever seen. Ask almost anyone who has seen the movie (a paltry number to begin with) and most will tell you that "Barry Lyndon" is, in a word, boring. I can only account for my own experience, but the effect for me is more mesmerizing than yawn-inducing. Kubrick's mastery of the film medium is such that he recklessly breaks all rules of movie storytelling and yet I'm hypnotized by the painterly images and evocative classical soundtrack.
"Lyndon" is an embarrassment of visual riches, from the lush green landscape of Ireland to the candle-lit interiors of European courts and palaces. Virtually every shot of the movie could be framed and mounted on the wall. "Barry Lyndon" belongs on a shortlist of the most physically ravishing films ever made and is worth seeing for that reason alone. It's pure cinema, distilled to a gorgeous interplay of sight and sound.
Kubrick stretches film time to the breaking point, collapsing months and years into a few shots and then drawing out fleeting moments for a seeming eternity. Redmond's seduction of Lady Lyndon, for example, is a wordless sequence that travels from the gaming table to an outside veranda in a breathtaking ballet of glances, meaningful expressions, unspoken emotions, and quiet gestures. Social ritual fascinates Kubrick, and much of the drama of the story stems from the tension between violent passion and society's restrictive formalities.
Yet it's not all filmic experimentation and weighty themes. "Barry Lyndon's" early, Ireland-set scenes feature stunning scenery and a lovely, lilting theme composed by that great Celtic band, the Chieftains. The humor is dry-as-dust and dark-as-midnight, the kind of humor Kubrick specializes in (remember a little satire called Dr. Strangelove?), as in the delightful exchange between Redmond and Captain Feeny, one of the most courtly-mannered robbers one is likely to encounter. As for Kubrick's purportedly "clinical" absence of emotion, there's a scene towards the end of the film between Redmond and his ailing young son that is emotionally devastating.
Ryan O'Neal, never known as a great actor (to put it mildly), is nevertheless perfectly suited to the part of the rogue-ish Redmond Barry. As in the aforementioned scene with his son, O'Neal digs deep to give a powerful, convincing performance that maintains a high quality over the course of the movie's 3-hour running time. Though his Lucky Charms Irish accent comes and goes, O'Neal captures an essential innocence and sweetness to the character that allows the audience to keep with him through thick-and-thin. His social climbing doesn't seem so much the result of a Machiavellian plan as the result of spur-of-the-moment opportunism. In the climax of the film, a stunning duel that takes place in an abandoned barn, Redmond makes a choice that demonstrates the distance he's traveled from his first impetuous duel with the Englishman. In that moment, Redmond deserves the name of hero. O'Neal himself must have known Barry Lyndon was a career highlight: he named his son Redmond.
Because of its slow pace and storytelling idiosyncracies, I'm always hesitant to recommend "Barry Lyndon." Yet I can't help myself. Though not for all tastes, "Lyndon" is that rare cinematic beast: a truly personal expression by a formidable artist. Its rewards are rich and abiding.
Movie Review: An incredible story and terrific cinematography... darkly humorous (details)
Summary: 5 Stars
I have nothing but bright things to say about this 1975 film so where do I begin -- perhaps with the story itself?
THE STORY: [18th Century] Redmond Barry (later, Barry Lyndon played by Ryan O'Neal) starts out as a naive young Irishman with a penchant for both romance and adventure. After being initially defeated in his love for a stunningly beautiful girl, (ultimately through deception by a stogy old English military officer), Barry commences his life sojourn of Europe. He soon finds himself on the continent and right at the heart of period wars. He subsequently links up with an old card sharp who helps to expand his fortunes but Barry wants more... he longs for peerage and the only way he can get it is to cuckold an ailing old nobleman who is married to a beautiful young woman. He thus lets himself in for a financial and an amorous roller-coaster ride. Barry is a sympathetic character from start to finish, albeit he can be a bit of a scoundrel at times.
This artful and darkly humorous film reeks of quality. The locations, the sets, the props, the filmscore, the camera-work... every consideration is of the First Water. Of course such features epitomize what we have come to expect from renowned director Stanley Kubrick.
Prior to viewing this film I was not a previously great fan of Ryan O'Neal (Peyton Place: Part One) - but his performance in this film turned me around on both his remarkable skill as an actor as well as his clear adaptability. I was also very pleased to see one of my personal favorite actors, Patrick Magee, (Dementia 13 ) in his flawlessly cast role as "The Chevalier." But the hallmark jewel in the crown was another tremendous actor of all too little fame, Frank Middlemass (War & Peace (1972)), who played Sir Charles Lyndon - he was perfect!
This 2003 DVD runs for a total of 184 minutes (never boring!) and it is presented in a "matted widescreen" format, (which is a sort of "expanded letterbox" aspect and which looks great on a widescreen television.) The film is rated PG. It's all just spectacular and it has easily earned my highest rating of five stars.
If you liked this film you will surely also enjoy a more contemporary entry which employs the same sorts of themes: The Duchess.
Movie Review: Very slow and very splendid. Picaresque! But we need a true hi-def version...
Summary: 5 Stars
Kubrick was a genius of cinema, a master of telling stories with pictures so loaded with meaning that often no dialogue was needed. Nowhere in his canon is that more apparent than in Barry Lyndon. Almost every single shot here looks like an Old Master painting, perfectly composed, a joy for the eyes. Once you let your need for quick narrative movement go by, Barry Lyndon wraps you in its sumptuous embrace and doesn't let up for three hours.
Three hours?! Yes, and there are a few bits where it grinds a bit, but if you're just enjoying the scenery and open to Kubrick's very sly visual wit, this is an episodic treasure. I'm pretty sure Thackery would have loved this version of his novel, though his take on the life of real-life rogue Andrew Stoney is somewhat more openly satirical than Barry Lyndon. Yet there are many very funny if rather quiet bits of humor here. My favorite is the opening of the second part; read the intro and then watch how Kubrick follows it visually. A classic joke, no doubt.
The main thing to remember here is that this is a picaresque film, in the best of ways, and that means long character revelation is the thing. Ryan O'Neal is good, though I might have liked a bit more overt humor from him. But no doubt that was his director's call, as SK's stamp is on every little nuance of this film. All the acting is solid and never detracts from the procession of beauty, while some performances, especially Leon Vitali as the hilariously pouty Lord Bullingdon, are exceedingly excellent. Kubrick knew how to get the best from his actors; few directors are master of so many aspects of filmmaking.
This film is for those who like their stories shown more than told, and the third person narrator, as opposed to Thackery's typically Picaresque unreliable first person narration, sets up the scenes quite nicely, and then Kubrick's insanely crisp visual sense takes over. I'm not sure England has ever looked better on film, nor will it.
Which is why this merely acceptable dvd print is rather a travesty; if ever a film needed a perfect transfer to blu-ray, Barry Lyndon is it. This dvd version has obvious compression in some pastoral shots; I don't want my waving grass pixilating, thanks! The dvd has zero extras, excepting a trailer, and I really wouldn't mind a bare-bones BD either, if it looked as perfect as this film should. PLEASE give this work of art the respectful treatment it deserves, and issue it in full splendor in hi-def, m'lords.
Kubrick made almost a dozen masterpieces, and this is certainly one of them. For sheer sumptuous eye candy, it may be top of the tree.
Movie Review: Like Paintings Come-To-Life!
Summary: 5 Stars
Some movies - I wish there were more of them - simply look like a series of great paintings. This film has that look. You could freeze-frame many of the scenes and swear you were looking at a Gainsborough, a Vermeer, a Hogarth or similar work of art by one the great artists of three to five centuries ago. It just's beautiful stuff. I hope a Blu-Ray of this is done soon and released as this film is worthy of a great, high-definition disc.
For the visuals, we have Director Stanley Kubrick and Photographer John Alcott to thank. Being a three-hour movie, there are plenty of wonderful shots to admire, too. In addition, the costumes are lavish and authentic and the scoring is notable. It's no accident that Oscars were garnered for art/set direction, cinematography, costume design and scoring. Yeah, if you enjoy classical music, you'll really enjoy the soundtrack, toom under the guidance of conductor Leonard Roseman.
Not to be overlooked is the fine acting and the interesting and underrated story. I say "underrated" because this film, from what I've read, bored a lot of people and and it was a box-office flop. That's too bad because, frankly, I found the story (outside of the first 10--15 minutes) to be fascinating. As I watched, I kept wondering what strange occurrences will happen next to the lead character, "Redmond Barry/Barry Lyndon," played beautifully by Ryan O'Neal. (For most of the movie, he's called "Redmond Barry," so I will refer to him as that.)
In the end, this was a low-key adventure story about the rise-and-fall of a "scoundrel" back in late 18th century Englishman. "Mr. Barry" is an Irishmen living in England who winds up dealing with a number of people: Irish, English, Prussian, French. His dealings with these people are bizarre at times. While he mainly is shown doing what he can to promote himself, for either monetary gain and prestige of a name and power, he's not all bad. There is a compassionate side to him, but it only shows itself in small doses. It makes him all the more interesting to watch, because you don't always know how he's going to react to his circumstances, which change radically every few years.
We witness his rise to prominence and then his fall when his "sins begin to find him out," as the Bible would describe. It's quite a roller coaster ride.
This is an emotional, involving story, and a feast for the eyes and ears. It's quite different, too, certainly not the average fare from Kubrick. I can only hope this comes out on a high-definition disc some day. Admirers of this film need to see this in all its glory.
Movie Review: An underappreciated masterpiece; deserves to be on Blu-Ray
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm aware of the many criticisms leveled against this film, but I consider it to be one of Kubrick's finest, and it's one of my all-time favorite movies. Perhaps more than in any of his other films, he makes effective use of a seemingly endless stream of striking images and gorgeous music to create a highly atmospheric ambience.
Unfortunately, the DVD transfer is substandard, with an apparently non-anamorphic widescreen aspect ratio that stretches out the image horizontally (at least on my LCD HDTV). The picture quality is not as clear as it should be, even allowing for the deliberately dark scenes shot only by candle-light. This film would look a lot better with a quality remastering.
The audio is presented in reasonably good Dolby 5.1, but I'm hoping that when this film is remastered for Blu-Ray, it will receive a major improvement in the picture quality as well as a more robust audio track.
People complain that Ryan O'Neal was somehow miscast or did a bad job of acting. I disagree. The main character in this film is a highly flawed human being who brings about his own downfall due to his various failings. That's part of the whole story. O'Neal portrays this character in a direct manner, without any attempts at eliciting false empathy from the audience.
Another criticism some have made is that the film is too long and moves too slowly. The same criticism could be made about most other Kubrick films. Watching a Kubrick film is not like watching most films. He took a very long time to shoot his movies, and it seems clear that he expected viewers to be willing to spend time when watching them. He didn't make popcorn movies (though there's nothing wrong with them; sometimes you just want 90 minutes of rapid-fire action, appealing characters, and an event-filled plot).
So, the film itself is a masterpiece, the DVD is substandard, and "Barry Lyndon" deserves a first-rate Blu-Ray transfer so that we can finally see the movie as it was meant to be seen.