Description
Thackeray's tale of a roguishly charming 18th century Englishman, card shark and con-man whose good fortune and luck finally run out.
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In 1975 the world was at Stanley Kubrick's feet. His films
Dr. Strangelove,
2001: A Space Odyssey, and
A Clockwork Orange, released in the previous dozen years, had provoked rapture and consternation--not merely in the film community, but in the culture at large. On 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-20-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 Irish lad (Ryan O'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 Irish 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
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful:

Much ado about little
If you read movie reviews for the benefit of discovering the technical qualities of the movie, read some one else. I judge movies on a subjective level. If I like it, the story appeals to me, the photography is good, the acting is better than a high school performance, it rates at least three stars. To an extent this film meets those expectations.
Wm. Thackery is not one of my favorite authors. However, if you are able to read I strongly suggest the three hours could be better spent reading the novel than watching this movie, but that is true of most movies based on fine literature. The main character, Mr. Barry is a person of low class. I use this designation not in the sense of his position in society, rather his position in hte human race. Personally there is little to recomment this character to our sympathy or regard. Beieuvung he's killed a man in a duel, Barry joins the army to escape jail. He deserts from the British army, surpriseing as that may be, and is caprtures as a spy by the Prussians who force hism into the Prussian forces in the Seven Years War. In further service to the Prussians he is sent to spy on an Irish resident in the service of the French, posing as a French nobleman. These two men join forces and tour the continent as card sharks. Barry realizes this is not to last forever and marries a lady of wealth. He succeeds in wasting her fortune, is shot by his step=son in a duel, dies in poverty, etc.
Very gentle fun is poked at the civil society of Britain, and illustrated at how Barry moves up in society if not in goodness. Considering the length of the movie, I would say the action moves well. If you care to watch a movie where you care nothing what happens to the characters, where you demand a certain justice meted out to the wrong doers, you should enjoythis show.
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful:

Kubrick's best
This may be controversial. I think Barry Lyndon is Kubrick's best film. Don't get me wrong, I love all of his films. This one lives under my skin. Everything about it makes you think Kubrick travelled back in time to shoot this. (Can anyone prove he didn't?)
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful:

They Are All Equal Now
Barry Lyndon is good movie and I'm happy I saw it. It could be faulted for being occasionally slow by today's standards, but what it does have going for it is a sympathetic and likable main character Redmann Barry, aka Barry Lyndon, who goes from countryboy of no standing to the ranks of nobility (almost) by the twists and turns of fate. At 184 minutes, it's not a short movie and there are some places in it that are about as interesting as the court music which accompanies it. But, at the same time, while there are lulls in the story, it mostly tends to keep interest. Add to that the Kubrick sense of tone and irony, with a narrator stepping in from time to time to give a somewhat amused overview and finally you've got a movie that is quite watchable. It doesn't take long to get into, the filming is gorgeous and the recognizable touch of the master is unmistakable. It's a study of character and a study of "nobility" perhaps, in both senses of the word. While nowhere near as intense as say "A Clockwork Orange" or "The Shining" the stealth and pace of the direction and a quiet cosmic irony that is the signature of Kubrick is there.
As to the mastering of this DVD, it's not sure if it wants to be widescreen or full screen - a thin black line on the top and bottom of the screen suggests this (so you get a widescreen that is so wide on the top and bottom it could almost be full). In fact, I didn't find it overly distracting. The quality of the transfer was superb in every other regard, and there were English subtitles (yes!). There are no special features, and the only other drawback to the package is that the case is "environmentally friendly" which means half the plastic is taken out and that we are supposed to beleive this is good for the environment.
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful:

Barry Lyndon in Blu-ray
Other than 2001, if there was ever a Kubrick film that demanded a Blu-Ray release, this one is it. Can't come soon enough....
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful:

Kubrick's Greatest Film
Barry Lyndon, released in 1975, a 3 hour costume drama based on an obscure Thackeray novel about an Irish rogue, comes as close to perfection as any Stanley Kubrick film. Beautifully filmed and with a score featuring Schubert's piano trio in E flat and Vivaldi's cello concerto in E minor, the film is slowly paced to reflect the pace of life of the era depicted.
Until the blu-ray version of Barry Lyndon is released, we will have to be satisfied with the 2007 DVD.