Description
Thackeray's tale of a roguishly charming 18th century Englishman, card shark and con-man whose good fortune and luck finally run out.Amazon.com
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
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3 out of 3 people found this review helpful:
Much ado about littleWm. 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 best0 out of 0 people found this review helpful:
They Are All Equal NowAs 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-ray0 out of 0 people found this review helpful:
Kubrick's Greatest FilmUntil the blu-ray version of Barry Lyndon is released, we will have to be satisfied with the 2007 DVD.
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