Ryan O'Neal & Marisa Berenson
Watch the trailer: http://videodetective.com/TitleDetails.aspx?publishedid=119079&st=Barry%20Lyndon%20(1975)
We saw this movie when it came out in 1975. My wife says we saw it again around the time of Princess Diana's death but I don't recall. Anyway we liked the movie the first time but understood why it was a flop at the box office and with some critics although it won four Oscars and other awards. Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon is three hours long with intermission, lavish with ravishing photography, costumes, settings, and period music, but the film struck many as cold and populated with understated performances. The deliberate slow, stately pacing bored many viewers and Ryan O'Neal was dismissed as too wooden for the title character and blamed for its failure. It's unfair to solely blame O'Neal as Kubrick had the power to cast anyone he wanted because his previous films were hits.
Viewer interest and critical re-evaluation have proven the nay-sayers wrong as Barry Lyndon keeps finding new audiences who like these kinds of 'auteur' epics that were ahead of their time. Seeing it again last night was a treat as I forgot plot points. The best way to see this film is in the theater but it looked damn good on my 32" TV screen. Kubrick's photography copied the look of eighteenth-century paintings and I recall being amazed by their beauty on the large screen as seen above. I'm still impressed by its visuals complimented by the classical music score.
This time I was able to concentrate on the story and the acting. O'Neal, a big star (but hardly an actor) at the time and helped getting this big budget production financed, is more than adequate here. We forget that his character is a shallow opportunist who hides his lies behind his emotionless mask. I know this is a backhanded compliment for an actor with limited skills, but he fits well into Kubrick's tapestry as do the other better actors playing off against him.
It's Kubrick controlling every detail as on all his films who is the real star of Barry Lyndon. Perhaps with a better actor, this film would have been a hit on first release. Time has proven this is a masterpiece that demands your undivided attention which is soon won over. It's like history coming alive in front of your eyes & ears. This is one of the best three hours you'll ever spend. For more info on its importance, go to: http://www.nytimes.com/2000/04/16/movies/film-opening-eyes-to-a-kubrick-masterpiece.html
Viewer interest and critical re-evaluation have proven the nay-sayers wrong as Barry Lyndon keeps finding new audiences who like these kinds of 'auteur' epics that were ahead of their time. Seeing it again last night was a treat as I forgot plot points. The best way to see this film is in the theater but it looked damn good on my 32" TV screen. Kubrick's photography copied the look of eighteenth-century paintings and I recall being amazed by their beauty on the large screen as seen above. I'm still impressed by its visuals complimented by the classical music score.
This time I was able to concentrate on the story and the acting. O'Neal, a big star (but hardly an actor) at the time and helped getting this big budget production financed, is more than adequate here. We forget that his character is a shallow opportunist who hides his lies behind his emotionless mask. I know this is a backhanded compliment for an actor with limited skills, but he fits well into Kubrick's tapestry as do the other better actors playing off against him.
It's Kubrick controlling every detail as on all his films who is the real star of Barry Lyndon. Perhaps with a better actor, this film would have been a hit on first release. Time has proven this is a masterpiece that demands your undivided attention which is soon won over. It's like history coming alive in front of your eyes & ears. This is one of the best three hours you'll ever spend. For more info on its importance, go to: http://www.nytimes.com/2000/04/16/movies/film-opening-eyes-to-a-kubrick-masterpiece.html
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