Barry Lyndon (1975)
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Cinematographer: John Alcott
Run-Time: 185 Minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
Film Stock: Eastman Color Negative 100T 5254/7254 Film
Barry Lyndon is the story of an underdog who climbs to new heights and immediately realizes that he has acrophobia. (It’s okay though, because I do too). Monumental growth in this film is followed by heart-wrenching devastation and loss. Manipulation is the key to the unrivaled success of Redmond Barry AKA Barry Lyndon, played by Ryan O’Neal, as the once poor and respected Irishman rises above all and marries into a wealthy royal family that quickly deteriorates down to below even that of Dante’s imagination. Kubrick’s knowledge and finesse are highlighted by his magnificent ability to create a film that is as much an epic as it is a tragedy, using extraordinary film technology that allowed for the entire film to be shot using only natural and candle light. The accompanying score to this film is the wonderful “Piano Trio in E-Flat Major, D. 929: II. Andante con moto” by legendary composer Franz Schubert.
There is a very specific mood that is crafted by Kubrick and his cinematographer John Alcott in Barry Lyndon. When watching this film I am brought to a time and place that I will never have the pleasure of seeing or experiencing, though the film acts as a window to see through and into such a world. The camerawork in this film is reminiscent of the view of a traditional landscape or portraitist painter, who can view the world as a canvas and paint using their mind. Often throughout this film we, the viewer, are placed into an outsiders’ position, to look into and project onto the world our feelings of the time and place. Composition is one of the major components of the films’ aesthetic, as if every frame of it could be put into any art museum around the world and viewed as a masterpiece. Just look at how magnificent the image below is, and no, it is not a painting but a still taken from the film.
[Image: Kubrick, Stanley, director. Barry Lyndon. Criterion Collection, 1975.]
I am in awe of the emotion that is produced in this film using music. “Piano Trio in E-Flat Major, D. 929: II. Andante con moto” by Franz Schubert is the main theme of the film, and easily the most memorable. This song is utterly perfect for the film as it is just as beautiful as the shots that are given to us by Kubrick. This song is another lovely addition to the film, it is a piece of music that puts us closer and closer to the world that the film has created through all of its other aspects. The time period of the film is the 18th century and set in and around the United Kingdom. Seeing as though Schubert composed this song in 1827 it is very fitting for Kubrick to select this piece of music for the most important parts of the film.
Often when I watch films I am analyzing and critiquing it before it even ends, but Barry Lyndon is much different from all the other films I have seen and will continue to see. Barry Lyndon is one of the few films in my life I have watched and found nothing in it to critique or disagree with. My love for this film might be due to the fact that I love the work of Stanley Kubrick, but more-so I think I love this film because it so different and so unique from other films similar to it. While other directors and filmmakers have made epics and time-period dramas similar to Barry Lyndon it just doesn’t even come close on a scale of good to bad, this film is miles ahead and above those others. There is not a single scene in the entirety of this film that can be seen as poor or a failure in filmmaking. This film is one of the most underrated films made by Stanley Kubrick, and in there lies my love for it. Methodic and slow-burn pacing of Barry Lyndon is very closely tied to the idea that this film is not a classic movie in the sense of entertainment, it is much more than that, a close look at the trials and tribulations of humanity in social hierarchies. My emotions while watching this film are similar to that of being on a rollercoaster, where every up and down is followed by twists and turns that glide from sympathy and empathy to hatred and disgust. A certain amount of this film is reliant on connection to the protagonist as well as a disconnect, a balance that can only be created by the godly Stanley Kubrick.
One last reason to how and why I love this film so much must be in part because of ambition. Before I had created my first real short film I spent days watching films by classic filmmakers as well as some of my other favorites; Andrei Tarkovsky, Ingmar Bergman, Michelangelo Antonioni, Federico Fellini, and many others. But in this stretch of time I watched more Kubrick than anything else, especially Barry Lyndon. All this time that I had put into watching Barry Lyndon was not just helpful, but crucial in guiding my thought process during filming my own short. I have been influenced more by Stanley Kubrick than any other director or filmmaker who has ever lived, and being able to study and watch Barry Lyndon on repeat was inspiring, to say the least, for my will to create a moving image recreation of my reality. Artistic value in film is something I appreciate more than anything, and this film is one of the major reasons I will continue to watch, analyze, and discuss it.
Finally, my favorite quote of the entire film:
Barry Lyndon – “I’m not sorry. And I’ll not apologize. And I’d as soon go to Dublin as to hell.”
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