tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703076346434344743.post416463903110377581..comments2023-07-01T05:05:31.938-04:00Comments on Films Worth Watching: Barry Lyndon (1975) - Directed by Stanley KubrickJonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10656287096270976604noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703076346434344743.post-56777874285289856602011-07-14T15:42:46.515-04:002011-07-14T15:42:46.515-04:00Hey Sam thanks for all your comments. I only wish ...Hey Sam thanks for all your comments. I only wish I could have seen it on a big screen as well. I don't doubt the opinion of it being one of the 5 greatest films of all time. I can definitely understand it being considered as that. I think a whole post could be written on O'Neal alone and it's a fascinating portrayal however you view it. I am probably a bit too critical on his performance, and I still think it can be viewed as "proactive blandness" or "accidental blandness" but either way, it works in the film for this character and the performance achieves what it needs to. Somehow, O'Neal gets it right. <br /><br />Yes the score! I didn't mention it in my review but you're right, the Sarabande piece is elemental to the mood of the film.<br /><br />This film demands to be seen by anyone who loves film. I'm glad you convinced me to see it again!Jonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10656287096270976604noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703076346434344743.post-17899775449678874792011-07-14T14:08:33.284-04:002011-07-14T14:08:33.284-04:00"Visually, Barry Lyndon is one of the most be..."Visually, Barry Lyndon is one of the most beautiful films ever shot. I would probably put it in the top 5 best photographed color films of all time. Also on my list would be Black Narcissus (1947, Powell and Pressburger), The Red Shoes (1948, Powell and Pressburger), Days of Heaven (1978, Terrence Malick), and The Double Life of Veronique (1991, Krzysztof Kieslowski). John Alcott, cinematographer here as well as on A Clockwork Orange and The Shining (1980) does a masterful job at framing exterior shots and lighting interior shots using candles alone in many scenes. Apparently at the time, Alcott and Kubrick utilized some unique cameras to capture these low-lit scenes. They really stand out and are a beautiful addition to the film. Many scenes are reminiscent of paintings and the period detail is in a word, exquisite."<br /><br /><br />This essay is just what the doctor ordered as far as I'm concerned Jon! I saw BARRY LYNDON on the 70 foot screen of the Jersey City Loews movie palace a few months back, and like you I experienced an artistic epiphany. I thought quite well of this film in the past, but after this recent viewing I was bowled over and now believe it's Kubrick's greatest work (which of course is saying quite a bit when you consider the masterpieces he's created!) and like you astutely asserted it's one of the most beautifully photographed films of all time. It is also more than vital that Leonard Rosenman's score adaptation of some magnificent classical compositions (chosen of course by Kubrick himself) give the film an aural elegance, befitting a work by William Makepeace Thackeray, and a drama of this emotional power. The sublime use of Handel's "Sarabande" of course has become a lengendary film theme. Ryan O'Neal gives the defining performance of his career (This is the only point you make in your review that I disagree with) O'Neal was purposely bland as this is consistent with the character he is playing to a tee. The supporting cast is extraordinary. (Leon Vitali as Lord Bullington is unforgettable) and the film is a cinematic tapestry of vivid details and hues. I have now come to the opinion that it's one of the five greatest films of all-time, and the recent blu-ray release of this and the entire Kubrick set is a god-send. The duel scene is surely one of the most brilliant example of cinematic tension ever filmed.<br /><br />You have done an astounding job here with this essay, evincing scholarly regard and sheer passion!Sam Julianonoreply@blogger.com