Barry Lyndon, 1975

It is difficult to review a Stanley Kubrick film without gushing with emotion because they are all unbelievably wonderful. Its also difficult to rank them because each one has a unique quality found in no other, so I will say this: Barry Lyndon is the most beautiful Kubrick film, and possibly the most beautiful of all films made. It is a tragic story about lost love and failed ambition, with an intricately weaved plot. Anyone who says that it is "slow" and "nothing happens' must not have been paying attention: wars are fought, affairs are had, duels are won. It might only be considered slow because of the methodical, very 'upper-class' way the characters interact with each other (e.g. the accusation of cheating from the Prince of Tübingen). They are not cold and lifeless; I felt so deeply with each character, stuck with the unfortunate hands dealt by fate and blind passion. The highlight (as if this were the only one) of the movie is the cinematography. Holy crap. It is drop-dead gorgeous. The only way of describing it accurately is like a MOVING PAINTING, with delicate and ornate details, like that of contemporaneous Rococo paintings, but with the beautiful natural lighting of a Vermeer. The music, which ranges from Irish folk to Schubert, almost serves as a narrator, setting the pace of the scenes and even dictating how the characters interacted with each other (Lady Lyndon romancing Barry across the card table), further reinforcing the way the characters are more like pieces in fateful game. The attention to details is extraordinary; for example, those scenes with candles were only filmed with the candlelight. Note: the DVD doesn't do this film justice, but the beauty still shines through. Watch now, then watch again on upcoming HD version. As for the aspect ratio, I've seen it 3 times in 4:3 and once in widescreen, and only prefer the widescreen because it fits my wide screen television. Great movie either way.

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A picaresque tale of an 18th Century Irish adventurer (in the pejorative sense of the word), this movie comes in just over three hours long. For all its length, the movie does not move slowly: Kubrick indulges in a great many scenes, but does not allow the scenes to drag or become tedious. Visually, this is a gorgeous film, a tribute to the production designer's art and the location scout's eye. The script is well done, with the dialogue reasonably literate (although the narration may go over the top). The casting was unfortunate. Ryan O'Neal was a bad choice for Barry; the character demands either more gravitas or more cynicism, and O'Neal is too earnest to deliver either. As with most Kubrick films, however, the actors are of secondary importance to the screenplay and photography. For those who can keep their interest through the marathon running length, this is probably the most accessible and most fun of Kubrick's late work.

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