My favorite director of all time has to be the mysterious Stanley Kubrick. Kubrick conducted so many timeless classics: “A Clockwork Orange”, “2001: A Space Odyssey”, “Eyes Wide Shut”, “Lolita”, “The Shining”, “Full Metal Jacket” and of course “Spartacus”. But, in between “A Clockwork Orange” and “The Shining”, a hidden gem can be found; 1975’s “Barry Lyndon”
The Background Of “Barry Lyndon”
“Barry Lyndon”, like all of Kubrick’s films, is based on a book; “The Luck of Barry Lyndon” (1844) by famed English novelist William Makepeace Thackeray. After the unsuccessful release of the 1970 history period drama “Waterloo”, a film about Napoleon Bonaparte and the Napoleonic Wars, production on Kubrick’s long awaited “Napoleon” was cancelled. After years of research on Napoleon and the era in which he lived in, Kubrick decided to adapt Thackeray’s fictional memoir into film using that historical information.
The Luck Of The Production On “Barry Lyndon”
Principal photography took place in 1973-74 in Ireland, where a majority of the story takes place. However, multiple mishaps occurred during the filming. One major instance was when Kubrick, the cast and the crew were targeted by the IRA. According to star Ryan O’Neal, “I wore an American flag shirt so they’d not confuse me with the actual Irish”. John Alcott, Kubrick’s long time cinematographer, had his film cameras exclusively made by NASA to successfully create the long double shots and the wide in and outward zooms for the film. Kubrick wanted every scene to look like a William Hogarth painting, which he pulled off tremendously.
The Story Of Kubrick’s “Barry Lyndon”
Released in December of 1975, “Barry Lyndon” had very mixed reviews at first, like most of Kubrick’s movies, it gathered a vast majority of positive reviews, and soon came to large critical acclaim. The film had an impressive runtime of 187 minutes (3 hours 7 minutes), the longest of any of his films. The film garnered 4 Academy Awards, including Best Cinematography for Alcott, Best Costume Design for Milena Canonero and Ulla-Britt Söderlund, Best Original Song Score for Leonard Rosenman, Best Production Design for Ken Adam, Vernon Dixon And Roy Walker and a nomination for Best Picture (loosing to “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest”) and Kubrick’s second nomination for Best Director (loosing to Miloš Forman for the aforementioned Best Picture winner). O’Neal’s performance was berated at first by critics for his lack of emotional depth with his character of Redmond Barry Lyndon. “Barry Lyndon” is the only independent film by Kubrick with over 3 Oscar wins, “Spartacus” won 6 Oscars, however, Kubrick was hired in position of Director, nothing else.
The Aftermath Of “Barry Lyndon”
“Barry Lyndon” is wildly acclaimed and is said to be one of Kubrick’s highest achievements and has been described as “groundbreaking” by many for its writing and cinematography. The films later success brought many bookworms towards William Makepeace Thackeray and his other works; like “The History Of Henry Esmond”, “The Virginians” and “Vanity Fair”.
If you haven’t already, please watch “Barry Lyndon”. It’s one of the most aesthetically astonishing and significant films ever made. “Barry Lyndon” is said to be Monty Python co-founder John Cleese’s favorite film ever, British director Richard Ayoade sites it as one of his top 10 favorite movies and Martin Scorsese sits it as his favorite Kubrick film.
Pretty much, “Barry Lyndon” is amazing and you should watch it if you haven’t already.
Goodnight!
Submitted April 09, 2020 at 04:42AM by Big-Dan6 https://ift.tt/2URzqg9