Barry Lyndon [Blu-ray]

The story follows the trials and travails of an Irishman named Redmond Barry (Ryan O'Neal). Born into poverty on a small farm, Barry first runs into trouble during his teens when he falls in love with his cousin. The family seeks to remove young Redmond from the picture because an English officer, a Captain Quinn, has taken a shine to the girl. If they allow the cousins to marry, the family will not take part in the officer's considerable wealth. Barry refuses to play along, challenging the Englishman to a duel whereupon he promptly puts a bullet through the officer's chest. Whisked away from the scene by family members concerned about the duel, our hero joins the English army as a way to escape from his bleak future. Then comes war, with England fighting nearly everyone else on the continent. Barry, unimpressed with the idea of dying for his king, deserts but soon falls into the hands of the enemy. Faced with the threat of execution, Redmond agrees to join the Prussian Army, which turns out to be worse than his stint with the English. Fortune smiles when the Irishman saves the life of an officer, an officer with connections to the ministry of information. A plot is hatched whereby Redmond Barry will act as a confidante of the Chevalier de Balibari (Patrick Magee), a French diplomat suspected of espionage.

De Balibari is actually an Irishman living in exile, a fact that causes Redmond Barry to confess his true identity to the man. The Chevalier, impressed with such honesty, promptly takes his fellow countryman into his confidence. The two form a plan that allows them both to sneak out of the country, whereupon they take up lives as confidence men and swindlers on the continent. It is during his tenure as a card shark that Barry meets Lady Lyndon (Marisa Berenson), a beautiful and extremely wealthy woman married to the ancient, crotchety Sir Charles Lyndon (Frank Middlemass). Redmond ingratiates himself into Lady Lyndon's graces to the point that when her husband dies, the good lady marries our hero. Redmond Barry disappears, replaced by Barry Lyndon, a wealthy man with property, money, and connections. Lyndon knows his success depends on his wife, so he spends enormous sums to curry favor with the court. He hopes to acquire his own title, which would translate into his own property and money deeded him by the Crown. Life isn't all roses, as Barry Lyndon must cope with Lord Bullingdon (Leon Vitali), Lady Lyndon's sullen and hateful son as well as his wife's suspicious assistant Reverend Samuel Runt. Lyndon thinks he's got it made when his wife gives birth to a child, Bryan, who carries the precious noble blood. What goes up must invariably come down, however, as a series of massive tragedies rock the Lyndon household.

"Barry Lyndon" is an intriguing film. One wonders why Kubrick made it. Perhaps the director liked the idea of an underclass individual scheming his way into the rigid upper classes of the time. Perhaps the movie is a morality tale about a ruthless scalawag eventually getting what he deserves. If the answer is the latter, I don't think it works. If Barry Lyndon were truly ruthless, he would have seen to it that Lord Bullingdon pulled a disappearing act. Doing so would have assured his child's role as heir of the Lyndon title. Whatever the reasons behind this film, you don't have to worry about it too much to enjoy Kubrick's work. The set pieces and costumes are phenomenal, the acting wonderful, the photography breathtaking. Especially developed for this film was a special camera lens that could work by candlelight. The musical score consists of Mozart, Vivaldi, Bach, Schubert, and Handel.

Arguably the best element of the film is the way Kubrick places his characters in a way that resemble paintings of the period. Pay attention to the scenes that take place in the garden where Barry meets Lady Lyndon or the confrontation between Bullingdon and Barry at the gentleman's club. You can literally see characters move into position and pose as though for a portrait. And that final duel! I could watch that scene a million times-and probably have. A wonderful film, "Barry Lyndon" on DVD contains only a trailer as an extra. I'm not complaining too much, though. The movie is more than enough reason to buy the DVD. Watch it and wonder.

Based on the 1844 William Makepeace Thackeray novel "The Luck of Barry Lyndon" (with some of the usual artistic liberties that Kubrick often took with his adaptations of books) this film follows the travails of Redmond Barry, an 18th century, hot-headed, charmingly unscrupulous Irish rapscallion who will stop at nothing to join the ranks of the British aristocracy.

Through a series of mishaps and misadventures, we follow Barry from his native Ireland through the Seven Years' War (1756-63), through the grand gambling palaces of Europe where he eventually woos and marries the beautiful and wealthy Lady Lyndon and adopts her name, much to the chagrin of her son Lord Bullingdon, who vows never to let Barry achieve his dream of joining the gentry.

Kubrick's ace-in-the-hole is his D.P. John Alcott who deservedly won an Oscar for Best Cinematography. Shot in Ireland, Germany and England, the viewer constantly gets the feeling of viewing a classic 18th century painting. It never gets dull watching the absolute beauty of this film, and I personally marvelled at all the hard work that must have gone into making it.

The music is also wonderful, as Kubrick once again shows excellent taste in which music fits a particular scene. The film's opening scenes have gorgeous Irish folk music from The Chieftains, and its later passages are eloquently followed by the works of J.S. Bach and Vivaldi...and are repeated so often it's impossible for their concertos not to get stuck in your head!

The acting itself is above average, but somewhat mixed. Ryan O'Neal is adequate as Barry Lyndon, although his attempts at an Irish accent are so-so at best. He frequently fades into his SoCal drawl during the film. He manages to hold the film together, but he is not its strongest performer. Marisa Berenson (Lady Lyndon) isn't given much to do here, but she makes the most of her isolation and melancholy. The true stars are Leon Vitali (disgustingly weasely and sadly sympathetic as the adult Lord Bullingdon) and Murray Melvin (the cold, restrained Reverand Runt). Both actors steal every scene which features them. I got the feeling that Kubrick focused so much on the photography of "Barry Lyndon" that the film's acting suffered as a result. Maybe Kubrick wanted to illustrate the coldness of the British upper classes. If so, then mission accomplished.

Much has been noted of this film's "coldness" and much of it is deserved. Michael Hordern's narration helps explain the historical context to the viewer and gives a human perspective to things, but sometimes takes away from some of the film's drama. Despite the valid accusations of coldness, it should be noted that there is restrained passion here in certain scenes (especially between the young Redmond Barry and his first love, his cousin Nora Brady) and that you'll be hard-pressed to find ANY Kubrick film with large amounts of emotional warmth.

Another thing that merits mentioning is the film's pacing and length. It clocks in at 3 hours and 4 minutes, and the final climax between Barry Lyndon and Lord Bullingdon is UNBELIEVEABLY slow. I highly recommend taking a snack break or a quick walk during the film's intermission. If you're looking for fast-paced action, this is not the place to find it. However, if you are willing to be challenged and allow yourself to slowly follow the 18th century aristocratic pace of life, you will enjoy this film.

Perhaps ironically for such an ornate film, the DVD itself does not come with many frills aside from a theatrical trailer. No commentaries, no behind-the-scenes documentaries, no cast biographies.

Overall, "Barry Lyndon" is definitely quality viewing for the Stanley Kubrick enthusiast. This movie is decidedly NOT mainstream Hollywood fare, and is a challenging and beautiful examination of the mores and prejudices of 18th century European high society.