Barry Lyndon (1975)

An Irish rogue wins the heart of a rich widow and assumes her dead husband's position in 18th Century aristocracy.

Director:

Stanley Kubrick

Writers:

Stanley Kubrick (written for the screen by), William Makepeace Thackeray (novel)

Stars:

Ryan O'Neal, Marisa Berenson, Patrick Magee

Top 250 #209 | Won 4 Oscars. Another 15 wins & 11 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ryan O'Neal	...	Barry Lyndon
Marisa Berenson	...	Lady Honoria Lyndon
Patrick Magee	...	Chevalier de Balibari
Hardy Krüger	...	Captain Potzdorf (as Hardy Kruger)
Steven Berkoff	...	Lord Ludd
Gay Hamilton	...	Nora Brady
Marie Kean	...	Barry's Mother
Diana Körner	...	Lischen (as Diana Koerner)
Murray Melvin	...	Reverend Samuel Runt
Frank Middlemass	...	Sir Charles Lyndon
André Morell	...	Lord Gustavus Adolphus Wendover (as Andre Morell)
Arthur O'Sullivan	...	Captain Feeny, the Highwayman
Godfrey Quigley	...	Captain Grogan
Leonard Rossiter	...	Captain John Quin
Philip Stone	...	Graham

Storyline

In the Eighteenth Century, in a small village in Ireland, Redmond Barry is a young farm boy in love of his cousin Nora Brady. When Nora engages to the British Captain John Quin, Barry challenges him for a duel of pistols. He wins and escapes to Dublin, but is robbed on the road. Without any other alternative, Barry joins the British Army to fight in the Seven Years War. He deserts and is forced to join the Prussian Army, saving the life of his captain and becoming his protégé and spy of the Irish gambler Chevalier de Balibari. He helps Chevalier and becomes his associate until he decides to marry the wealthy Lady Lyndon. They move to England and Barry, in his obsession of nobility, dilapidates her fortune and makes a dangerous and revengeful enemy.

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Plot Keywords:

british army | irish | spy | england | 18th century | 

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Taglines:

At long last Redmond Barry became a gentleman -- and that was his tragedy.

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Romance | War

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English German French

Release Date:

18 December 1975 (USA)

Also Known As:

Beri Lindon

Filming Locations:

Royal Victoria Park, Bath, Somerset, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$11,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

SEK 2,016,185 (Sweden)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Peregrine, Hawk Films, Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

184 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

A myth grew that the Academy Award-winning costumes used in the film were genuine antique clothes, but this is only partly correct. Some of the costumes were genuine antiques bought at auction by costume designer Milena Canonero, while others were custom-made specifically for the film and were based on clothing of the period and costumes seen in period paintings.

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Goofs

A short scene where Barry is cutting firewood with an axe. The wood in the pile and the piece he is cutting all have cleanly sawed ends. If he had a saw, he would be using it, as an axe is a poor tool for cutting wood. Chopping and splitting, yes, but not cutting.

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Quotes

[first lines]
[two figures visible on the horizon prepare to duel. Three witnesses stand between them]
Second: Gentlemen, cock your pistols! Gentlemen...
Narrator: Barry's father...
Second: ...aim your pistols!
Narrator: ...had been bred, like many other young sons of a genteel family, to the profession of the law.
Second: One!
Narrator: And there is no doubt he would've...
Second: Two!
Narrator: ...made an eminent figure in his profession...
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in Rushmore (1998)

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Soundtracks

"PIANO TRIO IN E-FLAT, OP 100 (second movement)"
Composed by Franz Schubert
Piano: Anthony Goldstone
cello: Moray Welsh
violin: Ralph Holmes

User Reviews

A film so easily dismissed

In the midst of the many wonderful films made by Stanley Kubrick, it is strange to note how rarely people mention "Barry Lyndon".

The film portrays an unusual young Irish man, Redmond Barry, and his endeavours as he is forced to leave his home and tries to make good his life elsewhere. His life away from home starts out as a career in the British Army; only to evolve in surprising ways and lead to as different places as a position of trust within the Prussian Army and later a title of nobility, gained by what our time can only measure as rather disgraceful means.

Some consider Barry Lyndon a slow and tedious film – and it is in deed past three hours in length, but this is because of the artistic flow of a film that strays not only to tell a tale about a man who is by no means neither hero nor villain, but also a film which is in no hurry and takes the time for every detail to sink into the mind and heart of the viewer. Some of the scenic images in "Barry Lyndon" are in themselves pieces of art, rendered with a passion for the landscapes and the man-made structures within them.

The myth that all scenes were recorded using no artificial lighting no doubt stems from the very realistic lights during indoor takes, and some of them truly did not feature artificial light. This is but one of the many details that so easily conveys a sense of a realistic portray of the era; the 18th century and the time after the seven-year war in the later half of the century. The impressive atmosphere and the wonderfully picturesque scenarios along with the fact that the entire plot moves at a calm pace makes this film a very pleasant experience.

"Barry Lyndon is", amidst Kubricks' many masterpieces, a film so easily dismissed due to length and the fact that it is overshadowed by others, but I deeply recommend this film to anyone who would like to see a film both for the plot line, the story and the pure enjoyment of the images presented. Stanley Kubrick made many great films – and this one is most definitely one of them! KimotoCat