Barry Lyndon (1975)

An Irish rogue wins the heart of a rich widow and assumes her dead husband's aristocratic position in 18th-century England.

Director:

Stanley Kubrick

Writers:

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

Stars:

Ryan O'Neal, Marisa Berenson, Patrick Magee

Top Rated Movies #222 | Won 4 Oscars. Another 13 wins & 14 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ryan O'Neal	...	Barry Lyndon
Marisa Berenson	...	Lady Honoria Lyndon
Patrick Magee	...	The Chevalier du Balibari
Hardy Krüger	...	Capt. 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	...	Rev. Samuel Runt
Frank Middlemass	...	Sir Charles Lyndon
André Morell	...	Lord Gustavus Adolphus Wendover (as Andre Morell)
Arthur O'Sullivan	...	Capt. Feeny - the Highwayman
Godfrey Quigley	...	Capt. Grogan
Leonard Rossiter	...	Capt. 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 with his cousin Nora Brady. When Nora gets engaged to the British Captain John Quin, Barry challenges him to a duel of pistols. He wins and escapes to Dublin but is robbed on the road. Without an alternative, Barry joins the British Army to fight in the Seven Years War. He deserts and is forced to join the Prussian Army where he saves the life of his captain and becomes 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, dissipates her fortune and makes a dangerous and revengeful enemy.

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Plot Keywords:

highwayman | rise and fall | rural setting | wealth | england | 

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Taglines:

Great was his rise...And much greater his fall.

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | History | War

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English German French

Release Date:

18 December 1975 (USA)

Also Known As:

Baris Lindonas

Filming Locations:

Royal Victoria Park, Bath, Somerset, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$11,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$20,000,000, 31 December 1975

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$31,500,000, 31 December 1975

Company Credits

Production Co:

Peregrine, Hawk Films, Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

185 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor) Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Stanley Kubrick had initially been planning to make a film about Napoléon Bonaparte. As per his usual method, he and his team did years of meticulous research into the subject and the era (Kubrick himself had reportedly read a few hundred books on Napoleon), so much that during the lengthy pre-production period, the similarly-themed Waterloo (1970) had also started development. Kubrick was forced to abandon his Napoleon film when the studio chose to back out of the project, allegedly due to budget issues (contrary to popular believe, the commercial failure of Waterloo had nothing to do with this decision, as Kubrick and the studio had already parted ways even before Waterloo went in production). Kubrick decided to make A Clockwork Orange (1971) instead, but continued his search for a story set in the 18th century afterwards, as it would allow him to use the copious period research done for his canceled Napoleon project. After considering and rejecting several of them, his eye finally fell on the story of Barry Lyndon by William Makepeace Thackeray.

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Goofs

When Capt. Potsdorf first encounters the so-called Lt. Fakenham, in most instances the former refers to the latter using the British pronunciation ("lef-ten'int"); but on at least one occasion he uses the American pronunciation ("loo-ten'int").

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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 Video Nasties: Moral Panic, Censorship & Videotape (2010)

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Soundtracks

THE SEA MAIDEN
Traditional
Performed by The Chieftains

User Reviews

Great Paintings Come To Life

Some movies - I wish there were more of them - simply look like a series of great paintings. This film has that look. You could freeze-frame many of the scenes and swear you were looking at a Gainsborough, a Vermeer, a Hogarth or similar work of art by one the great artists of three to five centuries ago. It's just beautiful.

For that, we have Director Stanley Kubrick and Photographer John Alcott to thank. Being a three-hour movie, there are plenty of wonderful shots to admire, too. In addition, the costumes are lavish and authentic and the scoring is notable. It's no accident that Oscars were garnered for art/set direction, cinematography, costume design and scoring. Yeah, if you enjoy classical music, you'll really enjoy the soundtrack, too, under the guidance of conductor Leonard Roseman.

Not to be overlooked is the fine acting and the interesting and underrated story. I say "underrated" because this film, from what I've read, bored a lot of people and and it was a box-office flop. That's too bad because, frankly, I found the story (outside of the first 10--15 minutes) to be fascinating. As I watched, I kept wondering what strange occurrences will happen next to the lead character, "Redmond Barry/Barry Lyndon," played beautifully by Ryan O'Neal. (For most of the movie, he's called "Redmond Barry," so I will refer to him as that.)

Overall, this was a low-key adventure story about the rise-and-fall of a "scoundrel" back in late 18th century Englishman. "Mr. Barry" is an Irishmen living in England who winds up dealing with a number of people: Irish, English, Prussian, French. His dealings with these people are bizarre at times. While he mainly is shown doing what he can to promote himself, for either monetary gain and prestige of a name and power, he's not all bad. There is a compassionate side to him, but it only shows itself in small doses. It makes him all the more interesting to watch, because you don't always know how he's going to react to his circumstances, which change radically every few years.

We witness his rise to prominence and then his fall when his "sins begin to find him out," as the Bible would describe. It's quite a roller coaster ride.

This is an emotional, involving story, and a feast for the eyes and ears. It's quite different, too, certainly not the average fare from Kubrick. I can only hope this comes out on a high-definition disc some day. Admirers of this film need to see this in all its glory.