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Barry Lyndon (1975) Perhaps Stanley Kubrick's most underrated film, Barry Lyndon - adapted
from the picaresque novel by William Makepeace Thackeray - inhabits
the 18th Century in the way A
Clockwork Orange and 2001:
A Space Odyssey inhabit the future, with perfect sets, costumes
and cinematography trapping characters whose rises and falls are at
once deeply tragic and absurdly comical. Narrated in avuncular form
by Michael Hordern, the film follows the fortunes of Redmond Barry (Ryan
O'Neal), a handsome Irish youth forced to flee his home-town after a
duel with a cowardly English officer (Leonard Rossiter). Stripped of
his small fortune by a deferential highwayman, Barry joins the British
army and fights in the Seven Years War, attempting a desertion that
leads him into the Prussian army. A position as a spy on an exqusitely
painted con-man (Patrick Magee) leads to a life of gambling around the
courts of Europe, and just before the intermission our hero achieves
all he could want by marrying a wealthy, titled beautiful widow (Marisa
Berenson). However, Part Two reveals that Barry can no more be a clockwork
orange than the protagonist of Kubrick's previous film, and his spendthrift
ways, foolhardy pursuit of social advancement and unwise treatment of
his new family lead to several disasters, climaxing in another horrific,
yet farcical duel. Shot almost entirely in the 'magic hour', that point
of the day when the light is mistily perfect, with innovative use of
candlelight for interiors, Barry Lyndon looks ravishing, but the perfection
of its images is matched by the inner turmoil of its seemingly frozen
characters. Kubrick is often accused of being unemotional, but his restraint
is all the more affecting, as when Barry is struck by the deaths of
those close to him, his wife writhes into madness or his stepson (Leon
Vitali) vomits before he can stand his ground in a duel. First Published On: Amazon.co.uk Visit Kim's Official Website at www.johnnyalucard.com
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