When I say the name Stanley Kubrick, I’m guessing the first images that spring to your mind are Jack Nicholson in The Shining, HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Vincent D’Onofrio sitting on the toilet in Full Metal Jacket. And, all of those are great! However, one movie that I feel not enough Kubrick fans talk about is 1975’s Barry Lyndon, which I think is secretly the director’s hidden gem.
In fact, when I ranked Kubrick’s best movies, I actually put Barry Lyndon above The Shining and Full Metal Jacket (though, not above 2001, as how can I rank anything above the greatest sci-fi movie of all time?) That’s because Barry Lyndon is totally unique in Kubrick’s filmography.
It’s a war movie, an adventure story, and a period piece, all rolled up into one. So, here are some more reasons why Barry Lyndon is Kubrick’s underappreciated masterpiece.
First Of All, Barry Lyndon Might Be The Most Aesthetically Beautiful Film You Will Ever Watch
Not too long ago, I wrote an article focused on books about filmmaking. Well, on that list, I mentioned a book titled Every Frame a Rembrandt: Art and Practice of Cinematography by Andrew Laszlo, and I think that’s every cinematographer’s goal – to create a work of art with every shot.
Well, while I think very few films accomplish this feat, Barry Lyndon is the exception. Frequent Kubrick collaborator, John Alcott (who won an Oscar for his cinematography), really knocked it out of the park with this one. To say it looks like a painting at times is an understatement, as some of the settings are literally based around artist William Hogarth’s paintings.
Most of the movie uses natural light for the outdoor scenes and candlelight for the indoor scenes. Even though the film came out in 1975, I’d argue that it looks better than any film in the modern era. This is because Kubrick cared about that sort of thing. When he employed Alcott, I’m sure he made it clear that he wanted this movie to look as beautiful as possible, and Alcott delivered.
Barry Lyndon may be considered “slow,” or even “boring,” but I don’t think anybody can deny its beauty. It’s a true work of art.
And The Score Perfectly Compliments What’s Happening On Screen
I’ve already complimented the visuals for this masterpiece, but now I have to gush over the score, as it’s utterly transcendent. In fact, this is the movie that truly got me into Mozart (and not, you know, the actual movie, Amadeus, which is still one of the best music movies of all time).
That’s because all of the classical music fits. I’m talking about compositions by Bach, Schubert, and Handel, just to name a few. Because that’s the thing about classical music. It feels old (classic, as it were), and it should. But, by being classical, it used to be hard for me to get into since I couldn’t put myself in that headspace.
However, Barry Lyndon transports me to that place, as the events happening on screen feel like they warrant these lavish songs. And, similar to how Barry Lyndon won an Oscar for its cinematography, it also won for Best Original Song Score, which feels highly justified if you ask me.
Honestly, Kubrick is known for using music in key moments of his films, such as “Also sprach Zarathustra” in 2001, and “Singin’ in the Rain” in A Clockwork Orange, but I truly feel like Barry Lyndon has the best overall score of all of his movies, and I will die on that hill.
Barry Lyndon Himself Is One Of Kubrick’s Most Fascinating Protagonists
It’s interesting how I’ve discussed the visuals and the music so far, but I haven’t even discussed the story yet, which just goes to show how much the entire package is important to Barry Lyndon. Well, this is actually one of Kubrick’s most interesting stories, too, as it contains one of his most interesting protagonists.
The movie itself is based on the 1844 novel, The Luck of Barry Lyndon, by William Makepeace Thackeray, and it features a true rogue of a character in Lyndon, portrayed by Ryan O’Neal. You see, Lyndon is actually not Barry’s last name. Instead, he inherits the name when he marries a rich woman who soon becomes widowed. It is here that Barry climbs the social ladder until his ultimate downfall.
But, I’m getting ahead of myself, since that’s Part II of this epic film, as in Part I, Barry fights in a fake duel, gets enlisted in the military, and begins to transform into the gold-digging scoundrel that he would eventually become. Barry is actually quite likable at first before he turns into a quite unlikeable fellow later.
All throughout, Barry becomes a true knave, and it goes from the point that you genuinely like him as a character, to genuinely not liking him all throughout the film’s 3 hours and five minute runtime. Oh, and speaking of which…
It’s A Period Piece That Doesn’t Feel Old-Fashioned
We once wrote an article about period pieces that actually aren’t boring…and Barry Lyndon wasn’t on that list. That’s because Barry Lyndon is notorious for being boring. In fact, when I once asked my favorite college teacher, Professor Miller, what his favorite Stanley Kubrick movie was, I was appalled when he told me it was Barry Lyndon.
Because, as I’ve been a Kubrick fan ever since high school, I had watched Barry Lyndon back then…and I HATED IT. But, much like Prof. Miller had been right about Kill Bill Vol. 2 being better than Vol. 1 (it is!), I realized that he was also right about Barry Lyndon’s greatness. I just had to mature a little bit.
Now, I know a lot of people feel movies are way too long these days (I mean, I personally prefer shorter films to longer ones myself), but I think the length of this particular period piece fits, as this movie feels both epic and also incredibly modern, despite its length.
I think it’s probably due to Thackeray’s novel, as Barry Lyndon himself feels like a modern protagonist. He’s a man, but he’s also a gold digger. He’d prefer to stop adventuring and just settle down on a rich woman’s money, which makes this period piece feel anything but old-fashioned. It just takes a long time to get Barry Lyndon to that point. But trust me, once you do, it’s worth the wait, which brings me to my last point.
In The End, Barry Lyndon Is A Classic Kubrick Picture That Often Gets Overlooked
A lot of people think of Kubrick as a war movie director since he made two of the greatest war movies of all time with Paths of Glory and Full Metal Jacket…but they don’t bring up Barry Lyndon.
People also think of Kubrick as a director of troubled male characters because he directed A Clockwork Orange and The Shining…but they don’t bring up Barry Lyndon.
People even like to bring up how Kubrick directed epic films because he did Spartacus, and 2001…but they don’t bring up Barry Lyndon! My point is, Kubrick made a lot of great films, but Barry Lyndon is often the one that gets overlooked, and it shouldn’t because it’s honestly one of his very best films.
So, if you should decide to do a Kubrick marathon, don’t groan at the prospect of rewatching Barry Lyndon. Give it another shot. I did, and now it’s one of my favorites of his!