Review of Barry Lyndon (1975) by Helen L — 28 Sep 2010

A classic Rise-and-Fall story, but there were many great elements that transformed this film from "conventional" into truly "original".

1- The Amazing Cinematography: there is always a visual breakthrough in Kubrick's films but none so innovative as shooting a considerable number of shots without the use of electric light. Under the supervision of John Alcott, Kubrick fed heavily on his surroundings' natural lighting, which resulted in stellar, painting-like imagery. However, while this was easy with exterior shots, it was near impossible in the interior shots that were so densly furnished. Thus, after experimenting with different combinations of lenses and film stock, he finally got hold of "super-fast 50mm" F/0.70 lenses "developed by Zeiss for use by NASA in the Apollo moon landings. These super-fast lenses "with their huge aperture and fixed focal length allowed Kubrick and Alcott to shoot scenes lit with actual candles to an average lighting volume of only three candlepower "recreating the huddle and glow of a pre-electrical age.

2- The Brilliant Cast: while I'm not so fond of Ryan O'Neal, I do think that he was perfect as the title character and he managed to hold his own against some very fine actors and actresses who made a great ensemble.

3- The Powerful Music: despite the fact that there is no original score to the film, Kubrick resorted to some of the finest classical pieces by Composers such as Bach, Motzart, Schubert and Vivaldi to set the mood for the film, in addition to using some great traditional Irish Folk music.

The narration and the duration of the film are my only two reservations about the film, but overall, I cannot help but appreciate how Kubrick's creative and meticulous eye as a photographer served him very well here.