Review of Barry Lyndon (1975) by Peter A — 03 Jul 2011
Barry Lyndon is, without question, the most beautiful film I've ever seen. It's like three hours worth of 18th century British painting. When I first saw Barry in a "proper" cinema in Philadelphia back in 1975, I was hooked from the opening shot. Perfect composition and framing, natural lighting, incredible depth of field, and appropriately- threatening thunder clouds all told me I was about to watch a visual masterpiece.
The candlelit scene is legendary. According to cinematographer John Alcott (who won the Oscar for Barry Lyndon), Kubrick himself discovered the ultra-fast lenses that were needed to shoot this scene. The lenses were 50mm f/0.7 Zeiss still-camera lenses that were made for NASA's Apollo program.
My only complain is with Kubrick, no Barry Lyndon per se. I just wish Kubrick had as much appreciation for stunning sound as he did for the images.
One of my favorite movies of all time.
This review of Barry Lyndon (1975) was written by Peter A on 03 Jul 2011.
Barry Lyndon has generally received very positive reviews.
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