A Newbie's Take On BARRY LYNDON

BARRY LYNDON (DVD)

1975 / 184 min

Warner Bros

Available at www.MovieZyng.com

Review by Mr. Paws😺

Overshadowed by the 50th anniversary of Jaws, there are plenty of other classics celebrating the same milestone. One of them is Stanley Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon, which initially opened to mixed reviews but has grown in stature over the years. Many now consider it one of his masterpieces (at least visually).

As a longtime Kubrick fan, I’m almost ashamed to confess I never actually watched the film until now. I’ve seen most of his others multiple times, but simply never got around to this one. Part of the blame lies at the feet of MAD Magazine, which did a satire retitled “Borey Lyndon.” Not that I always based my viewing choices on what “The Usual Gang of Idiots” had to say about a particular film, but one of their running gags was how long and dull it was. And when you’re 13 years old, three-hour historical dramas ain’t exactly on your radar to begin with. 

But over time, I grew to appreciate and admire Kubrick’s style, even if I didn’t necessarily love every film. The likes of 2001, Dr. Strangelove and The Killing rank among my all-time favorites, but I consider The Shining and Full Metal Jacket to be a bit overpraised, feeling Kubrick’s penchant for meticulousness and wasn’t really conducive to certain stories. And while I certainly enjoy historical epics today, sometimes that 13-year-old MAD-reading self would rear his ugly head to suggest Barry Lyndon was probably one of those movies that’s more artistic than entertaining…kinda like the time my wife and I went to a Monet exhibit for a bit of culture, but I was checking my watch after twenty minutes (how many different pond pictures can one guy paint, anyway?). 

Still, I always meant to get around to seeing Barry Lyndon, even if out of a sense of obligation, and for no other reason than to than to scratch it off my List of Shame (classic movies I have never seen). So what better time than the film’s 50th anniversary? 

Dog is my co-pilot.

Ryan O’Neal plays the title character, a self-centered Irish rogue whose rise & fall in 18th Century high society is basis of the episodic narrative. At first, he’s known as Redmond Barry and flees his homeland after killing his lover/cousin’s beau in a duel. After being robbed of everything, Redmond ends up joining the British army during the Seven Years War, deserting, then being forced to join their allies, the Prussians. He’s ordered to earn the trust of Chevalier de Balibari, a nobleman/gambler suspected of being a spy. But the man turns out to be a fellow exiled Irishman. Together, they cheat their way from one card game to another across Europe.

Then he meets Lady Lyndon (Marissa Berenson), the wife of wealthy & ailing aristocrat Sir Charles Lyndon. Redmond hastens Charles’ death and marries her, taking the family name as his own, much to the chagrin of her son, Lord Bullingdon. Over the years, Redmond treats Lady Lyndon terribly, being openly unfaithful and lavishly spending the family fortune in an effort to increase his social standing. The only person he seems to care about - besides himself and his equally unscrupulous mother - is Bryon, the son he has with Lady Lyndon. However, his eventual downfall is brought on by overwhelming debts and publicly abusing Bullingdon, who later returns to demand satisfaction.

That’s the nutshell plot for a film that runs over three hours. Of course, there’s a lot more nuance and plenty of thematic elements, but my first takeaway was that Barry Lyndon is too long. The first half is sometimes so draggy (though always beautiful to look at) that I began to think MAD Magazine had it right all along. However, the more awful and cruel Redmond gets, the more interesting the film becomes. He’s such an irredeemable bastard that watching him suffer is very satisfying indeed. And that ain’t really a spoiler, kids. The voiceover narration informs us of Redmond's downfall long before it actually happens. Besides, there are plenty of other surprising story turns.

I’ve never been a big fan of Ryan O’Neal and tend to agree with some of the critics who say he's miscast. Still, playing the film’s only dynamic character, he does a adequate job carrying most of the movie’s weight on his shoulders. But I can't help but imagine if Redmond were played by someone like Edward Fox, who had just brilliantly displayed similarly calculating coldness in The Day of the Jackal. That’s probably a moot point since the obvious star of Barry Lyndon is Stanley Kubrick himself. His indelible stamp is all over this one, and as such, it’s impeccably crafted and aesthetically gorgeous. The narrative and tone are more benign than his most memorable films, but I enjoyed the story much more than I expected to.

This is a re-issue of a DVD first released in 1999. There are Blu-ray and 4K versions released by other labels (and with significant bonus material), but this one is a lot cheaper.