Barry Lyndon
1975
*****
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Cast: Ryan O'Neal, Marisa Berenson, Patrick Magee, Steven Berkoff, Hardy Krüger, Gay Hamilton, Godfrey Quigley, Leonard Rossiter, Leon Vitali
In the 1750s, a young Irishman named Redmond Barry is forced to flee his home. As he strives to climb the social ladder of 18th-century Europe, he stumbles from one circumstance to the next, guided as much by his cunning and ambition as by forces beyond his control. Every step toward wealth, social status, and happiness seems to be a trap laid by destiny. Stanley Kubrick's long, sprawling, yet majestic period epic is one of the most visually stunning films ever made. Any of its exterior shots could be hung on a wall as a painting. For interior scenes, Kubrick employed innovative techniques to capture images in low light. This masterful fusion of storytelling, impeccable visuals, and stunning classical music won Academy Awards for cinematography, art direction, costume design, and score. Based on William Makepeace Thackeray's 1844 novel The Luck of Barry Lyndon.
