As a teen in 1975, this film knocked me down sideways. The cinematography, the history, the visuals - I was deemed a geek for loving this movie. I had amazing tastes. It is magnificent.
thats why i still love the old total war game. you could install marching songs. after that the best part of gameplay was just movig lineinfantry around and listen to the songs.
Definitely my favorite Kubrick film, followed by Dr. Strangelove. It’s a pity this didn’t win Best Picture, but it lost to One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest.
Anyone with an interest in history should see this movie. The attention to detail is incredible, and no expense and effort was too much to recreate the world of mid-18th century England.
@@christophernunn943 yes indeed. it is also a master class for costumes, which were real dresses, not simply stage costumes, they were designed and realised by the Swedish Ulla-Britt Söderlund and my fellow countrywoman Milena Canonero
The cinematography on this is so amazing I actually kept forgetting I was watching a modern movie and not a documentary because they didn't have motion picture film cameras back then.
Yes agreed, probably the most beautiful and gracefully made film of all time. In terms of class it is up there with 2001, and Clockwork Orange - oh, and Full Metal Jacket.
@@nessa3354 It's impossible to compare one Kubrick movie to another, they are that unique. Each one is like a painting hanging in a gallery, and in Lyndon's case, the entire movie is like wandering through a gallery.
The look on Capt John Quinn's face, right after he gives the "eyes right" command and tilts his head. Cracks me up every time, lol. Nice marching though.
I could watch this movie everyday for the rest of my life and never get tired of it. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. This masterpiece of ultra cinematic genius is worth unlimited words!
So true, the story arc of Barry in his youth being enamored with the 'glamour' of war, only to realize later that WAR is just misery, suffering, death and grief. Seeing the carnage and seeing your friends die strips all glory and glamour from the endeavor. When I was a young man, I was far more of a 'war hawk' than I am as an older man. I've seen the abject suffering of armed conflicts, though I still see the need for such things (like if one's country is being invaded, etc.). But War, like Cancer, sucks.
I love this clip! As a retired soldier and military historian with an 18th century focus, there is so much to like. I especially love the way the drums "thunder" and not just "rattle" (like in so many movies and TV shows). Yes, I know there are some historical inaccuracies: it looks like two companies marching with a full regiment's complement of musicians, and the colors are reversed; but I still love it.
And I particularly love his next line: "None of you will be here, when this war ends. Everything we fought for, will be lost. Everything we loved, will be broken. The victors will be as cursed as the defeated. The world will grow old, and men will wonder about the lost ruins and go bad. Tradition, virtue, restraint - they all go. I'm not mourning for myself, but for the people who will come after me (...)"
Not to mention the final quote: "It was in the reign of George II that the above-named personages lived and quarrelled ; good or bad, handsome or ugly, rich or poor, they are all equal now”. It's an humility lesson - not to mention an harsh call to reality - that stays there to remind us that no matter whether we are a genius or a rogue, a success or a failure, we aren't going to dodge our final and common destiny.
Once upon a time, when I was a young MP, I stood tall around the reviewing stand when about 15,000 troopers of our division marched past, "Pass in Review". It was an impressive sight, of course! More importantly, the sense of being part of something that impressive was also very thrilling. Most of us never have that sense of being part of something much bigger and more important than ourselves. Doing so sometimes give a lot of purpose to life and also builds morale, community and dedication. These days, we are all so busy, Busy, BUSY with our own individual lives, we seem to have lost that sense of unity, focus, commitment and dedication to our nation and its' role in history; our destiny. Too bad! So sad!
I love the way that Redcoat turns his head to the side as he marches and fixes his gaze with all the pomp and ceremony of the British Empire. Such a twit. It calls attention to him just enough to lay the groundwork for what happens in later scenes. Brilliant.
Yes, he was quite good in this film! The only other movie I saw in which he was featured was in "2001: A Space Odyssey" when he played the role of a Russian scientist. Would love to see him in some other films!
I can imagine Kubrick saying to him "Leonard, can you dance?" Well, even though it was a simple one you could see he could. Also, his facial expression in the duel is acting of the highest calibre - he was also in 2001. I agree , one of Kubrick's best.
I watched this movie for the first time about a month ago. When I saw him, I had one of those "Wait, wait... I've seen this guy before" moments. I wouldn't let myself look it up. I figured it out in a few minutes. Yep, he was the Russian scientist in _2001: A Space Odyssey._ It was a short part and an understated character, but he did play it very well.
@@Astrobrant2 Leonard Rossiter played many classic parts in the theatre and was in many films. He also played the lead role in one of the UKs great sitcoms, Rising Damp - 1974 to 78. He also played La Petomane in a tv play in 1979 about a French theatre performer who could suck air into his anus and make all sorts of noises. He was a wild success. Both of these can be viewed on youtube. He was a very versatile actor.
@@Astrobrant2 He was also in a long running comedy TV series here in UK called Rising damp .I believe he was also a champion squash ball player in his social life .A great comedian sorely missed.
@@John-ob7dh I've never seen him in a comic role, but he does seem to have the features and mannerisms that would work well as a comedian. I can't say that about every actor I've seen. I can definitely picture him as being a Rowan Atkinson or John Cleese type.
From what I've read Kubrick took his inspiration from paintings of the time -- Gainsborough, etc. You can totally see it in most of the major set pieces.
Looking at the comments below.... Im not British but I love and admire the English Sarcasm and the beautiful, poetic and refined way to belittle other peoples.. Rule Britania!!!
It's a performance full of immersive feeling that people in this movie are likely to appear in front of me . From Tokyo of the Land of the Rising Sun 🇯🇵
@@duo496 Really ？ I think this flag is the Japanese Rising Sun's flag Thank-you Someday please visit Japan in spring The cherry blossoms in full bloom are beyond your imagination and beyond description . Be on the alert for Covid - 19
@@ibrijira4855 Thank-you so much to your fabulous comments Someday please come to Japan beyond description's Japanese delicious foods , immeasurable heartfelt hospitality and unfathomable amazing and marvellous things wait for you Good luck ！
@@abc64pan - Either he practiced a lot until he could do it with his eyes closed or he's a natural born dancer. Either possibility is beyond my capabilities.
Kubrick made an astonishing number of great films For those of you under 50 the ridiculous officer in this scene is the great comedy actor Leonard Rossiter who starred in a long-running brilliant comedy series Rising Damp it is still shown on British TV and is superior by miles to any modern Sitcom
Embarr He was also in "The Long Ships" as the Persian soldier who is catapulted onto a mechanism that slices him in two! This was to prove his loyalty! Just for the record, the book was better.
I had the wonderful experience of actually being an extra in the making of this film when it was being filmed around Bath, in England. I met Kubrick & Ryan O'Neill & Kurd Jurgens! Kubrick did all the filming personally, & only had a professional cameraman at hand to do the light readings! To watch Kubrick at close quarters was awesome! He was witty, funny and easy to talk to and was a genius! He was one of the first directors to pioneer the use of available natural light when others used the usual battery of floodlights!! O'Neill was also witty & his exchanges with Kubrick hilarious! With Jurgens, during a lunch break, I sat with him on a big woolsack & talked with him about his childhood in Berlin. I appear twice in the film - once as a Redcoat soldier, walking behind a wagon & a white bull, against the background of a blazing barn, and also in the closing scene as a tramp, limping across the road towards a half-timbered English inn, accompanied by my own Jack Russell dog, "Copper"!
@@stewartbloomfield8035 There was also a lady, Mary Husband, in charge of make-up, and I still see her name, appearing in the list of credits, in later films, in the same capacity. Also fascinating, & funny, was that during breaks, the "English" & "French" soldiers, all gathered in separate groups together, separated according, NOT by who they actually were but according to which UNIFORM they were wearing!! Reminded me of a social experiment, carried out at a large school some years ago, where half the kids were dressed in red T-shirts & the other half in white T-shirts! When break-time arrived, they were filmed from a helicopter, all the kids in red were all together in one crowd & those in white all together in another!! Only a very small minority group consisted of a few "reds" & "whites" mingling together!! Says something about human nature & herd behaviour!! By the way, Stew, what do the small case letters, before "crew" in your name mean? Best wishes, The Mouse!
Slight correction! I HAVE seen the name of Mary Husband in re-runs of "'Allo! Allo!!, but there she appears in the credits as "Costume", & is therefore responsible for the minute detailed accuracy of the German uniforms in that hilarious series!
Probably one of the only historical film to ever get the colour of the uniform correct . Redcoats they may have called them , but a really red coat was difficult and expensive to manufacture. The uniforms were always more of a brick red /orange colour.
Red coats Started with Cromwell. Red was the cheapest dye available at the time, probably Madder based (the dye colour depended on pH). The RAF got their shade of blue because the Tsar's men, for whom the cloth was made and dyed originally, had no use for it after 1917. Some things never change at "Mod".
One thing I love about Barry Lyndon is the discipline those people had in daily life back then. Kubrick was an extremely disciplined man, almost obsessively so, and I'm sure that attracted him to the story. Underneath the social niceties though, the people's behavior is pure animal, grasping for survival.
Leonard Rossiter was absolutely magnificent as the simpering captain was who was "killed" in a duel with Redmon Barry that essentially kicked off this adventure. "It was in the reign of George II. that the above-named personages lived and quarrelled ; good or bad, handsome or ugly, rich or poor, they are all equal now. "
Don't forget he was not killed .her relatives set it up with weak gunpowder because once she married him he would be on a captains pension and the family would be relatively well off for that time .They did not want to risk him getting killed by a itinerant Irish lad.
***** Not really I don't think. Guerrilla warfare hadn't really come around, and they still lined up against each other in open fields. Hard to shoot your own guys when facing the enemy. Because camouflage didn't exist or matter, they wore red for intimidation as far as I know
thinkpol Actually they wore red for camouflage lol. The idea was that if you saw a regiment of red coats coming over the hill or at a distance it would just be a blur of red, so the enemy can't make out individual soldiers and count how many men the British had.
@@biliminsrlar5752 no matter what religion they were all in the British army. The Catholic lads were the more courageous because they were of the true faith therefore gaurnteed to go to heaven.
