Actor Ryan O'Neal remembers the colorful production of "Barry Lyndon" at "An Academy Salute to Stanley Kubrick" with host Malcolm McDowell on November 7, 2012 at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater.
Barry Lyndon was a series of Oil Paintings strung together into a movie. Each frame viewed individually is a period oil painting. Brilliant beyond belief. Stanley was in a league of his own.
At the time of its commercial release in 1975, Barry Lyndon was not a financial success, and some critics found it ponderous and slow moving. However, with the passage of time, the film looks more impressive than ever. It is unquestionably O'Neal's best performance and the direction and cinematography is superb.
This happened with many of Kubrick's films. After he'd made a couple of acclaimed , successful films, there would be this enormous anticipation while he made the next film. Then, when the new film was released, there would be this chorus of disappointment. It was not as great as his previous films. Then, time would pass, and then the film would be a lot more acclaimed once everyone else caught up with his vision. Then, the same thing would happen the next time. "2001" was seen as weird and plotless and slow initially, "Clockwork" was seen as depraved and sick and controversial, "Barry Lyndon" was slow and overlong and bloated, "The Shining" was seen as outright terrible and unfaithful to the novel, "Jacket" was an inferior Vietnam movie among a slew of Vietnam movies at the time, and finally, "Eyes Wide Shut" was seen as simply his final, and worst, film. Today, ALL of these films are seen as great films. Masterpieces. Even "Eyes" is finally catching up and developing a following in recent years. These are all seen as being among the greatest films of all time, now. many classics down through the ages experienced this same thing. Welles' "Citizen Kane" and "Touch of Evil" are good examples. Hitchcock's "Vertigo" was baffling to 1958 audiences. This seems to happen a lot with Scorsese, too. His past films are so acclaimed, but then each new one is highly anticipated, then quickly brushed aside, only to find a huge appreciation later. I wonder will his masterpiece "Silence" be considered one of the great films a few years from now? Long after "La La Land" and the like is long forgotten.
@@dkelly26666 I have to agree with you in that Silence is a great movie, however underrated. I had read many bad reviews about the film through the years, and I wasn't able to go to see it in the theatre at the time of its release. So, about 5 months ago I saw the movie on cable TV at last. I got instantly hooked by the story of the two struggling Jesuits in medieval Japan searching for their fellow brother Cristovao Ferreira, at a time when being a Christian in that country was punished with death. Aside of the fascinating plot, based on real facts, the cinematography and acting are topnotch, which makes the movie truly worth seeing.
Barry Lyndon is in fact an underrated masterpiece. For all the great achievements from a cinematic standpoint, for me it was always about a man ahead of his time, a man born in the wrong era; this passionate being, a misunderstood romantic, clashing with the conventions of a classical society.
python7275 barry lyndon for me was saying no matter how much wealth you have, we are all equal in the end. like the epilogue says: It was in the reign of George III that the aforesaid personages lived and quarrelled; good or bad, handsome or ugly, rich or poor, they are all equal now.
@@Wilantonjakov Blue Velvet?! Not to assault your tastes, but I'm quite surprised to find someone who ranks that higher (or as high) as Godfather and Barry Lyndon...
@@shanegreen1677 Why might that be? In which way do you consider it to be inferior? I consider it to be one of the greatest examples of film noir cinema, and definitely deserving of a top five. After seeing 2001 and Barry Lyndon again, I would probably rate Blue Velvet a little lower, behind all three of the aforementioned.
@@shanegreen1677 Hang on. sorry, I meant Mulholland Drive. Always used to get the two mixed up because I believe both are film noir and share many dream-like states. I always thought Mulholland Drive was one of my favourites, Blue Velvet never left as much of an impression on me. Still a great film though If I recall correctly.
O'Neal is a great storyteller. He was perfect for the role and I can't imagine another actor playing it. The guy's masculine and emotes feminine. Might be good to note he's had stage 4 leukemia for years so those of you who are taking shots at his looks should realize cancer medications often result in weight gain.
It’s amazing how the very character of Barry Lyndon seems to rear his head in his voice every now and then, or perhaps Barry was just well… Ryan Rest easy, you gave the world a great deal of art in your life which will continue to amaze
Barry Lyndon is my favorite movie, at first i didn't know why, but every time i watch it again or think about it, then i know. Cinematography is amazing. And then, content wise, the rise and fall of somebody... Superb!
Love the film and its fidelity to Thackeray's gift through the narrator. Ryan O'Neal embodies the central character just as the film as a cinematic whole captures the times. I recall seeing it in the theatre as a young filmgoer and being thrilled by it then. Perceived as too plodding for the commercial viewer at the time.With each subsequent viewing, I appreciate more.
My favorite scene/shot is when hes reading to his younger son next to that humongous painting. the scene starts tight, making it feel like an intimate moment between father and son. cut to a damn near long shot of the room their in. GIANT PAINTING, giant sofa that almost seems to spew out a giant carpet. Efective yet, BEAUTIFUL!
7 years late to comment, but I agree. The room they are in is called “the Double Cube Room”; which was decorated in 1650 (all original furniture too), and can be found in Wilton House (South-West England). Very popular as a filming location and connects to a couple of other rooms of the same style, such as the “Single Cube Room” from the 1630s.
my favorite films of all time are Elem Klimov's Come and See and Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker and Federico Fellini's Amarcord.
I love that SK used special lenses from NASA to film the movie completely in natural light and/or candlelight. I also love how many of the film's establishing shots looked just like 18th Century paintings. Complete with random dogs running around European courtesans in fancy gardens.
Ok, reading a lot of the comments. Hey, hate to say it, it is SK's most under-rated film. Over all it was panned by the critics, too long, too slow...bla blabla!! Now it is a masterpiece on many critics top lists. And you know what, yes Warners demanded a bankable star, but let's face Ryan O'Neal was wonderful, so let's forget that criticism.
Visually beautiful Barry Lyndon is an easy slow moving luxurious ride back into time It’s gorgeous Ryan O Neal was gorgeous So many great scenes and of course it’s well known the lighting was heavenly
I can't imagine all the hard work O'Neal had to do to get where he did. He did the soap opera Peyton Place in the 60s for 5 yrs before he started to rise in the Hollywood film industry. He earned his status. Nobody handed him anything.
Few people actually know the effort Kubrick put into this movie. The candle lit scenes used special highly volatile candles that had three wicks, to provide more light. That's why the candles on the tables lighting the actors faces were so bright. He used a custom Carl Zeiss lens that was incredibly fast ( f/0.7!) and that was designed to allow Apollo astronauts to take pictures of the dark side of the Moon from orbit. The lens wouldn't fit Kubrick's movie camera, so at great expense, he had a movie camera specially modified to use just this lens. If you ever go to to Kubrick exposition, and if that lens is on display, it's like a magnet for anyone involved in cinematography.
Hmm, so that's how he did it. Color film needs alot of light, so to film those low lighting scenes took extra care and effort. It was a genius move on Kubrick's part.
Ryan O'Neal is dreamy in this picture, he's a visual god... he is as desirable as every stunning landscape seen in this movie. His rage and his misery are classic.
I bought an issue of Mad Magazine when I was under ten and they had a pastiche called 'Borey Lyndon’ which biased me against this film for years until I saw it.
Barry Lyndon is an extraordinary film if you see it in a theatre - does not play at all well on the home screen. O'Neal is terrific in it however - by far any away his best screen work.
O'Neal had a pained, sorrowful demeanor in later life. He's interviewed in the documentary Filmworker about Leon Vitali (Kubrick's assistant and acgor in Barry Lyndon) and seemed legitimately upset at having to hit Vitali in a scene in Lyndon
such an amazing film, only kubrick could accomplish such things, O'neal named his kid redman after his character, but he did hit on his daughter at his ex-wifes funeral lol
Cor Tadew Well when I think of the best, I'm thinking about the films that speak to me more than any other. I don't believe in objectivity when it comes to art. But even with that thought in mind, I don't think I can definitively pick one film which I rate above all others. But here are a few of my favourites, in chronological order - - Chimes at Midnight (1964) - Welles - Andrei Rublev (1966) - Tarkovsky - Blowup (1966) - Antonioni - Persona (1966) - Bergman - Scenes from a Marriage (1974) - Bergman - Barry Lyndon (1975) - Kubrick - Providence (1977) - Resnais - Satantango (1994) - Bela Tarr - Yi Yi (2000) - Yang - A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) - Spielberg - A New World (2005) - Malick There are several other films that I could add to that list but I think these are the ones that I keep coming back to.
Nameless Paladin Yeah I agree, I believe some films click in deepest bottom of the mind for some people depending on the way they are interpreting the experience. That's why top polls don't work for me because they are based on way too many factors which people will never come to an agreement.
Nameless Paladin I always like to read your comments they are so insightful and smart 😀, Are you a film critic by the way? it's hard to find people like you on RU-vid's comment section.
National Lampoon Radio Show did a funny bit about a theater showing the doc "The Life & Career Of Ryan O'Neal". Screenings start at 4:15pm, 4:19pm, 4:23pm, 4:27pm, 4:31pm - and on and on..(Back in the days when a theater was just A theater, and not these googooplexes of closets) But I always thought Ryan got the short end of the stick out of his career. He has the likability of Jeff Bridges, and the fearful intensity of Nick Nolte - and only Stanley could bring that out in Barry Lyndon. If anyone could have been as scary or scarier in The Shining, it'd be Ryan O'Neal. Just a shame all other directors felt intimidated or strained by him. Stanley obviously wanted him to work - and got him to work! Wish other directors had the balls Stanley had.
Only Barry Lyndon, Citizen Kane, and 2001: A Space Odyssey are perfect art creations on the same level as Michelangelo's Alter Wall. or Leonardo's Lady With An Ermine.
I think the first half of Barry Lyndon may be Kubrick's best work if his career. The second half is just so damn depressing to me. It takes the joy out of watching the film. The downfall of Barry, even though he was a scoundrel, is painful to see.
"Barry Lyndon" directed by Kubrick, and starring Ryan O'Neal, was a beautifully made and acted film that contained O"Neal's best performance as an actor, far superior to "Love Story". the film, which recently became available on bluray, is exquisitely shot, whith extraordinary attention to detail. The film's commercial failure did irreperable damage to O'Neal's career, without justification. "Paths Of Glory" "Dr. Strangelove" and "The Shining" are, in my view, Kubrick's best directorial work.
Hardy Gruger had come a long way. He was a youth in a German SS unit during WW2, and by fate, what have you, he was able to become a successful Hollywood actor, and live a long life up to his 90s.
Ryan Oneil was a very good amateur boxer before he was a actor and could have been a pro fighter. That fight scene with the big bully was great Oneil was hitting him with some very nice combinations and sold those shots well.
There are three movies you can arrive in the middle of and still feel you have an entire m9vie 3xperience ahead of you 1. Lawrence of Arabia 2.Barry Lyndon 3.Goodfellas You can catch the last 10 minutes and never feel you missed out.
Determinism vs freewill or the illusion of the latter. All addressed by architecture, by the structure and cinematography of the film.. wow! Like Igor Stravinsky really. An anti-subjective philosophical inquirey disguised as a cinematic masterpiece which it is.
