The hours fly by...

Rating: Null/10 (16 October 2004)

I just watched Barry Lyndon on cable; this was my first viewing and made me wish I could have seen it on big screen just to enjoy the beauty of the shots. Those who complain about the pace of this film have no doubt never read a novel by Thackeray, Dickens, or Trollope. Kubrick is true to the pacing and style of these works. I wasn't sure if I could put up with 3 hours of Ryan O'Neal pretending to be Irish (recalling Kevin Costner in ROBIN HOOD), but as someone else has mentioned, O'Neal and the rest of the cast are carried along by the beauty of the film. But to be fair, he wasn't half bad, and the rest of the cast was superb. Kubrick masterfully makes us believe that we really are in 18th century Europe, full of beautiful landscapes and majestic buildings. This gorgeous film almost atones for the self-indulgent wallowing of CLOCKWORK ORANGE. And the classical score performed by "real" ensembles stands up much better over time than Walter/Wendy Carlos's dated synth adaptations from ORANGE.