"I never saw a lad more game in me life."

Rating: 7/10 (1 December 2017)

Lavish period detail, gorgeous costuming and inspiring cinematography could do nothing for me when it actually came down to the story being told. Except that everything in the picture looked great, this is one of the most boring pictures I ever managed to sit through. One has to wonder whether Ryan O'Neal was miscast, simply bad in the role of Barry Lyndon, or directed to appear virtually clueless in most of his significant scenes. It's understood by this viewer that he was supposed to be a lout, but one didn't need three hours to figure it out. I'm trying hard to come up with something positive, realizing that I stand diametrically opposed to many critics and fans of Kubrick who have marvelous things to say about the film. So I'll just state it once again - it's got lavish period detail, gorgeous costuming and inspiring cinematography. For that, you could watch it with the sound turned off.