Possibly the most beautiful movie ever shot

Rating: 10/10 (22 August 2013)

Although this movie came out in 1975, I didn't get around to it until about 2003, when I acquired the Stanley Kubrick box set. That's what happens when you listen to critics. The so-called "experts" panned this movie when it came out, probably because it was not 2001 or A Clockwork Orange or Dr. Strangelove. So the story isn't groundbreaking, so what. Its a great story, set in a great period and it is lovingly told by Kubrick. What was and is groundbreaking about Barry Lyndon was the cinematography. The whole movie was shot in natural light-a monumental achievement when you think about it. All of the nighttime scenes were shot by candlelight and it puts you right there in the 1760's. I can think of no other period piece movie that conveys the pre-electricity age so accurately-just one of the many reasons why this movie won so many awards, including the Oscar, for Cinematography. Filming at picturesque locales in Ireland, England and Germany didn't hurt, either. You just can't stop watching this movie.
Kubrick continued his fabulous use of Classical music to enhance the action on screen in Barry Lyndon. No synthesizers here-only music faithful to the era performed on instruments that were in use at the time. Gorgeous cinematography...gorgeous music. The result is sublime. They don't make 'em like this anymore.