Classic costume epic may be Kubrick's masterpeice

Rating: 10/10 (15 February 2003)

Kubrick at his very best, in a ponderous film about a less than heroic main character, Lyndon, who lets no human values get in the way of his quest for power and wealth. The film doesn't let us simply dismiss the often unpleasant (to say the least) Barry, however, forcing us to sympathize with his dreams and the sadly human means he uses to find his personal immortality through the acquisition of titled nobility for himself and his progeny. Kubrick almost lets his glorious picture of the period overpower the characters, but it is plausible that this was his goal. A very adult period peice that blows away all Hollywood epics before and since, and pointed the way for James Ivory's superior efforts along the same lines.