Second Best of '75

Rating: 10/10 (20 June 2004)

Second only to Jaws, Barry Lyndon is the story of an Irish rogue who's determined to get to the top of the social ladder any way he can. He'll lie, cheat, steal, and kill, but he always has time for women. A movie like this seems like it would be for anyone, but the 18th century setting and the three hour running time seem to put everyone off.
Well, I'm here to tell you that it's not the movie you think it would be. The poster, which is one of my all time favorites, sums the film up brilliantly. Fighting and loving is what a man does best and that's what life seems to always end up being.
Barry Lyndon is Kubrick's greatest film. The Art-Direction and Costumes are spectacular and they both deservedly won Oscars. The director captures that era brilliantly and does it with what seems like such ease. The battlefields are perfect and the everything is done for a reason. Kubrick even waited until the clouds in the sky were just how he wanted them before he started shooting a scene.
And it never gets slow at all. Despite the long running time, it will always interest you to find out what Barry will try to do next. Which means that Kubrick has directed it in such a way that it's not like most other long films.
The acting by Ryan O'Neal is the best of that year. It's a shame that he wasn't recognized by the Academy for a nomination. He truly deserved one, and not without the help of Kubrick.
Stanley Kubrick deserved his long overdue Best Director award that year for the time and effort he put in to creating this masterpiece. It also won Oscars for Cinematography and Adaptation Score. It's one of the best films of the '70s and one of the best films of all time. It's also definitely the best thing Kubrick has ever done.