BillW

I have only seen the full-length 280-minute "trilogy" version of this film (at the 2001 USA Film Festival in Dallas), and I honestly cannot identify any sequences that could be cut without seriously compromising the flow of the story.

This film works so well on so many different levels -- an adventure, a love story, a question of ethics and technology, life and death, love and family, but mostly it explores the question, "how far must we travel (or how long must we sit in the theater) to find that which we seek, and what exactly is it we're seeking anyway"?

Yes, 4-1/2 hours is a long time to sit still (although, with two intermissions it's not all that bad), but for those of us who enjoy a good film that's not made from a pat formula of committee-designed ingredients in strictly regulated proportions, it's worth every minute.

A love story about two people (James Earl Jones and Lynn Redgrave) who end up in the same boarding house (run by Margot Kidder in one of her best performances ever), after being rejected by society and the people whom they have counted on for support. As they fall in love they have to deal with the unusual ways that each of them have created purpose for themselves--the very reasons society has rejected them--while also facing their prejudices about age, race, and sex.

I saw this film at the 2000 USA Film Festival and thoroughly enjoyed it. All the performances are first-rate, as is the cinematography, the script and the music.

This film is unlikely to get wide distribution, due to the fact that it does not feature wet teenagers or loud rock-and-roll, but if you do get the opportunity to see it, do. You'll be glad you did.

Perhaps the greatest film ever made, Barry Lyndon defies description in the usual sense that one may describe a film. That is, the plot is not really a plot; the cinematography is unlike anything you've ever seen; the music (arranged and conducted by Leonard Rosenman) is entirely authentic to the period; and the performances, especially that of Ryan O'Neal, set a mood rather than tell a story. (The fact that Mr. O'Neal was willing to turn in such an innocuous performance at the pinnacle of his career speaks volumes for the star's character.)

The point of this film is not in the script, it's in the overall experience. If you try to view it as a movie, it will fail you (or rather the other way around). But if you approach it as a work of art-- a wonderfully detailed painting combined with a fantastic symphony, you will enjoy it immensely.

As with all of Kubrick's films, don't expect entertainment. This is art. That is why it gets such wildly mixed reviews. Where most of today's filmed entertainment is the cinematic equivalent of rock-n-roll, Kubrick's films are mostly waltzes. If you go into them expecting a patient, moving experience you will enjoy them tremendously; and this one above all.

Barry Lyndon is the definition of the Art of Film. The world of film is far poorer for the loss of Stanley Kubrick.