Barry Lyndon
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Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Stanley Kubrick
Ryan O'neal
Marisa Berenson
Patrick Magee
Liam Redmond
Murray Melvin
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
A gentlemanly rogue travels the battlefields and parlors of 18th century Europe determined to make for himself the life of a nobleman through seducing, gambling and fighting his way up the social ladder.
Director
![](https://prod-images.tcm.com/Master-Profile-Images/StanleyKubrick.jpg?imwidth=188&height=141)
Stanley Kubrick
Cast
![](https://prod-images.tcm.com/Master-Profile-Images/RyanOneal.jpg?imwidth=188&height=141)
Ryan O'neal
Marisa Berenson
![](https://prod-images.tcm.com/Master-Profile-Images/PatrickMagee.jpg?imwidth=188&height=141)
Patrick Magee
Liam Redmond
![](https://prod-images.tcm.com/Master-Profile-Images/MurrayMelvin.129670.2.jpg?imwidth=188&height=141)
Murray Melvin
![](https://prod-images.tcm.com/Master-Profile-Images/MichaelHordern.jpg?imwidth=188&height=141)
Michael Hordern
Pat Roach
Gay Hamilton
Anthony Dawes
![](https://prod-images.tcm.com/Master-Profile-Images/BarryJackson.93056.jpg?imwidth=188&height=141)
Barry Jackson
Roger Booth
Patrick Dawson
Andre Morrell
Anthony Herrick
Diana Koerner
Jonathan Cecil
Arthur O'sullivan
Ralph Holmes
John Sharp
Peter Cellier
Wolf Kahler
Anthony Sharp
Steven Berkoff
Leon Vitali
Hans Meyer
Leonard Rossiter
Godfrey Quigley
Ferdy Mayne
Harry Towb
Philip Stone
John Sullivan
Pat Laffan
Bernard Hepton
![](https://prod-images.tcm.com/Master-Profile-Images/HardyKruger.jpg?imwidth=188&height=141)
Hardy Kruger
Geoffrey Chater
Roy Spencer
Frank Middlemas
Billy Boyle
John Bindon
Dominic Savage
David Morley
George Sewell
Frederick Schiller
Marie Kean
Crew
Ken Adam
Margaret Adams
George Akers
John Alcott
John Alcott
Bob Anderson
Bill Aylmore
Johann Sebastian Bach
Ron Bareham
Gloria Barnes
Ron Beck
Bill Beecham
David Berglas
Lou Bogue
Alan Boyle
Ann Brodie
Bill Brodie
Milena Canonero
Patrick Carey
Jill Carpenter
Malcolm J Christopher
Terence Clegg
Brian Cook
Yvonne Coppard
Tony Cridlin
Gary Dahms
Yvonne Dahms
Barbara Dally
Norman Dickens
Richard Dicker
Vernon Dixon
Ken Dolbear
David Dowler
Jack Edwards
Andros Epaminondas
Pierre Fournier
Michael Fowlie
Laurie Frost
Don Geraghty
Anthony Goldstone
Robin Gregory
Carolyn Hall
George Frederick Handel
Jan Harlan
Rudolf Hertzog
Susie Hill
Rodney Holland
Dodo Humphreys
Joyce James
Peter Krook
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick
Tony Lawson
Joe Lee
James Liggat
Judy Lloyd-rogers
Douglas Milsome
John Mollo
Michael Molloy
Arthur Morgan
George Mossman
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Peter Munt
Cleo Nethersole
Maud Onslow
Loretta Ordewer
Giovanni Paisiello
Pat Pennelegion
Luke Quigley
June Randall
Leonard Rosenman
Leonard Rosenman
Leonard Rosenman
Willy Rothery
Bill Rowe
Roy Scammell
Jan Schlubach
Franz Schubert
Chris Seddon
Larry Smith
Ulla-britt Soederlund
Geraldine Stephenson
Michael Stevenson
Ron Taylor
William Makepeace Thackeray
David Tomblin
John Trehy
Douglas Twiddy
Antonio Vivaldi
Daphne Vollmer
Roy Walker
Terry Wells
Moray Welsh
Bernie Williams
Colin Wilson
Francis Wilson
Videos
Movie Clip
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Trailer
Hosted Intro
Film Details
Technical Specs
Award Wins
Set Decoration
Best Cinematography
Best Costume Design
Best Score
Award Nominations
Best Director
Best Picture
Best Writing, Screenplay
Articles
Barry Lyndon
Kubrick hoped to shoot the entire film in England, preferably within driving distance of his London home, but he didn't like the look of most period pieces, which were largely recreated on soundstages, and insisted upon shooting it entirely on location, exteriors and interiors alike. That was a challenge for production designer Ken Adam, who previously created the memorable sets of Dr. Strangelove (1964) for the director (as well as a number of James Bond films), and his crew had to expand their search and scout locations throughout England and Ireland. Kubrick was determined to avoid electrical lights, shooting it entirely by sunlight and, for the interiors, candlelight, to evoke the quality of 18th century paintings. However, the high-speed film of the seventies was unable to accommodate such low light. His answer was to use a camera lens that had been developed for the NASA Apollo program by the German Zeiss Company. In the documentary Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures Warner Bros. chairman John Calley reports that Kubrick bought the old BNC Mitchell cameras used for rear projection shooting, which had long since been replaced with a new process, from the studio in the early seventies. A few months later Calley was told by the Warner camera department that those cameras were irreplaceable, among the finest ever built. That was only one reason that Kubrick wanted them; they were also the only motion picture cameras that would (with a little reengineering) be able to mount the enormous Zeiss 50mm lens. According to Ed Di Giulio, who rebuilt the mounting plate on the camera, the fastest lens available to filmmakers today still doesn't match it. With such minimal light available, cinematographer John Alcott (who had shot A Clockwork Orange) had to open the lens up all the way, resulting in a shallow depth of field that captured both the light and the flatness of 18th century paintings.
For the leading role of poor-born Irishman Redmond Barry, according to biographer Vincent Lobrutto, Kubrick initially approached Robert Redford. When Redford dropped out Kubrick turned to Ryan O'Neal, who was best known for screwball comedies but was, in 1972, one of the top box office draws in the world. O'Neal wears an eternal expression of yearning sincerity as the country boy whose destiny turns him into a master cad without losing that wide-eyed look of pained, guileless innocence. For the Countess of Lyndon, who gives the upstart his social standing and new name, he cast model turned actress Marisa Berenson, who had been in Luchino Visconti's Death in Venice (1971) and Bob Fosse's Cabaret (1972). There was no screen test, she recalled later, and she knew little of the project beyond the era, but she agreed immediately. His only request: "He asked me to stay out of the sun," she said, to preserve her pale, ivory-like skin.
Many of the supporting roles were filled by performers with whom he had previously worked, including Patrick Magee and Steven Berkoff from A Clockwork Orange and Leonard Rossiter from 2001. Hardy Kruger was cast at the last minute, taking over the role of the Prussian officer Potzdorf from Oskar Werner (who Kubrick dismissed after three weeks), from a screen test filmed by proxy in Germany. Newcomer Leon Vitali, cast as the Barry's resentful stepson as a young man, became a close friend and valued collaborator. He went on to be Kubrick's personal assistant on The Shining (1980) and casting director on Full Metal Jacket (1987) and Eyes Wide Shut (1999).
Stanley Kubrick's agreement with Warner Bros. gave him complete creative control over his films and Warner Bros. co-chairmen John Calley and Terry Semel valued Kubrick so much that they agreed to finance the film for $2.5 million with only a bare outline of the story. Their only condition was that he sign a top box-office star for the lead, which O'Neal satisfied. Shy about publicity, given the furor over A Clockwork Orange, Kubrick kept details of the project under wraps and even changed the names of the characters in his initial treatment so the source novel (which at the time was very obscure) would not be recognized. The production, which Kubrick reluctantly moved to Ireland, started shooting in September 1973 and quickly ran over budget, due to poor weather, constant rewriting, and Kubrick's own perfectionist tendencies, routinely taking as many as 50 takes per scene. Exhaustion set in with the cast and crew and Kubrick reluctantly agreed to a Christmas break only after it became clear that the locations would not be available over the holidays. There was another stoppage after threats were made against Kubrick's life and the production relocated to England for the rest of the shoot. The production ultimately shot for 300 days over two years, the budget ballooned to over $11 million by the time it was over, and the finished film ran over three hours.
Apart from a few sympathetic critics (Roger Ebert and Time magazine's Richard Schickel were champions), American reviews were not kind to the film and many contemporary reviewers found it dull and plodding and pretentious. And while it was well received commercially and critically in Europe, it was a financial disappointment in the U.S. Fellow filmmakers, however, were impressed. It was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, and won four Oscars in all: for cinematography, art direction, costume design, and adapted score. In subsequent years, the film has been reassessed as one of Kubrick's finest achievements and it even placed on the top 100 films of all time in the most recent "Sight and Sound" critics poll.
Sources:
Stanley Kubrick , John Baxter. Carroll & Graf Publishers, 1997.
Stanley Kubrick: A Biography, Vincent LoBrutto. Donald I. Fine Books, 1997.
Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures, documentary directed by Jan Harlan. Warner Bros. Home Video, 2001.
IMDb
By Sean Axmaker
![Barry Lyndon](https://prod-images.tcm.com/img/film-participant-detail/Featured-Artilce_Placeholder.png)
Barry Lyndon
Quotes
It must be very danger for you, to be in the war.- German Girl
I'm an officer and must do my duty.- Redmond Barry
Excuse me, sir!- Redmond Barry
Good morning again, young sir!- Captain Feeny
Don't even think about it. Get down off that horse. Raise your hands high above your head, please. Come forward...stop. How do you do? I'm Captain Feeny.- Captain Feeny
Captain Feeny?- Redmond Barry
Captain Feeny at your service.- Captain Feeny
Are you done with my lady?- Sir Charles Lyndon
I beg your pardon, sir?- Redmond Barry
Come come now Mr. Barry, I'm a man who would rather be known as a cuckold than a fool.- Sir Charles Lyndon
I'm not sorry. And I'll not apologize. And I'd as soon go to Dublin as to hell.- Redmond Barry
No lad who has liberty for the first time, and twenty guineas in his pocket, is very sad, and Barry rode towards Dublin thinking not so much of the kind mother left alone, and of the home behind him, but of tomorrow, and all the wonders it would bring.- Narrator
Trivia
Contrary to legend, this film did use artificial lighting. Artificial lights were used, for example, in the scene where Brian learns he's getting a horse. However, it is true that no artificial lighting was used for candlelit scenes. A lens built by the Carl Zeiss company for NASA was used to shoot scenes lit only by candlelight.
Some of the costumes were genuine antiques bought at auction by costume designer Milena Canonero. A myth grew up that the Academy Award-winning costumes used in the film were genuine antique clothes. This is only partly correct, however. Some of the costumes were bought at auction by costume designer Milena Canonero. Other costumes were custom made specifically for the film and were based on clothing of the period and costumes seen in period paintings.
Production was moved from Ireland to England after Kubrick received word that his name was on an IRA hit list for directing a film featuring English soldiers in Ireland.
Captain Quinn's face during his duel with Barry when he goes to raise his pistol.
When the Grenadiers march in formation toward the Barryville citizens and fire their weapons into the air.
Miscellaneous Notes
Released in United States 1996
Released in United States December 1975
Released in United States Winter January 1, 1975
Re-released in United States April 21, 2000
Released in USA on video.
Released in United States 1996 (Shown in New York City (American Museum of the Moving Image) as part of program "Stanley Kubrick" August 10 - September 1, 1996.)
Released in United States Winter January 1, 1975
Re-released in United States April 21, 2000 (Film Forum; New York City)
Released in United States December 1975