1975
Directed by Stanley Kubrick
If you are a frequent reader of my book blog, you'll know that I delight in eighteenth and nineteenth century novels, particularly anything from Thackeray. If you don't have a weird fascination with three hundred year old books, I can easily see you finding this film as dull as 2001. Thankfully, I enjoyed this and it might go down as my favorite Kubrick.
This film is over three hours long and the action rarely slows down, so it is a bit hard to write a good plot summary. The story follows Barry Lyndon, a rather selfish "rogue" who desires a noble title and money. He employs about every strategy you can think of to obtain what he wants, from marrying into money to gambling to identity theft. He is extremely unlikable but then again, Thackeray wasn't exactly known for his noble heroes.
This movie is beautifully done: the costumes, the sets, and the actors are all absolutely perfect. Like I said, I can see some people getting bored just because of the sheer length. However, something exciting is always happening and I didn't feel like there was any dead time. Definitely worth its place in this Book.
RATING: ****-
Interesting Facts:
Filming was moved to England after Stanley Kubrick learned that he had made the IRA's hit list by directing a film with English soldiers in Ireland.
Based upon the life of Andrew Robinson Stoney.
I also love my eighteenth century literature, by i wonder if we watched the same movie. my impression was almost the opposite of yours.
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