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Barry Lyndon (1975)
At first watching, you follow the story and find yourself fairly un-evolved with the characters and their outcomes. And at some point, you think, eh, it’s not as good as the other Kubricks, and it’s soo long. You become quite satisfied with yourself for realizing why this movie isn’t as well known as his other films. Then you top it off by making a negative comment about Eyes Wide Shut. You’ve done yourself proud and now all’s that’s left to do is go to bed. Click. But the next day, you wake up with a nagging desire to see the scene at the end of act one, where Barry meets the Countess of Lyndon. It’s the music that draws you back, that haunting score that plays throughout the entire scene.1 You realize that even though it’s a long and strenuous story, it’s just so rich. You need more. The music, the costumes, the gigantic rooms with their gigantic windows and gigantic draperies. Some call it a coffee table movie. I agree if that means having it on at all times will enrich the atmosphere of any room (you know, like a coffee table book). Some say it isn’t as tight as his other films. To all those would be Kubrick detractors, I quote Redmond Barry, “Let them laugh, that win.”
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