26 June 2012

"Utterly Baffled & Beaten..."



Fate had determined that he should leave none of his race behind him, and that he should finish his life poor, lonely and childless.

Sorry for the short fuse but if you're in town, and impulsive like me, try and catch Stanley Kubrick's, Barry Lyndon at the Film Society Lincoln Center here. The last showing is this tomorrow afternoon at 12:15 PM. What better reason do you need to sneak out of work? Give yourself some time though -- It's just over three hours.

Kubrick also gave the scenes plenty of time. Film has become this world of quick cuts and edits to entertain the 18 - 24 year old attention span. Watch a recent film on TV, turn down the sound and read a book and the TV turns into a disco strobe light.

Lyndon is like a couple 'ludes in a disco. Everything slows down...And it's amazing to watch. Nothing looks out of place. Not even Ryan O'Neil. I've written about Barry Lyndon before here. And there are those of you who will think I write of nothing but sad movies. Aye, and that may be true, but there's beauty in the dark.

Walter Reade Theater
165 West 65th Street bet. Broadway & Amsterdam
at

8 comments:

  1. Anonymous26 June, 2012 14:14

    Small correction: The last show is tomorrow, Weds., 6/27 @ 12:15

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  2. GSV JR26 June, 2012 17:29

    Trad says: Watch a recent film on TV, turn down the sound and read a book and the TV turns into a disco strobe light.

    Conversely, Barry Lyndon is drifting through the Louvre, after hours, with more vin rouge than blood circulating through your body.

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  3. tintin26 June, 2012 17:44

    Anon - I'm glad somebody read this. My apologies!

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  4. Tim26 June, 2012 19:18

    And the film was made using only natural candlelight for the interior scenes.

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  5. Yankee-Whisky-Papa26 June, 2012 21:34

    The average length of each shot in a modern commercial aimed at kids is something like 0.85 seconds.

    I have twice had the odd experience of emerging from a dark air conditioned theater after 2+ hours in a Kubrick trance into the bright sun of a summer afternoon. I don't recommend the transition.

    Wish I had been there at the showing you attended.

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  6. 2Stoics28 June, 2012 12:09

    I can't believe that he's remembered for Love Story and not this.

    Thackery wrote Barry Lyndon as a cautionary tale. He told his daughter that he detested the character, but that he thought it ought to be done.

    If if a modern gent reads it the protagonist plays like Han Solo, quite the opposite of the intended effect.

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  7. Brummagem Joe30 June, 2012 14:16

    I've agreed with you on this before Tin Tin....one of the finest movies ever made. The only decent film O'Neil ever appeared in and he's superb which shows it all comes down to script and direction. And the cast of character actor Kubrick assembled for the secondary roles. The Reverend Runt, Captain Potsdorf and his boss, the Irish gambler, Lord Bullingdon, Andre Morell, Leonard Rossiter. Quite superb all of them. I make a point of rewatching it every couple of years.

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  8. tintin30 June, 2012 14:23

    Joe- I still have the hots for Nora Brady. Gay Hamilton looks like she stepped out of an 18th C portrait.

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