I Am Love

 

Directed by Luca Guadagnino and screenplay by Guadagnino, Barbara Alberti, Ivan Cotroneo, and Walter Fasano from a story by Guadagnino, Io sono l’amore (I Am Love) is the story of an industrialist’s wife who begins an affair with a chef that would bring trouble to her family during a crucial period in their life and their future. The first film in a thematic trilogy on desire where a woman seeks to find love in her rich and aristocratic environment. Starring Tilda Swinton, Flavio Parenti, Edoardo Gabbriellini, Alba Rohrwacher, Pippo Delbono, Maria Paiato, Diane Fleri, Waris Ahluwalia, Marisa Berenson, and Gabriele Ferzetti. Io sono l’amore is a ravishing and mesmerizing film from Luca Guadagnino.

The film is the story of an aristocratic family whose lives begin to change through some changing times relating to their textile business while its Russian-born wife falls for her son’s new friend in a chef. It is a film that play into this life of a family in Milan as they deal with their patriarch’s decision to retire and his choices for his successors as they deal with a new business world with his grandson introducing his family to a new friend whom his mother falls in love with. The film’s screenplay isn’t just this exploration of desire for one person but also the desire of a family just trying to find themselves as they embark on a new chapter. Notably as the film opens with a birthday dinner during the Christmas holidays for its patriarch in Edoardo Recchi Sr. (Gabriele Ferzetti) who announces his retirement from the textile business where he names his son Tancredi (Pippo Delbono) and grandson Edoardo Jr. (Flavio Parenti) as his successors as the latter brought in his new girlfriend Eva (Diane Fleri) while a man he lost to in a race in Antonio (Edoardo Gabbriellini) is a chef who came late to the party with a present for Edoardo Sr. where he is seen by Edoardo Jr.’s mother Emma (Tilda Swinton).

The film’s first act is about the dinner and Edoardo Jr. wanting to help Antonio create his own restaurant in his home near San Remo while there is family drama where Edoardo Jr.’s sister Elisabetta (Alba Rohrwacher) goes to London to study as she also has fallen in love with another woman and wanting to break-up with her boyfriend as it was discovered by Emma. The film’s second act that takes place months later where Emma goes to the restaurant run by Antonio’s father with Eva and her mother-in-law in Rori (Marisa Berenson) as Emma eats a plate by Antonio that she loves as she becomes fascinated with him where she later runs into him in San Remo where they begin their affair. The third act doesn’t just play into Emma and Antonio’s affair intensifying but with Edoardo Jr. dealing with the world of business as he becomes overwhelmed with his father’s decision and other things as it lead to some revelations for the family.

Guadagnino’s direction definitely has some stylistic compositions and such yet keeps the film grounded in its exploration of aristocracy in this family. Shot largely on location in Milan as well as San Remo and parts of London for a few scenes in the film’s third act. Guadagnino’s usage of tracking shots for the way characters walk into a room through the Recchi estate as well as close-ups and medium shots to play into the intimate moments in a room as Guadanino also uses wide shots to get a scope of the dining hall or the front lobby at the estate. The film also play into this struggle of tradition with the modern ethics of business as the former is something Edoardo Jr. wants to do as he learned a lot from his grandfather in understanding the business but also the workers so that they can maintain a sense of trust. Edoardo Jr. also wants to help out Antonio knowing how good he is as a chef but also as a way for Edoardo Jr. to make his own mark and prove that he can be a good businessman.

The scenes in the second act that include these sequences of Emma and Antonio longing for one another has this element of fantasy until they actually meet again as Guadagnino use the locations of San Remo as a character as this place that reminds Emma of her old life in Russia where she recounts how she met Tancredi. The film’s third act is about Edoardo Jr.’s resistance on what his father wants to do with the family business as it culminates with this dinner that has Antonio as the cook who creates a special dish that is a favorite of Edoardo Jr. as it leads to some revelations and chaos. Notably as it relates to these ideas of change in the whole family and their lifestyle with Emma also coming to terms with who she is and what she wants. Overall, Guadanino crafts a rapturous and entrancing film about a woman whose affair with a young chef would unknowingly create chaos within the world of her aristocratic family.

Cinematographer Yorick Le Saux does brilliant work with the film’s luscious cinematography with its naturalistic photography from the look of the snowy exterior in the film’s first scenes as well as what Milan looks like on a summer day to the usage of low-key and stylish lighting for some of the interior scenes at night. Editor Walter Fasano does excellent work with the editing with its stylish usage of transitional dissolves, jump-cuts, and other stylish cuts to play into some of the drama and this mixture of fantasy and reality. Production designer Francesca di Mottola and set decorator Monica Sironi do amazing work with the look of the Recchi family estate in its many rooms and interiors as well as Antonio’s own home and some of the exteriors at the estate which is actually the Villa Necchi Campiglio that is at the center of Milan. Costume designer Antonella Cannarozzi does fantastic work with the costumes from the stylish clothing that Emma and many of the women in the family wear including some of the casual look of Elisabetta in London as well as some of the designer suits the men wear.

Visual effects supervisor Stefano Marinoni does terrific work with some of the film’s minimal visual effects as it play into a few bits of fantasy including a brief flashback of Emma as a child. Sound editor/mixer Francesco Liotard does superb work with the sound as it does play into natural elements along with a few bits that play into the elements of fantasy. Music supervisor Jen Moss does incredible work in cultivating the music’s soundtrack that largely consists of classical pieces by John Adams that feature some unique orchestral piano bits as well as other lush music pieces while other contributions include a piece from Gustav Mahler as well as original pieces from editor/co-writer Walter Fasano with Nathalie Tanner, Elliot Smith, Tony Esposito, Arto Lindsay, and Marco Armani.

The casting by Jorgelina Depetris Pochintesta and Francesco Vedovati is marvelous as it feature some notable small roles from Honor Swinton Byrne in a brief bit as Emma as a child, Waris Ahluwalia as an Indian-American businessman who wants to by the Recchi family business, Maria Paiato as the Recchi family’s main housekeeper Ida whom the kids see as a second mother while is also someone very loyal to Emma, Diane Fleri as Edoardo Jr.’s new girlfriend Eva whom much of the family seem to neglect despite Edoardo Jr. and Emma welcoming her, Mattia Zaccaro as the youngest of the Recchi children in Gianluca who doesn’t do much with his family business as he’s still a student, Emanuele Cito Filomarino as Elisabetta’s boyfriend Gregorio whom she dumps for another woman, Marisa Berenson as the Recchi matriarch Allegra aka Rori who loves her lifestyle but also tries to distract herself from some of the chaotic elements of her family, and Gabriele Ferzetti in a superb small role as the Recchi matriarch Edoardo Sr. as an old man who is celebrating his birthday as well as make announcements for his retirement and the people who will succeed him.

Pippo Delbono is excellent as Tancredi Recchi as Edoardo Sr.’s son who is given the chance to succeed his father as he becomes concerned with the future while also having an idea of doing things that he knows his father and son wouldn’t approve. Alba Rohrwacher is fantastic as Elisabetta “Betta” Recchi as Emma’s daughter who is known for her drawing but is switching to photography where she studies in London and falls in love with another woman where she would guide her mother to follow her heart. Edoardo Gabbriellini is amazing as Antonio as a chef whom Edoardo Jr. befriended following a race that wants to create his own restaurant while he falls for Emma unaware of the chaos they create as he is a man that brings an air of simplicity that Emma had forgotten. Flavio Parenti is brilliant as Edoardo Jr. as Emma and Tancredi’s son who is also named as his grandfather’s successor where he tries to instill ideas into the business while wanting to maintain its integrity as he also deals with new things in his life such as a new friend and a new lover but also contends with the ways of a new world that overwhelms him.

Finally, there’s Tilda Swinton in a phenomenal performance as Emma Recchi as the Russian-born wife of Tancredi who falls for her son’s new friend as she becomes the centerpiece of this conflict between doing what she feels and doing what she needs to do for her family. It is a performance that has Swinton speaking Italian for the entirety of the film with a bit of Russian as she brings an air of radiance into her performance as someone that is in love with not just Antonio’s cooking but also what he offers in life instead of this aristocratic world that she’s in where she has to play a certain role that doesn’t really allow her to express herself only to find inspiration through two of her children instead of her husband.

Io sono l’amore is a magnificent film from Luca Guadagnino that features a tremendous leading performance from Tilda Swinton. Along with its ensemble cast, ravishing visuals, luscious locations, its theme of tradition vs. feeling and tradition vs. modernism, and its incredible music soundtrack. It is a film that doesn’t play into the conventions of a romantic drama as it is a study of a woman and her role in an aristocratic family. In the end, Io sono l’amore is a tremendous film from Luca Guadagnino.

Luca Guadagnino Films: (The Protagonists) - (Tilda Swinton: The Love Factory) - (Mundo civilzado) - (Cuoco contadino) - (Melissa P.) - (The Love Factory No. 3 Pippo Delbono - Bisogna morire) - (Bertolucci on Bertolucci) – A Bigger Splash - Call Me By Your Name - Suspiria (2018 film) - The Staggering Girl – (Fiori, Fiori, Fiori) – (Salvatore: Shoemaker of Dreams) – (We Are Who We Are (2020 TV series)) – Bones & All – Challengers (2024 film) - (Queer) - (After the Hunt)

© thevoid99 2022

2021 Cannes Marathon: Death in Venice

 

(25th Anniversary Prize Winner at the 1971 Cannes Film Festival)

Based on the novella by Thomas Mann, Death in Venice is the story of a composer who is entranced by the beauty of a young boy who is staying at a hotel in Venice where the composer is recovering from illness. Directed by Luchino Visconti and screenplay by Visconti and Nicolas Badalucco, the film is an exploration of a relationship between this ailing composer and a young boy that is set during the turn of the century as it explores a man’s obsession with beauty. Starring Dirk Bogarde, Mark Burns, Marisa Berenson, Romolo Valli, Silvana Mangano, and Bjorn Andresen. Death in Venice is a majestic and evocative film from Luchino Visconti.

Set in turn of the century Venice, the film revolves around an avant-garde composer whose ailing health forces him to go to the Italian city where he stays at a hotel where he is stunned by the beauty of a young boy. It is a film that explores a man coping with loss and disappointment as he is also dealing with this search for ideal beauty as he would find it in this young Polish boy while also dealing with what is happening with the city as the hotel staff and some of people in the posh areas of Venice refuse to tell him. The film’s screenplay by Luchino Visconti and Nicolas Badalucco is straightforward as it plays into the world of Gustav von Aschenbach (Dirk Bogarde) who is trying to recover from his illness as he would look back at parts of his life from his family life and his own desire to find beauty and perfection through his music that often lead to arguments with his colleague Alfred (Mark Burns).

While in Venice trying to recover from illness, Gustav sees the young Polish boy Tadzio (Bjorn Andresen) who is with his mother and sisters at the Venetian resort. Tadzio is really more of a presence and idea of what Gustav is trying to find in his idea of beauty while the script also suggests homoeroticism where Gustav often stares at Tadzio and would follow him whenever Tadzio is with his family.

Visconti’s direction is ravishing for the world that he creates where much of the film is shot on location in Venice as well as locations in Germany while much of the interior scenes of the hotel is shot at Cinecetta Studios in Rome. Visconti’s compositions capture so much attention to detail the world that Gustav is living in as there is this air of disconnect with all of the people living in the hotel resort with its open beaches and exquisite meals are unaware of what is happening in the city. Something Gustav would notice as Venice is having this season where the hotel manager (Romolo Valli) is claiming that it’s just rumors as Gustav doesn’t notice anything about what is happening in the newspapers as well. It adds to the atmosphere of the film where Gustav’s flashbacks are often seen as idyllic and dream-like in scenes with his wife (Marisa Berenson) but also filled with unease in scenes with Alfred including a chilling flashback of Gustav at his lowest. They’re presented largely in medium shots and close-ups to play into Gustav’s own sense of longing and despair as he is in Venice in this hotel where nothing feels real except for this young boy who represents this idealism of beauty.

Visconti’s wide shots really capture not just the scope of the beach as well as a room where the guests are waiting to be served in the dining room. It also has him creating some unique compositions and visuals that add to the atmospheric beauty that surrounds Gustav and Tadzio where the former watches the latter from afar who is playing a piano piece as it would have Gustav go into a flashback. It’s among these images that also include a band playing music to the people at the hotel with Gustav asking the singer about what is going on in the city. There are also some homoeroticism that occurs but it’s only in subtle bits in the way Gustav looks at Tadzio as there is a beautiful shot in the film’s final minutes as it play into Gustav’s own desires despite his ailing health. Especially in a brief moment where Gustav briefly meets Tadzio as he begs his mother to leave Venice because of what is happening as it plays into a man who is trying to hold on to this idea of beauty. Overall, Visconti crafts a somber yet intoxicating film about an ailing composer’s fascination over the beauty of a young boy.

Cinematographer Pasqualino De Santis does amazing work with the film’s cinematography with its sunny look of Venice in the daytime along with lush colors for a few of the flashback scenes as well as some unique lighting for the interior/exterior scenes at night. Editor Ruggero Mastroiannni does excellent work with the editing as it does have a bit of style in a few jump-cuts yet much of it is straightforward to play into the drama of Gustav’s obsession. Art director Ferdinando Scarfioti does brilliant work with the look of the hotel interiors with its spacious dining and waiting rooms as well as the room that Gustav stays in.

Costume designer Piero Tosi does incredible work with the costumes from the sailor-like clothes of Tadzio to the suits of Gustav including a white suit he would wear in the film’s final moments. The sound work of Giuseppe Muratori and Vittorio Trentino is superb for the atmosphere that is created including scenes in the dining hall and the way the city sounds in its quiet yet unsettling moments. The film’s music from Armando Gill as well as pieces from Ludwig Van Beethoven, Gustav Mahler, and Modest Mussorgsky is phenomenal as its usage of classical music with Mahler being the dominant force in the film while Gill provides some of the operatic pieces as it adds to the rapturous tone of the film.

The film’s marvelous cast feature some notable small roles and appearances from Dominique Darel as an English tourist, Mascia Predit as the Russian tourist, Marco Tulli as the man who faints at the train station, Leslie French as a travel agent warning Gustav about what is going on in Venice, Nora Ricci as Tadzio’s governess, Franco Fabrizi as a barber in the film’s third act, Sergio Garfagnoli as a boy that Tadzio befriends, Luigi Battaglia as a peasant performer named Scapegrace who gives Gustav a slight clue of what is happening in Venice, Carole Andre as a young prostitute that Gustav meets in a flashback, and Romolo Valli in a superb performance as the hotel manager who tries to shield the truth about what is happening in Venice from Gustav. Marisa Berenson and Silvana Mangano are fantastic in their respective roles as Gustav’s wife and Tadzio’s mother with the former being an object of simplicity and joy in the former via flashbacks while the latter is someone that is unaware of what is going on in Venice.

Mark Burns is excellent as Gustav’s colleague Alfred as a man who is seen via flashbacks as someone questioning Gustav’s ambitions and aims while also vilifying him for his faults. Bjorn Andresen is incredible as Tadzio where despite his lack of dialogue where he is just this object of beauty. Andresen is still this astonishing presence where he provides an innocence but also someone who is aware of his beauty despite not really knowing who Gustav is. Finally, there’s Dirk Bogarde in a phenomenal performance as Gustav von Aschenbach as an avant-garde composer who is coping with ailing health as he is transfixed by Tadzio while dealing with what is happening in Venice as well as coping with his own past, failures, and loss where Bogarde maintains a restraint in the way he gazes at Tadzio as a way to deal with the fact that he is possibly dying and is hoping to connect personally with this young boy.

Death in Venice is a tremendous film from Luchino Visconti that features a sensational performance from Dirk Bogarde as well as an entrancing appearance from Bjorn Andresen. Along with its ensemble cast, gorgeous music soundtrack, its intoxicating look, and it study of obsession and longing. The film is a somber yet exhilarating film about a man’s fascination for a young boy and his search for beauty in a city that is unraveling from afar. In the end, Death in Venice is a spectacular film from Luchino Visconti.

Luchino Visconti Films: (Obsessione) – (Giorni di gloria) – (La Terra Firma) – (Bellissima) – (Appunti su un fatto di cronaca) – (We, the Women) – Senso – White Nights (1957 film) - Rocco and His Brothers - (Boccaccio ’70-Il lavoro) – The Leopard - Sandra – (The Stranger (1967 film)) – The Witches (1967 film)- The Witch Burned Alive – The Damned (1969 film) – (Alla ricerca di Tadzio) – (Ludwig) – (Conversation Piece) – The Innocent (1976 film)

© thevoid99 2021

Cabaret

Based on the 1966 musical by Joe Masteroff with music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb that was based on the novel The Berlin Stories by Christopher Isherwood and its play I Am a Camera by John Van Druten. Cabaret is the story of pre-Nazi Berlin, Germany where a young writer finds himself entranced by the world as he meets and falls for an American cabaret singer. Directed by Bob Fosse and screenplay by Jay Allen, the film is a musical that plays into the lives of an outsider and various others in a world that was to change as they try to hold on to a world of decadence. Starring Liza Minnelli, Michael York, Helmut Greim, Fritz Wepper, Marisa Berenson, and Joel Grey. Cabaret is a spectacular and exhilarating film from Bob Fosse.

Set in 1931 Berlin, the film revolves around a British writer and an American cabaret singer who meet and fall in love during a period in Germany that would mark a major change for the country in the emergence of Nazism. Yet, it’s a film that play into two different people and personalities who meet together as one is this reserved academic that lives in a world of reality while the other is this exuberant woman with big dreams to make it as an actress while being this revered cabaret singer. All of it is told that plays into a world that is quite decadent and sort of escapist where this young man ventures into the world as an outsider where he’s taken aback but also amazed by it. The film’s screenplay by Jay Allen isn’t just about this relationship between Brian Roberts (Michael York) and Sally Bowles (Liza Minnelli) but also the people around them and what is going on at the Kit Kat Club where Sally performs that features commentary from its Master of Ceremonies (Joel Grey).

The film also has a subplot as it relates to a friend of Bowles in Fritz Wendel (Fritz Wepper) who is a well-known gigolo that goes to Roberts to improve his English as he falls for another of Roberts’ pupil in a rich Jewish woman in Natalia Landauer (Marisa Berenson). It’s a subplot that doesn’t just play into Roberts being this observer of watching another man fall in love but also deal with the realities of what is happening as it relates to the emergence of Nazism. The script does have a traditional structure where much of its first act and the first half of the story revolves around the growing relationship between Roberts and Bowles despite their difference with the former also admitting to having feelings for men. By the time the character of baron Maximilian von Heune (Helmut Greim) comes into the picture, the second act would begin as it plays into this threesome that also involves Roberts and Bowles but also a dark reality that would emerge.

Even in the third act where it plays into this disconnect of sorts of what is happening in Germany and the world that Bowles wants. Even as the events in the Kit Kat Club showcases that disconnect while offering commentary on what is happening outside of the club. The performances that involve the Master of Ceremonies with or without Bowles not only help bring in ideas of what is going on in the narrative but also into a world that is ever-changing where it is this world of escape but also filled with some contradictions. Notably as it relates to what Bowles had to face in her life as it showcases how flawed she is as a person. While Roberts might seem as somewhat stuffy and a bit cynical, he is someone that is willing to be open but also realizes that what is happening in Germany is wrong. For Bowles, she doesn’t think about the bigger picture rather than what she wants to be as it raises that sense of disconnect into reality.

Bob Fosse’s direction is very unique not just for his recreation of 1930s Berlin but also in the fact that nearly half of the film is set inside this club. The scenes set in the club has this air of danger in what could be revealed either literally or metaphorically. Even as many of the musical numbers that are written by John Kander and lyricist Fred Ebb has this playful yet decadent feel. Fosse’s presentation of these musical numbers are very intimate but also something that is very lively and unpredictable. With Fosse also serving as the choreographer, the dance numbers and performances have this air of sexuality that is enthralling but also add to what is going on in the story such as Bowles’ meeting with von Heune for a song with the Master of Ceremonies in Money, Money. The songs aren’t just crucial to the narrative but it also expresses everything that Bowles is dealing with as well as what is happening in the story.

Shot on location in Germany with much of it in rural places along with some location shooting in Munich and parts of West Berlin, Fosse would take advantage of the beauty of the locations as well as create something that was once peaceful despite the dark undercurrent of Nazism. The usage of wide and medium shots would play into these moments along with some of the musical numbers. Fosse’s close-ups are also key in some of the musical sequences either for comical or very emotional moments while it is also evident in a key moment where Bowles, Roberts, and von Heune notice the attraction towards each other. It also plays into these moments between Bowles and Roberts in their relationship despite the growing darkness that is emerging as it relates to people they know. Even as it indicates a reality that Bowles would have to face no matter how much she tries to ignore it. Overall, Fosse creates a dazzling and ravishing film about a cabaret singer and an academic falling in love during 1931 Berlin.

Cinematographer Geoffrey Unsworth does brilliant work with the film‘s cinematography with its array of lighting for some of the cabaret numbers as well as the usage of soft lights for some of the daytime interiors while using some low-key lighting for some of the exterior lightings set at night. Editor David Bretherton does amazing work with the editing as it features some unique jump-cuts as well as montages that play into some of the dramatic moments as well as some unique back-and-forth cutting to play into the musical numbers and what is going on outside of the club. Production designer Rolf Zehetbauer and art director Hans Jurgen Kiebach do fantastic work with the look of the Kit Kat Club and its stage as well as the apartment that Bowles and Roberts share that play into their different personalities.

Costume designer Charlotte Flemming does excellent work with the costumes from the clothes that Bowles wears on and off the stage as well as the clothes the men wore in those times as well as those Nazi uniforms. Sound editor James M. Falkinburg does superb work with the sound in the way some of the dancing sounds as well as some of the moments that occur in the streets and small towns. The film’s music by John Kander and lyricist Fred Ebb, with additional work by Ralph Burns, is incredible not just for the songs that are made but also in the music score that plays into that world of jazz to showcase a world that is changing slowly but also the sense that something dangerous is coming.

The casting by Renate Neuchl is wonderful as it features some notable small roles from Elisabeth Neumann-Viertel as Bowles and Roberts’ landlord Fraulein Schneider and Oliver Colligan as a Nazi youth with Mark Lambert as its singing voice. Marisa Berenson is terrific as Natalia Landauer as a rich socialite who is dealing with Fritz’s feelings for her but also the fact that she’s Jewish and a target for the Nazis. Fritz Wepper is superb as Fritz Wendel as a gigolo who falls for Natalia as he tries to please her while carrying a secret of his own which he believes will destroy him. Helmut Greim is fantastic as the baron Maximilian von Heune as a rich gigolo who woos both Roberts and Bowles as well as be someone that has a lot of power in what to do where it is clear he is just someone that uses people.

Joel Grey is phenomenal as the Master of Ceremonies as he is this vivacious performer that is so full of charm and humor as it is just this performance that really steals the show while looking really good in stockings and garters. Michael York is remarkable as Brian Roberts as a British academic/writer who comes to Berlin to write while falling for Bowles where he deals with his own sexuality as well as what is happening around him where he tries to make a difference. Finally, there’s Liza Minnelli in a spectacular performance as Sally Bowles as this woman who is so full of life and charisma as she is this cabaret performer that is just so engaging while Minnelli also provides some vulnerability and wit to the character offstage that is quite selfish but also troubled as she is someone that doesn’t know if there is a life outside of entertaining and making people smile amidst a world that is changing.

Cabaret is an outstanding film from Bob Fosse that features great performances from Liza Minnelli, Michael York, and Joel Grey. It’s a musical that manages to be very entertaining as well as have an air of danger that makes it so compelling. Especially as it features a strong story, amazing technical work, and exhilarating music that makes the film a total joy. In the end, Cabaret is a sensational film from Bob Fosse.

Bob Fosse Films: Sweet Charity - Liza with a Z - Lenny - All That Jazz - Star 80 - The Auteurs #56: Bob Fosse

© thevoid99 2016

Barry Lyndon

Based on William Makepeace Thackery’s novel The Luck of Barry Lyndon, Barry Lyndon is the story of a how a common Irish man became an aristocrat through a series of misadventures where he rose high only to fall through misfortune. Written for the screen and directed by Stanley Kubrick, the film is an exploration into a man trying to his role into a world that is new to him as he tries to become a gentleman through any means as it’s told by an unreliable narrator played by Michael Hordern. Playing the role of the titular character is Ryan O’Neal as the film spans through nearly 40 years during the second half of the 18th Century. Also starring Marisa Berenson, Patrick Magee, Hardy Kruger, Gay Hamilton, Leon Vitali, Godfrey Quigley, and Steven Berkoff. Barry Lyndon is an exquisite and ravishing film from Stanley Kubrick.

A young man named Redmond Barry is trying to court his cousin Nora Brady (Gay Hamilton) in a small Irish village only to contend with a British captain named John Quin (Leonard Rossiter). Captain Quin represents everything Barry wants to be as he challenged him to a duel following a series of insults as Barry wins the duel but is forced to leave home and go to Dublin. After some trouble where he loses money during his journey, he decides to join the British army for money where he meets Quin’s friend Captain Grogan (Godfrey Quigley) who reveals about the true actions of his duel with Quin. Feeling trapped by his fate as the Seven Year’s War rages on, Barry gains some advice from Grogan about how to lead a different life where Barry deserts the army. Meeting with a Prussian captain named Potzdorf (Hardy Kruger), Barry is suddenly part of Prussian army where he saves Potzdorf’s life in a battle.

In return, Potzdorf offers Barry a chance to spy on a man known as the Chevalier de Balibari (Patrick Magee) where Barry meets the aristocratic man and confesses to him about what he’s doing. The Chevalier takes him in as a protégé before he flees Prussia where Barry gives a false report to Potzdorf. Barry’s work with the Chevalier has made the latter a successful gambler as Barry helps out in his gambling defeating the revered Lord Ludd (Steven Berkoff). At a lunch with the Chevalier at a palace, Barry is entranced by the presence of a woman named Lady Lyndon (Marisa Berenson) whom he courts as her husband (Frank Middlemass) is dying. Barry manages to win over Lady Lyndon much to the dismay of her 10-year-old son Lord Bullingdon (Dominic Savage) as his father dies and Barry becomes Barry Lyndon. With the help of Barry’s mother and a man named Graham (Phillip Stone) to handle Barry’s new wealth, Belle suggests that Barry should gain a title in order to maintain this new lifestyle with the help of the influential Lord Wendover (Andre Morell).

Still, Barry would find ways to undo things as he gains the ire of Lord Bullingdon as Barry later gains a son in Bryan Patrick Lyndon (David Morley) while the 18-year-old Bullingdon (Leon Vitali) has become more attached towards his mother as his hatred for Barry grows. After years of tension that finally boils, Bullingdon is forced to leave where Barry puts his full attention towards his son. Yet, financial mismanagement and Barry’s awful deeds behind the scenes as tragedy happens leaving Lady Lyndon in a state of shock. When the Lyndon family’s longtime advisor Reverend Runt (Murray Melvin) is dismissed, Runt would return with the exiled Lord Bullingdon who challenges Barry to a duel. For all that Barry had gained and lost, Barry would do something that would change the fates for everyone involved including himself.

The film is about a man who is trying to find his way to conform into a world that he is entranced by as he tries to figure out how to behave in this world despite his lack of intelligence and understanding about the way the world works. It’s a film that explores the life of a man who comes from humble beginnings to stumble his way into various places in the world and then become a man of great wealth. Just as he rose high through years of sheer luck, he would fall in a big way through his own doing. Infidelity, neglect, mismanagement, and foolishness would play part into downfall that would be furthered by tragedy only to find himself in a similar situation where his adventure begin.

Told through Michael Hordern’s narration that would reveal lots of back story and the fates that is to come for Barry Lyndon, it’s to establish what this man is trying to do in his path to become an aristocrat. A lot of Hordern’s narration delves into the lives of Barry and the characters he encounters as it’s told in third-person where Hordern would spoil things to unveil how Barry would screw things up for himself in his bid to gain a title. It would also unveil a lot of the fallout that happens as it would play into the fates of this man and the people he encounters.

Stanley Kubrick’s screenplay plays to the traditional rise and fall formula but it is told in a grand narrative where it’s about this slow rise to fortune and prestige only to fall in an even bigger way where Barry Lyndon would go full circle into his journey. The film plays into many themes that is explored such as conformity, desire, and will as it reveals how a simple Irish villager like Redmond Barry would become the aristocratic Barry Lyndon through the series of misadventures where he would serve in two different armies, meet people who would change his outlook in the world, and find a way to be part of this world that is so foreign to him. Of course, he would face forces that would prevent him from trying to be part of this world.

Through this narration that often has an air of melancholia, Kubrick seems to want to try and root for this simple Irish villager who manages to succeed by sheer dumb luck and stumbling his way into certain things. Once he has attained this aristocratic lifestyle, Kubrick then wants to tear him apart by exploring the things where Barry would completely find ways to ruin himself. In a way, the film is a character study of how a man would try to define himself to become a gentleman. In the course of these accidental encounters, Barry would observe the way a gentleman behaves as he tries to figure out how to do this in a certain way or how to do that. Yet, being a gentleman isn’t something that can be taught but rather for one to discover in the course of time. That is something Barry was unable to figure out until the very end but it would come at a great price.

Kubrick’s direction is truly exotic in the way he recreates 18th Century life in grand detail from the costumes to the homes and places that is created as if he goes back in time. From the wide compositions he creates to display the large number of soldiers that Barry would be a part of to the shots of the town and the opening duel. There is never a moment wasted where Kubrick is all about the great detail as if he is trying to recreate some old painting of those times and bring it to life. In creating this period, Kubrick allows the film to play out and maintain a pace that is more leisured where it will frustrate audiences at first because it feels quite slow. Yet, that’s because time moved much slower back then.

The direction is also quite intimate and intoxicating for the way Kubrick captures many of the scenes inside these mansions where the camera is always looking afar to capture the rooms the characters walk into or where they’re eating. The close-ups that Kubrick creates has him showing some restraint just so he can observe what this character could be feeling without the use of the narration. Still, Kubrick is interested in the story of this simple man who rises from humble beginnings to fall in such a grand way. Notably in how he creates a unique parallel to the duels that Barry would face in the beginning of the film against Captain Quin and Lord Bullingdon towards the end. It’s all about the fates that is set for a character like Barry where the first duel was just a set-up for everything he is about to embark.

It’s the last duel where the film reaches a huge climax where Kubrick definitely creates a lot of tension and suspense where it’s all about Lord Bullingdon reclaiming the family’s tarnished reputation against a man who has just lost everything. It’s this scene where it’s the culmination of everything Barry had been through. This time around, there’s no luck to help him nor is there a way he can stumble through. It’s all about this duel yet Kubrick would find a way to create an element of surprise. This element of surprise in this duel is where for the first time ever, Barry finally takes control knowing what his fate will be. It leads to a very sad aftermath but one that is poignant. What Kubrick does overall is create a very engrossing but also touching portrait of a man trying to fit in to a new world only to have a much bigger understanding on who he is.

The cinematography of John Alcott is definitely among one of the film’s many highlights in its technical field. With help from Kubrick’s expertise in lighting and the creation of some specific lenses by the late Ed Di Guillo, Alcott’s photography has a lushness for many of the film’s interiors where the look is very ethereal in its beauty while maintaining a natural tone that is unlike anything. The exteriors for all of the scenes shot on location in Ireland is very beautiful for its look and scope in many of its daytime scenes. Still, it’s the stuff inside such as the first scene where Barry meets Lady Lyndon for the first time with all those candles providing the light is among some of the most beautifully photographed images on film.

Editor Tony Lawson does excellent work with the film‘s editing to create some wonderful montages to establish some of successes of Barry as well as his downfall while maintaining a leisured pace for the film. Production designer Ken Adams, with set decorator Vernon Dixon and art director Roy Walker, does exquisite work with the film‘s art direction by going into grand detail to create the halls and furniture to recreate a place in time that seemed long ago. Particularly in the way the rooms are filled with paintings and all sorts of things where Ken Adams and his team create some truly amazing work.

Costume designers Milena Canonero and Ulla-Brit Soderlund do magnificent work into the design of the costumes that really gives life to the film‘s beauty. From the lavish details into the dresses that many of the women including Lady Lyndon wears to the clothing the men wear it all plays to their personalities and who they are. Adding to the look of the costumes are the wigs provided by Leonard of London that plays up to the extravagance of the film‘s look as well as a lushness to those costumes. The sound work of Robin Gregory and Bill Rowe is superb for the way it captures the atmosphere of the scenes inside the mansions to display its intimacy as well as the tense sounds of cannons and gunfire in the film’s battle scenes.

The film’s music soundtrack includes a wide mix of classical music and traditional Irish folk pieces that is performed by the Chieftans on the latter. Notably in the first act where its arrangement of woodwinds and acoustic instruments play out Barry’s Irish roots. Some of the film’s orchestral pieces that features original work from Leonard Rosenman who plays out some of the film’s tension that involves conflict including the moments between Barry and Lord Bullingdon.

The rest of the film’s soundtrack includes a wide array of classical pieces from composers like Johann Sebastian Bach, Antonio Vivaldi, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Franz Schubert. A lot of its to help convey the melancholia of the film as well as some atmospheric scenes where Barry walks in sync to the melody of Schubert’s Piano Trio in E-Flat, Op 100 (2nd Movement) just as he’s to kiss Lady Lyndon. It’s among the many wonderful usage of music to play things out as the overall music is another of the film’s technical highlights.

The casting by James Liggat is outstanding for the ensemble that is created as it features some memorable performances from Steven Berkoff as Lord Ludd, Diane Koerner as the German girl that Barry meets during his journey, Gay Hamilton as Barry’s cousin Nora, Leonard Rossiter as the dignified Captain Quin, Arthur O’Sullivan as the conniving Captain Feeney, Billy Boyle as Feeney’s son, Frank Middlemass as the ailing Charles Lyndon, Andre Morell as the revered Lord Wendover, and Patrick Magee in an exciting performance as the Chevalier de Balibari whom Barry idolizes. Other notable performances include Philip Stone as Barry’s financial advisor Graham, Marie Kean as Barry’s tough-minded mother, David Morley as Barry’s young son Bryan, Godfrey Quigley as the wise Captain Grogan, Murray Melvin as the sympathetic Reverend Runt, and Dominic Savage as the young Lord Bullingdon.

Hardy Krueger is great as the helpful Captain Potzdorf who teaches Barry the ways to become a gentleman as Barry sees him as a mentor. Leon Vitali is superb as the intense Lord Bullingdon who tries to deal with Barry whom he sees is ruining the family as he tries to confront him in many ways. Marisa Berenson is wonderful as the melancholic Lady Lyndon who is this exotic woman who doesn’t exhibit a lot of happiness as she seems trapped into the world that she lives in. Finally, there’s Ryan O’Neal in an incredible performance as the titular character where O’Neal displays a chilling restraint as a man who is naïve in his pursuit to find his role in the world where he is not part of. O’Neal displays a lot of great humility into his character as well as someone who is very flawed where it’s really the best performance of his career.

Barry Lyndon is a captivating and gorgeous film from Stanley Kubrick. Featuring a remarkable lead performance from Ryan O’Neal, it is a film that is a wonderful take on the rise-and-fall narrative that is told with great care and observation by Kubrick as the film is truly one of his most defining works of his career. Thanks to the great technical work made by Kubrick’s collaborators, the film is also a standard textbook on how a period film should look and feel like as a way to tell a story. In the end, Barry Lyndon is an enchanting yet evocative film from Stanley Kubrick.

Stanley Kubrick Films: Fear & Desire - Killer’s Kiss - The Killing - Paths of Glory - Spartacus - Lolita - Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb - 2001: A Space Odyssey - A Clockwork Orange - The Shining - Full Metal Jacket - Eyes Wide Shut

Related: Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures - The Auteurs #18: Stanley Kubrick

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