Master filmmaker Stanley Kubrick’s historical epic deservedly gets a restoration and the full, extras-loaded Criterion treatment in Barry Lyndon (Criterion, rated PG, 1.66:1 aspect ratio, 185 minutes, $49.95).
In 1975, after already compiling a career’s worth of cinematic excellence with “Dr. Strangelove,” “2001: A Space Odyssey” and “A Clockwork Orange,” Kubrick released an adaptation of author William Makepeace Thackeray’s 1844 novel “The Luck of Barry Lyndon.”
Ryan O’Neal, yes, a daring choice, portrayed the opportunistic Irishman and evolving rogue Barry Lyndon as he wanders through the 18th-century European countryside, falling to fate, taking advantage of situations and on a quest to become part of English high society.
His adventures take him into a duel with an English officer, battles as a Prussian soldier during the Seven Years’ War, working as a gambling apprentice and eventually marrying a rich widow (Marisa Berenson) who makes his dream come true, but greed and tragedy ultimately lead to his downfall.
Told in two parts (including an intermission) and with help from occasional narrator (Michael Hordern), the sometimes bloated, Forest Gump-ian style, methodical masterpiece delivers an elegant glimpse into Kubrick’s self-indulgent command of the moving-picture medium.
4K in action: With a lavish production design, period costuming and iconic locations to show off, the newly restored movie (created from a 16-bit 4K resolution from 35mm original camera negative with color referencing from a high-definition transfer back in 2000) embraces the groundbreaking and Academy Award-winning cinematography of John Alcott.
Viewers get Alcott’s and Kubrick’s nearly screen-filling presentation displaying their panning and zooming techniques and sometimes soft-focus artistry.
For example, a small British regiment, in full vivid-red uniforms, parades in front of a collection of citizens as the camera pulls back to reveal an engulfing panoramic view of the landscape that makes it look like we are seeing the expanse of the entire planet.
Admirers will relish every scene shot in the illusion of candlelight, especially a dining room with multiple tables of soldiers, never washed out, or areas with multiple candlelit chandeliers.
Locations to examine include Ludwigsburg Palace in Ludwigsburg, Germany; Powerscourt Estate in County Wicklow, Ireland; and Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire England, packed with historical refinement and detail.
Audience members often commented on how many moments look just like a painting and, sure enough, Kubrick and Alcott textured and composed scenes based on 18th-century art with a tip of the lens cap to artist William Hogarth’s scenic masterpieces.
Best extras: Viewers get all of the extras from the restored Blu-ray release by Criterion back in 2017.
Start with a 43-minute retrospective featuring producer Jan Harlan, assistant directors Brian Cook and Michael Stevenson, actors Dominic Savage (young) and Leon Vitali (now grown up), along with 1976 audio snippets from an interview with Kubrick.
It touches on visual themes, intricate and authentic costuming, working with the actors, the appreciation of the director and even offers an amusing story about Kubrick talking to Queen Elizabeth II about aristocratic etiquette.
Viewers also get an additional, generous supply of six interview segments (more than 90 minutes in total) featuring interviews with Alcott (audio only from 1980), editor Tony Lawson, Mr. Vitali and even focus puller Douglas Milsome and gaffer Lou Bigue.
A trio of the featurettes stand out, beginning with a look at the cinematography; the illusion of only using candles or daylight to illuminate scenes; and a discussion of the refitting of cameras with special, high-speed lens.
Next, Metropolitan Museum of Art assistant curator Adam Eaker offers a detailed explanation of historical 18th-century portrait art that inspired “Barry Lyndon” with even direct comparisons between paintings and scenes of Kubrick’s homage to the painting styles.
Kubrick historian Michel Ciment presents a high-brow analysis of the evolution of Kubrick’s visual directing style, breaking it into three phases of his career, delving into his narrative choices between “passion versus reason” in his movies and a quick look at “Barry Lyndon.”
The package contains a 44-page full-color booklet offering an essay by critic Geoffrey O’Brien and an interview with Alcott and in-depth about the visual presentation of the film, both from the March 1976 issue of “American Cinematographer” magazine.
• Joseph Szadkowski can be reached at jszadkowski@washingtontimes.com.
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