Barry Lyndon (1975)

Barry Lyndon (PG) - Review

"Barry was one of those born clever enough at gaining a fortune, but incapable of keeping one"

The long running, tragically black comic tale of the life of a country Irish boy named Barry, whose fortunes and travesties are spread all about 18th Century Europe as could only be accomplished by master director Stanley Kubrick.

Famously shot using mostly natural lighting, the picture is luxuriously bathed in candle, sun and moon light.  Every frame is intended to invoke a painting from the period, adding a soft even glow that surrounds the often turgid affairs onscreen.  This was made possible, yet still famously, when Kubrick borrowed three lenses that had been constructed for NASA's moon landings to shoot Barry Lyndon.  The rolling hillsides, the elegant costumes, the pastoral music all combine into an epic of a quiet simplicity:  to observe Barry slink his way through the stations of his life and fortune as it comes and goes.  With the dry wit of the script and drier still voice over narration, Lyndon gracefully lambastes the European castes and societies while still fabulously dousing itself in it's fashions, practices and beliefs.

Ryan O'Neal (Love Story) leads the cast of wigged and ruffled actors with stoic determination, but all of the strengths of the movie lie with the filmmakers:  the script, the production design and the editing are all the major feats of accomplishment.  The actors may then end up just models for the camera and lighs, but one can hardly complain when the frame it produces is this gorgeous.

The transformations of Barry, the log winded nature of its humor, and the absolute genius of Stanley Kubrick's artistry allow Barry Lyndon to be more than just a sly romantic period piece. While the story certainly meanders a tad (the MTV generation might scoff at its 3 hour runtime and lack of jumpcuts), nothing in retrospect is either excessive nor unnecessary.  To remove a scene would be the same as removing the color blue from a great oil portrait, leaving a gaping hole in the tapestry that is obviously more than the sum of its hues.

8.5 Sheep Drawn Carriages out of 10 (GREAT)

Spartacus (1960)

Spartacus (PG-13) Review

"Sport a fuss"

Stanley Kubrick (2001: A Space Odyssey) was famously brought in by Kirk Douglas to save this failing production, and almost doesn't succeed.  Douglas plays Spartacus, leader of the gladiator revolt and symbolic of the early christian struggle against Ancient Rome.  Prototypical Sword and Sandal epic, Spartacus hasn't aged as well as some of Hollywood's greatest hits.  Important not only in Kubrick's early career it is also well known for helping to break the black listing of the Hollywood Ten (communist suspect Dalton Trumbo was Spartacus' screenwriter).  The movie is literally huge, with enormous numbers of background extras and shot in Technirama which was blown up to 70mm, I'm sure the home theater just cannot capture the same experience, and without that it didn't capture my attention very well.

Allegorically it rang a bell with 1960s America, garnering Oscars and acclaim but today feels a little preachy.  The historical inaccuracies are rife, the interminable scenery chewing by Douglas is grating (for his and Kubrick's best collaboration see WWI epic Paths of Glory), but the cinematic scope and dark humor and vast importance are pure Stanley Kubrick and for me the only reason to stand up and say "I am Spartacus!". 

6 Crucifixions out of 10 (GOOD)

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

2001: A Space Odyssey (G)

"Daisy, Daisy, tell me your answer due...I am crazy all for the love of you..."

Before any actual human set foot on the moon, master Director Stanley Kubrick was creating a possible future for mankind out there in the void, as still being penned by SciFi great Arthur C. Clark.  In it it tells the epic story of a mysterious force in the universe that empowers the human race from cowering knuckle dragger of the Savannah to intrepid Space explorers seeking out the answers to existence.  Told in a purposefully robotic fashion, filled with genius camera takes and tricks and gorgeous cinematography, ahead of it's time understanding of space and AI, and a mind-bending conclusion that had hippies, cinephiles and sci-fi freaks alike flooding the cinemas in the late 60s.

The movie is broken up into 4 separate but equal parts, shedding characters and intentions and time periods as needed.  The opening often alienates the most viewers, what with its sociological pre-historic depictions of proto-humans, but without it the most famous film cut in film history wouldn't exist, that between the bone-weapon being flung and the space station being ballet-docking with a shuttle while orbiting Earth.  Everything happens for a reason in 2K1ASO, and the more you watch the more it becomes apparent.  The Cold War political intrigue of the Russian vs. America space may seem dated but still is relevant in today's headlines, HAL9000s malevolence and the human's reliance on him for their survival is incredibly timely in this day and age of Internet and technology overtake.  The further leap into the super unknown is just the icing on the cake, and is a wonderful conclusion to a film that is not only about the future evolution of mankind, but the melding of art and science into one of the all time film masterpieces.

Now for those in the wrong, those who think 2001 as a slow plodding chore, consider the following.  At 148 minutes in length, 2001 is shorter than most of the Bay Transformers and about 1000x more intelligent.  Those CGI gonzo monstrosities have nothing on the sleek, beautifully groundbreaking model work found therein, nor the quick cutting explosion laden free for all.  2001 is a methodical step through the mindsets of greats.  Great acting, great scenes, great writing, great ideas, great sets, great special effects, great music, great directing, great purpose, great art.

We can and must forgive the men in monkey suits, the PANAM antiquity, the video phone charges.  Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey is not something to be watched, its a sensory experience that is like submerging into the black subconscious of the mind of man.  Deep into that cold void where math meets color, ambition meets creation, and the survival instinct of the fittest in the deadliest of places.  The beauty of staring into the abyss and the abyss stares back at you?  When it looks this good it's a pleasure to stare.

10 Rectangular Microwaved Astronaut Food Receptacles out of 10 (OUTSTANDING)