Barry Lyndon
Spoilers
Sat down last night. Wine in the glass, Barry Lyndon in the DVD player. And when I awoke this morning and thought, "That sure was something last night", I wasn't talking about my hangover, I thinking of my Lyndon virginity, that had just been lost.
Though it was slow in pace, it hit me like a sledgehammer. Not exactly the most original story I've seen, but O'Neil's performance makes Lyndon's rags-to-riches-and-back-again story believable. I think it was already mentioned, and I wholeheartedly agree that his face is just amazing in this, it practically carries the film. Though that's way too unfair to all the other amazing aspects of it. The often praised cinematography for instance. The film seems lit like a dream sequence in any other ordinary film, every frame a painting. But this has all been mentioned, and I'm simply repeating. However, what has gained little and almost no response is the music, and I agree with Mac and Weak. The piece that plays during the death scene of Barry's son (the one that starts the film, and re-appears quite a lot) was very beautiful. Adding to the music both the acting of father and son, and put in context of the story, the death sequence is definitely the most emotional scene in the entire film (for me at least), and probably in the entire filmography of Kubrick. Who'd've thought Kubrick could make me cry?