Barry Lyndon "2001 a Space Odyssey" was an unprecedented success in the history of cinema. Many did not see it, few understood it, but the clamor of critics and the public were unanimous: Kubrick was a genius. And the major studios, eager for prestige and money, gave him carte blanche to develop your genius and gain many millions on the road. The Metro Goldwyn Mayer charmed him with a project on the life of Napoleon Bonaparte, with whom Kubrick was completely obsessed with documented so sick about that historical period, but finally could not direct the film because the production company fell into bankruptcy. Thus passed page and engaged in one of their most experimental and controversial, "Clockwork Orange", repeating success and controversy. However, Kubrick was the itch to make a period film, a controversial film away from visual and formal level is absolutely classic. After the failure of the film "Waterloo" (Sergei Bondarchuck, 1970), Kubrick came to the conclusion that a biopic of Napoleon would not have much success, so we focused on the nineteenth-century British literature, specifically on William Makepeace Thackeray and "Vanity Fair" (Vanity Fair), but as the book had already been previously adapted to film, Kubrick's ego advised adapt another novel by the author and the choice was "Memories and Adventures of Barry Lyndon," written in 1865.
"Barry Lyndon" chronicles the rise and fall of a noble Irish second son, who will get access to the British aristocracy through marriage and lose everything because of their arrogance. The film is a journey through the different stages of life of its protagonist, Redmond Barry (played by Ryan O'neil), whose innocence of youth will be source of their ills and whose sense of honor precipitate his fate. And all set in the two constant stars of the film: the duel for honor and card games.
Barry has become the most hated and not just not hidden but is proud of it. From here we will witness the clash of two worlds seemingly different but equally deplorable in the background: Barry's world, the treachery, the careerism, the rudeness and the opportunism of the most obvious, and the world of her stepson , the true heir to the fortune, the world of the aristocracy, a world whose hypocrisy, rudeness and opportunism is subtly hidden, but present in the essence of the composition and behavior. Barry will finally overcome by the strength of the feelings of his youth, for his unconditional love for another human being (his son) and lost in a moment of clarity its position and fortune.
Officially, Kubrick wanted from corduroy as usual but this time he did it differently. As I said earlier, it was proposed to respect Kubrick formal composition of the staging but enriching it with lighting ever seen in cinema. The challenge was to shoot the interior scenes and night without lights, with only the candlelight (and some secondary support) with a lens which used more sensitive than normal ordered more or less than the NASA (data Kubrick did not hesitate to disseminate to the press for people to flip on colors). In this way Kubrick got an atmosphere of unreality that no one left indifferent (both for and against). Another aspect controversial film was the hieratic accentuated when the actors embody their characters, inscrutable that symbolized the sentimental containment of the characters and the hypocrisy to which they are forced to participate. The leitmotif of the film is continuous cauterization true feelings to get ruthless purposes, hence the imposed restraint of the characters (containment burst apart on the key moments of the film). Although this aspect is not new in the Kubrick film, just remember listening impassively astronaut congratulations from his parents in "2001 a Space Odyssey" and the guy is like the duck's back. Another major criticism to the Kubrick film is that the plot is a mere excuse for the director to make a stunning recreation of the eighteenth century to the smallest detail, mimicking neoclassical paintings and translating them into the screen as is, as a visual exercise devoid of content . Well, if one word defines a Kubrick that is "obsessive" and yes, Kubrick became obsessed with the sets, the costumes and all those that provide credibility to the story he was telling, set in a particular time. But the film is not far from a succession of eighteenth century paintings. Kubrick tells a universal story and masterful account. Finally, highlight the soundtrack the film, an essential element in the Kubrick film, starring exclusively on classical pieces like "Sarabande" by Handel.
"Barry Lyndon" was the biggest commercial failure at Stanley Kubrick. The buzz created by their previous work was excessive and impossible to satisfy. After seeing Nietzsche in space and ultraviolent droogs playing hard to beggars to the tune of Beethoven, a story of a nineteenth-century Irish social climber had to know them a little. However, for me, "Barry Lyndon" is a snapshot of the darker aspect of the human condition.
0 comments:
Post a Comment