Barry Lyndon

The film is based on the novel by William Makepeace Thackeray "Career Barry Lyndon" (The Luck Of Barry Lyndon, 1844).

Kubrick insisted on refusal of the operator of electric lighting when shooting interiors. Evening scene in the movie for the first time in the history of cinema, filmed by the light of wax candles without the additional illumination, made possible through the use of sverhsvetovoy movie camera lenses Carl Zeiss Planar 50mm f/0,7 specially designed for observing the stars during the lunar program, NASA. The preparation of each instance of these lenses cost NASA a million dollars, and Kubrick specifically released three pieces in a slightly cheaper variant with reduced use of rare earth elements.

In 1977, in an interview with "Sight

The film was shot for about three hundred days for two years.

Kubrick always selected the music for his films. As a rule, used the well-known classics. As the soundtrack to the film "Barry Lyndon" he used forgotten all the "Sarabande" by Handel.

To the question about the reasons for the appeal to the genre of the picaresque novel by W. M. Thackeray "the adventures of Barry Lyndon" Kubrick joked: "Try to explain that you fell in love with his wife — it is absolutely senseless". The fact that the choice fell on Kubrick is not the strongest novel is not the largest writer of Victorian England, allowed Harold Rosenberg in 1976 to blame Kubrick in "recirculation nobody reading literature". Averting accusations of promiscuity, Kubrick noticed that the deeper novels impossible without significant losses to convert into a two or three hour film.

Kubrick worked on the script independently. The first draft he completed in three months and subsequently it was corrected. In the scenario included a good half of the episodes of the novel, in particular, concerning parliamentary career Barry Lyndon and his rivalry for the heart of the Countess with Lord Poynings.

Characteristic of Thackeray's novel was that the narrative was carried out on behalf of the author of the memoirs of Barry Lyndon, which has sought to justify their actions and to protect his good name. Kubrick decided early on to discard the first-person narration, because in the movie, the events are before the eyes of the viewer without the mediation of the text. According to Kubrick, to accompany them is not particularly a truthful review of the main character — meant to bring down the film to the level of Comedy that is not included in his plans.

When one of the critics came to the Cockpit to discuss the film with a small volume of Thackeray in his hands, the Director said: "the Most significant in the film could not be retold and analyzed". Then he promised that the script for "Barry Lyndon" will never be published, because from a literary point of view, it is of no interest.

A great deal of controversy from critics caused the figure of an unseen narrator, whose voice comments on what is happening on the screen. Kubrick argued the need for a voice-over need to communicate to the viewer a large amount of outof-information. The narrator not only jeering at the motives of Barry, but also predicts how things will develop, preparing them for the viewer and giving them a character of inevitability: ""Barry Lyndon" is a story in which there are no surprises. It's not what's going to happen next and how it will happen," says Kubrick.

After the movie "2001: a Space Odyssey" and "Clockwork orange" Kubrick set out to shoot an epic about the Napoleonic wars. Initial plans to film "vanity Fair" W. M. Thackeray had to leave because of the length of the novel, more suitable for television than for film. Gradually Kubrick's attention shifted to the figure of Napoleon

Work on "Barry Lyndon" lasted more than two years in the atmosphere of such secrecy that even Studio executives have little understanding of what takes Kubrick. The triumph of the previous two films of Kubrick convinced Warner Bros bosses. to take the risk and invest $ 11 million in his new project.

It was the last of Kubrick's work experience outside the Studio. Shooting began in December 1973, have continued not only in England and Ireland, but behind the "iron curtain" — in the socialist GDR. This caused additional problems due to the dislike of Kubrick to travel

The entire original negative of the movie is filmed the latest at the time of filming apparatus "Arriflex 35 BL", which later became a favorite of Kubrick's camera.

When shooting interiors in the daytime, the Windows were plastered with tracing paper on the outside which sent the beams of artificial light. Often over minute episode, which does not play a big role in the story, Kubrick worked for days and weeks. For example, the baptism of fire Barry in a nameless skirmish in the Seven years war was filmed from three cameras that are moving on operator trucks at the 800-foot track.

The number of episodes (including the Frank scene between Barry and lady Lyndon) was not included in the final version of the film.

Kubrick believed that a film with much less cost and greater credibility than other forms of art that brings the viewer for years or a century ago. He sought to demonstrate this ability of his film, insisting on only using authentic scenery, which can act the people of the mid-eighteenth century. For all that failed to avoid overlap: the film mentions "Kingdom of Belgium" (emerged after the Napoleonic wars), Chevalier Balibari stops in the neo-Gothic Hohenzollern castle (architectural fantasy crowned romantics of the nineteenth century), and in the corner of the map in the office of the sons of lady Lyndon has the image of a steam locomotive.

It is widely believed that the selection of actors for the main roles was owing rather advertising character. Hoping to recoup the expensive shooting film demanded to give the role of Redmond to any of dozens of the most popular actors in Hollywood. Only two actors on this list had Irish roots and was suited for the role age — Robert Redford and Ryan O'neal

Kubrick gave the crew a target to create a "documentary" about the morals and manners of the aristocracy of the last century. Convinced of the impossibility of fair recreate the XVIII century in modern terms, the Director departed from his usual practice and insisted on a complete abandonment of the shooting in the Studio. The pursuit of authenticity demanded of the artist Milena, Canonero the creation of costumes, which meet the requirements of the fashion of the Rococo period.

Kubrick, being common in the professions of Director and investigator, took comments regarding thoroughness he conducted historical reconstruction as compliments. He saw no reason to make a film of historical (and futuristic) if the Director is unable to make the viewer believe in the reality of what is happening on the screen. Work on "Barry Lyndon" demanded his immersion in the study of everyday life of the European aristocracy of the eighteenth century. In preparation for filming took a year. Kubrick assembled a weighty folder with reproductions of works of art of the period. He insisted that the shot did not hit anything that was created later eighteenth century. The architecture, furnishings, costumes, vehicles — all of these elements were found in the paintings and engravings of the era recreated.

Production designer Ken Adam remembers that raised by Kubrick's challenge was to recreate the scenery of the noble estate of the XVIII century, with documentary precision. The house of the Countess, according to Adam, was to impress the old building even by the standards of the eighteenth century. Toured England, the designer decided to combine the image of castle Hackton is known for its theatrical silhouette of castle Howard with interiors Longlite and Petworth and Park buildings Wilton house. Because of poor preservation of the Irish estates, it was difficult to reproduce the situation of his home, Barry. Potsdam scenes were shot in East Germany as a separate brigade, which sent the slides to the UK, and he gave them instructions over the phone. The filmmakers at the direction of Kubrick, I had to learn toothbrushes that time, the contraceptives, a lot of things that are not included in the film.

To the choice of musical themes Kubrick approached no less carefully than to the elaboration of visual solutions. For it was common to adjust the scene to pre-chosen music. He recalls that during the work on the painting I listened to everything available in the sale of recordings of the music of XVII-XVIII centuries. In the film you can hear such rarely performed tunes as Hohenfriedberger March, traditionally attributed to himself to the king of Prussia.

After the death of Kubrick in many cities held retrospective screenings of "Barry Lyndon".

The admirers of "Barry Lyndon" include such major Directors as Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese (which is somewhat paradoxically defined it as "one of the most emotional movies").

The duel scene of Barry and Lord Bullington Kubrick mounted 42 days.