Barry Lyndon (1975) Review

Title: Barry Lyndon
Year: 1975
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Country: UK
Language: English

I've heard about Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon since I was a teenager, watching A Clockwork Orange (1971) and Eyes Wide Shut (1999) in secret. I've been a big fan of his work, but I suspected that at least one of his films would be a dud. Barry Lyndon is a 3 hours long period piece that isn't a talking pointin popular culture anymore. Lyndon has to be the dud...right? I'm not going to waste that much time on a bad movie that's abs- oh wait, it's a MASTERPIECE!? Every frame looks like a painting!? Its easily one of the best Kubricks!? Oh my! 

An Irish rogue (Ryan O'Neal) wins the heart of a rich widow and assumes her dead husband's aristocratic position in 18th-century England.

Initially Kubrick had set out to make a film about Napoleon, but financing collapsed. Despite the setback, he chose to adapt an obscure novel, The Luck of Barry Lyndon, for the big screen. It's a fairly balanced film, in terms of drama and comedy, that reminds me of Best Picture winner Tom Jones (1963). Both characters are dumbasses who stumble upwardly into wealth & nobility. Both characters create their own problems that are somehow resolved via blind luck. Both are rare films that make a mockery of nobility, while also being in reverence of it.

Barry Lyndon is a gorgeous film; its set design and scene composition allows each frame to look like a painting. It is a lavish, opulent piece of exquisite cinema that allows a breathtaking score, remarkable cinematography and beautiful costume design to flourish. Honestly, this is one of the best looking films I have ever seen. Its a lengthy film, but no minute is wasted in giving an encompassing, engaging story. Its use of natural lighting - many scenes are shot in candlelight  - is utterly remarkable. 

Barry Lyndon is a must-watch for anybody who is interested in Kubrick. It is a great film that certainly has become one of my favourites. A technical marvel - every sequence is a sight to behold. 

Marie Antoinette (2006) Review

Title: Marie Antoinette
Year: 2006
Director: Sophia Coppola
Country: US
Language: English

I avoided Sophia Coppola's Marie Antoinette (2006) for a long time because I had a strong distaste for period movies with modern soundtracks. I felt that Bow Wow's I Want Candy had no place in 18th Century aristocratic France. However, overtime my tastes have changed. Not every film has to have the period accurate film score of Milos Forman's Amadeus (1984). Therefore I decided to give this a chance...and I'm glad I did! 

This is the retelling of France's iconic but ill-fated queen, Marie Antoinette (Kirsten Dunst). From her betrothal and marriage to Louis XVI  (Jason Shwartzman) at 14 to her reign as queen at 19 and to the end of her reign as queen, and ultimately the fall of Versailles.

Something else that would have triggered me into a rant would be Marie Antoinette's complete lack of interest in politics. The film briefly discusses the trials and tribulations of the time, "My dear, you're overspending/" but its interest primarily lies in the character study of a woman overwhelmed by strange customs and her desire to escape via lavish parties. It's more a commentary patriarchy, the absurdity of rigid customs, and what it means to be a woman. It is quite difficult to empathize with the absurdly wealthy, but this film does a good job at constructing a complex character. 

Like Kubrick's Barry Lyndon, Marie Antoinette is a vibrant picture filled with magnificent set design, eye-popping costumes and remarkable cinematography. Kirsten Dunst truly shines as the alleged "let them eat cake" queen of France. I actually was impressed with the soundtrack, as it gave the film a modern feel; giving it more accessibility to younger audiences who might be put off by a period piece. 

I went into the viewing expecting to dislike the film, but I'm glad I was wrong. Marie Antoinette was a joy to watch, even during the sadder moments (hey, she sort of deserved her fate). Sophia Coppola has an excellent cinematography, she's a director who proves my skepticism wrong on every occasion. 

I Walked With a Zombie (1943) Review

Title: I Walked With a Zombie
Year: 1943
Director: Jacques Tourneur
Country: US
Language: English

I have a great affection for RKO Studios' films of the 1940's. From grand melodramas like Orson Welles' Citizen Kane to creepy thrillers like Jacques Tourneur's Cat People (1942), the studio is a showcase for old Hollywood classics. I Walked With a Zombie (1943) is a studio film that alluded me for quite some time. I imagined it being a lesser version of Night of The Living Dead, but actually the film is far more about an atmosphere of dread, rather than a creature feature. 

A nurse (Francis Dee) is hired to care for the wife of a sugar plantation owner, who has been acting strangely, on a Caribbean island.

I Walked With a Zombie is Val Lewton's second collaboration with Tournuer, who had directed Cat People a year prior. The story, partially lifted from Jane Eyre, is a powerful story about the power of belief, free will, race relations, and the problematic history of our ancestors. It is a film remarkably ahead of its time in regards to its anti-colonialist message; showing how African culture could be co-opted by the white man as an element of control. 

Director Tourneur and cinematographer J. Roy Hunt give us a surreal macabre film that jolts the senses in both a visual and audio presentation. Each time we hear the sound of the villagers' drums our hearts beat with more intensity. I Walked With a Zombie also has power in its silence; there are many quiet scenes that rattle the senses.