Barry Lyndon is a epic historical black comedy-drama film written, directed, and produced by Stanley Kubrick , based on the novel The Luck of Barry Lyndon by William Makepeace Thackeray. He had originally intended to direct a biopic on Napoleon , but lost his financing because of the commercial failure of the similar Dino De Laurentiis -produced Waterloo. Kubrick eventually directed Barry Lyndon , set partially during the Seven Years' War , utilising his research from the Napoleon project.
Filming began in December and lasted roughly eight months, taking place in England , Ireland , and Germany. The film's cinematography has been described as ground-breaking. Especially notable are the long double shots , usually ended with a slow backwards zoom, the scenes shot entirely in candlelight, and the settings based on William Hogarth paintings.
The exteriors were filmed on location in England, Ireland, and Germany, with the interiors shot mainly in London. Although some critics took issue with the film's slow pace and restrained emotion, its reputation, like that of many of Kubrick's works, has grown over time. In the s Kingdom of Ireland , Redmond Barry's father is killed in a duel. Barry becomes infatuated with his cousin Nora Brady, and shoots her suitor, British Army captain John Quin, in a duel.
He flees but is robbed by highwaymen on his way to Dublin. Penniless, Barry enlists in the British Army. Family friend Captain Grogan informs him that Quin is not dead: the duel was staged so that Nora's family could get rid of Barry and improve their finances through her marriage to Quin. Absconding with a lieutenant's horse and uniform, Barry has a brief affair with Frau Lieschen, a married German peasant woman.
On his way to Bremen , he encounters Captain Potzdorf, who sees through the ruse and impresses him into the Prussian Army. Barry later saves Potzdorf's life and receives a commendation from Frederick the Great. The Prussians suspect that the Chevalier de Balibari, an Austrian diplomat and professional gambler, is in fact an Irishman and a spy for Empress Maria Theresa , and assign Barry to become his manservant.
