Kubrick's Barry Lyndon - Table of Contents

Introduction

For the real film buff, I've gone through and listed shots, images from each, and length of time of shots. Because I raised myself on the old Evergreen Black Cat cinema books which took pains to do the same and loved studying them. And because that is the only way I felt I could really begin to do a good, involved analysis of Kubrick's films, which are very complex internally, and also all the films being related to one another.

Kubrick's films elicit a lot of whys and wherefores, "What does this mean?", because he included so many seeming puzzles inviting review, mysteries that demanded second and third notice, editing quirks and both subtle and obvious shifts in staging. My analyses haven't much to do with the psychology, but look at Kubrick's choices of stories, music, places he filmed, staging, the differences between the literature and the script that made it onto celluloid and how he chose to edit it all together, carrying themes from film to film, and based on these elements I dip into a variety of possible influences.

Analysis of Stanley Kubrick's Film Barry Lyndon - Table of Contents

PART ONE - Shots 1 thru 118, stopping when Barry leaves home.

Credits, Shots 1 through 6
The First Duel, Shot 7
Notes on the First Duel. Book versus film. Heightening the reality through the painterly effect. Cycles. The undulating waveform of the wall and fence.
Mrs. Barry Commits Her Life to Barry and the Memory of her Dead Husband, Shot 8
Notes on Mrs. Barry Book versus film.
The Ribbon Game with Nora Brady, Shots 9 through 24
Notes on The Ribbon Game with Nora Brady. Book versus film. Location. Nora as the older woman in the book. The rose blows. The eight of hearts. Love story.
Captain Quin and the Regimental Review and Dance , Shots 25 through 40
Notes on Captain Quin and the Regimental Review and Dance . Book versus film.
The Pyramid and the False Barry at the Center of the Scene
The Piper's Maggot Jig, The Earworm and the Sarabande
Nora Caught Between the Affections of Barry and Quin, Shots 41 through 64
Notes on Nora Caught Between the Affections of Barry and Quin. Book versus film.
The Challenge, Shots 65 through 86
Notes on The Challenge. Book versus film.
The Second Walk Home, Shots 87 through 88
Notes on The Second Walk Home. Book versus film.
The Second Duel, Shots 89 through 110
Note on The Second Duel. Book versus film. For honor or love or what?
Barry Returns Home, as His Father Did Not, Only to Leave, Shots 111 through 118
Notes on Barry Returns Home, as His Father Did Not, Only to Leave. Book versus film. The shadow of doom.

PART TWO - Shots 119 thru 254, up to that time that Barry takes on the guise of Fakenham in an attempt to escape the army.

Captain Feeny, Shots 119 through 157
Notes on Captain Feeny. Book versus film. The magic of misdirection. Fathers and sons and this scene as a bridge in which is past and future.
Barry is Recruited, Shots 158 through 163
Notes on Barry is Recruited. Book versus film. Health to the Barley Mow.
The Boxing Match Under the Mountain, Shots 164 through 196
Notes on The Boxing Match Under the Mountain. Book versus film.
How Prior Events are Reconstellated in The Boxing Match, and Their Relevance to the "Health to the Barley Mow" Song.
Grogan and Barry Meet Again, Shots 197 through 216
Notes on Grogan and Barry Meet Again. Book versus film. The magic of misdirection.
The Death of Grogan, Shots 217 through 248
Notes on The Death of Grogan. Book versus film. The kiss.
Barry Becomes a Lieutenant, Shots 249 through 254
Notes on Barry Becomes a Lieutenant. Book versus film. How this scene is similar to HAL and the chess game.

PART THREE - Shots 255 thru 425, when Barry escapes the Prussians.

Lischen, Shots 255 through 284
Notes on Lischen. Book versus film. Where is this town?
Fakenham Uncovered as a Fake, Shots 285 through 323
Notes on Fakenham Uncovered as a Fake. Book versus film. The problem of General Percival Williamson. The same town approached from two directions.
Rescuing Potzdorf, Shots 324 through 354
Notes on Rescuing Potzdorf. Book versus film. Award for a rescue as opposed to a kill
The Violence in the Army and Barry's Later Caning of Lord Bullingdon
The Anatomy of Framing
The Minister of Police, Shots 355 through 367
Notes on The Minister of Police. Book versus film. The interview with the Minister of Police compared with the interview with Ullman. Locations.
Barry's Confession to the Chevalier, Shots 368 through 385
Notes on Barry's Confession to the Chevalier. Book versus film. Locations. Patrick Magee, from A Clockwork Orange, to Barry Lyndon.
A Prince Challenges the Chevalier, Shots 386 through 407
Notes on A Prince Challenges the Chevalier. Book versus film.
The Escape, Shots 408 through 425
Notes on The Escape. Book versus film.
Idomeno
How the Chevalier's Housing is Represented

PART FOUR - Shots 426 - 493, thru the death of Sir Charles Lyndon. Intermission.

Lord Ludd, Shots 426 through 458
Notes on Lord Ludd. Book versus film. Location.
Subtle Flips and Dualities
Ludd
The Barber of Seville and Harlequin
Enter Lady Lyndon, Shots 459 through 493
Notes on Enter Lady Lyndon. Book versus film. Who is this guy
Reclaiming, Deja Vu, and The Shining
The Love Triangle of Pierrot, Columbine and Harlequin
The Kiss
Doubling
Callisto and Arcadia
The Red Sail
Locations and Statues

PART FIVE - Shots 494 - 636, thru when Lord Bullingdon and Barry have their public fight.

Barry and Lady Lyndon Wed, Shots 495 through 502
Notes on Barry and Lady Lyndon Wed. Book versus film. Location.
Newlywed Difficulties; The Birth of Bryan, Shots 503 through 528
Notes on Newlywed Difficulties; The Birth of Bryan. Book versus film.
The Carriage Ride to Lady Lyndon's Estate (The Misdirection with the Horses)
The Confusion of the Two Facades for Lady Lyndon's Estate and the Stourhead Garden
The Last Game and the Poetry in the Bath
Bullingdon's First Whipping, Shots 529 through 548
Notes on Bullingdon's First Whipping. Book versus film.
The Turban
Bryan's Birthday, Shots 549 through 554
Magic and Misdirection--Who is the Story About
The Bedtime Tale and the Fear of the Dark, Shots 556 through 561
Notes on the Bedtime Tale and the Fear of the Dark. Book versus film.
Securing Barry and Bryan's Future, Shots 562 through 567
Notes on Securing Barry and Bryan's Future. Book versus film.
Stourhead and Aeneas' Journey in the Underworld--Begone, You Who Are Uninitiated
The labyrinth, the minotaur, and the doors of Apollo's temple.
The Attempt to Secure a Title, Shots 568 through 580
Notes on The Attempt to Secure a Title. Book versus film. Locations.
Alive or Dead
Ludovico and Hallam and the Significance of the Peerage
The Minister of the Interior, who chose Alex for the Ludovico experiment, as the individual who manages Barry in his pursuit of a peerage, during which we see a Ludovico painting.
The Reception Line
A Problem with Dates
Bullingdon's Second Whipping, Shots 581 through 604
Notes on Bullingdon's Second Whipping. Book versus film.
Hamlet
The Disappearing Pencil
Bullingdon's Revolt, Shots 605 through 635
Notes on Bullingdon's Revolt. Book versus film. Recycling the Shoes. Recycling the music. The two reds. Location. Hamlet and the play within a play.

PART SIX - Shots 637 - 714, thru Bullingdon's challenging of Barry to a duel.

Ostracized, Shots 636 through 637
Notes on Ostracized. Book versus film. Location.
The Gaze into the Waters of the River
Neville Wendover / Gustavus Adolphus Wendover
Second Scene of Bills, Shots 638 through 643
Notes on Second Scene of Bills. Book versus film.
Comparing the First Two Scenes of the Bills
An Error in Addition
The Rising Mist that Overtakes the Mansion
1001 and Lolita and Some Similarities in Story Sequencing
Leading up to Bryan's Ninth Birthday, Shots 644 through 649
Notes on Leading up to Bryan's Ninth Birthday. Book versus film.
The Double Cube Room at Wilton House
Croquet
A Horse for Bryan's Birthday, 650 through 661
Notes on A Horse for Bryan's Birthday. Book versus film.
Continuing Problem of Dates
Premonition
The Death of Bryan, Shots 662 through 689
Note on The Death of Bryan. Book versus film.
The Twin of Bryan Beside the Carriage at the Magic Show in Shot 555
Bryan's Coffin, the Magic Show, and HIs Drawing
Shot 666
Dead and Alive
The Grief of Lady Lyndon and Barry, Shots 690 through 692
Notes on The Grief of Lady Lyndon and Barry. Book versus film.
The Link Between Barry's Grief and Concert at Which His Relationship With Bullingdon Was Irretrievably Severed
Lady Lyndon's Grief
The Third Scene of the Bills, Shots 693 through 703
Notes on The Third Scene of the Bills. Book versus film.
Sycorax of The Tempest and Thackeray's Stycorax
Lady Lyndon Takes Poison, Shots 704 through 705
Notes on Lady Lyndon Takes Poison. Book versus film.
Graham and Runt Consult with Bullingdon, Shots 706 through 708
Notes on Graham and Runt Consult with Bullingdon. Book versus film. Location.
Shots 503 and 706
Bullingdon Demands Satisfaction, Shots 709 through 714
Notes on Bullingdon Demands Satisfaction. Book versus film.

PART SEVEN - Shots 715 - 789

The Duel Between Bullingdon and Barry, Shots 715 through 755
Notes on The Duel Between Bullingdon and Barry. Book versus film.
The Exile of Barry, Shots 768 through 775
Notes on The Exile of Barry. Book versus film.
Returning to the Carriage Ride After the Marriage of Barry and Lady Lyndon
Freeze Frame, Shots 776 through 778
Notes on Freeze Frame, Shots 776 through 778
The Last Scene of Paying Debts, Shots 779 through 789
Notes on The Last Scene of Paying Debts. Book versus film.
A Last Look at the Debts
1789, the date of two of the scenes of the debts, forecasts the film's shot count being 789. Sycorax.

Supplemental

Kubrick's Barry Lyndon and Veit Harlan's The Great King

Nietzsche, The Shining, and The White Man's Burden, in which I discuss also the role of women in other films of Kubrick's.

Notes on the Analyses

Are you one of the league who find Kubrick's cinema fascinating and wonderful but are also confused by seeming peculiarities? Are you certain those often under-the-radar-over-the-head weirdnesses must mean something? Or maybe you're just curious? Here's my request. That you, please, think in terms of art with intention, which isn't conspiracy and has nothing to do with conspiracy theories. Would you think of music composed of unspoken themes as being conspiracy? What's difficult is teasing out the artist's conscious intention as versus accidental as versus the viewer's role as an active pilgrim walking the road that art provides to accessing the unconscious and mythic, the vast knowledge that has been archived in your brain from birth forward of symbols and metaphors and archetypes through navigating the warehouse of such that is actively and passively feeding you in the cultures of everyday society. As an author and artist, I know what it is to hope for at least a few such pilgrims, confident they are the minority, that most think in terms of being only entertained, and to attempt to compose for both. Even with those who are just wanting a good story, or who want to dissect a film for practical good-cinema purposes, the majority would likely admit that it is the inherent mystery in Kubrick's films that functions as their primary gravity. It is that sense of something deeper, a subterranean coherence that provides the glue, that compels individuals to return and perhaps begin to move, without their even realizing it, from a passive state into a more active, participatory role where art becomes a transformative experience rather than just visual popcorn. For that matter, even a simple detective story can actively engage the viewer, and Kubrick's films have a touch of the detective genre to them. For instance, at the end of The Shining Kubrick zooms in on Jack seemingly appearing in an old photograph of The Overlook, and he is holding what looks like a little slip of paper, a little rectangle of white in the palm of his hand, as if displaying it for us, but what is it? One is compelled to try to solve the mystery of Jack in the photo, what could be in his hand, so one watches the movie again. That's the sleuthing, detective part of watching Kubrick's films.

The most important thing which must be kept in mind with Kubrick's films is there is the surface or principle story and then the internal or sub-story. In many of his films, if we're really paying attention, set elements pretty much immediately destroy the surface naturalism. One may not notice this deconstruction the first, second or third time one watches the film. Through constructive disorientation and disconnectedness, and sleight of hand as to where our eye focuses, Kubrick, the magician, intentionally obfuscates and reveals these elements that betray the overt and naturalistic story line as being artifice, a studio fiction that rests upon something both more solid and also bizarre. The surface story lines are the principle ones, but they are maintained and supported by the sub rosa dialogue. These deconstructive elements are plainly there, alongside his tremendous effort to make things look real and believable, and play with a purposeful sense of disorientation that when locked into exposes a puzzle that annihilates the sense of reality. This destruction of the film's naturalistic story line is difficult enough to conceive of and accept, and it's easy enough to stop at this point and decide these puzzling aspects of Kubrick's films are errors. But they are not. They are part of the art of a director cleverly designing the overt story line to be unimpeded by an internal story that tears it apart. Indeed, the sub rosa elements of the internal story may be discreet but they are enough in evidence to complicate the surface story with an aura of attractive, indefinable mystery, which is one of the reasons viewers return to Kubrick again and again. To work with the "reason" and "why" of the internal story line is to try to settle into Kubrick's sensibility, examining how these internal stories form a dialogue in his oeuvre with repeating themes and ideas, elaborated upon from film to film. The internal stories haven't a "plot"; they aren't that kind of story. Instead, you have to be willing to deal with comprehending the themes and ideas represented in them as ultimately forming a different terrain for the setting of the surface story, guiding and interacting with the overt story and giving it a new form in the hands of the participant viewer who is engaged rather than a passive recipient.

Return to the top of the page

Link to the main TOC page for all the analyses

STANLEY KUBRICK'S BARRY LYNDON Shot-by-Shot Analysis Table of Contents