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Stanley Kubrick didn’t make ordinary films, and Barry Lyndon was no exception. While most directors would’ve passed on a period drama centered on a fairly unremarkable man, Kubrick turned it into a technical milestone.
He used custom-built lenses originally developed by NASA, not for style but because he wanted to shoot scenes lit entirely by candlelight. There was no artificial lighting or shortcuts, and truth be told, that’s the kind of obsession that shaped his work.
The Eyes Wide Shut director never chased a spectacle while filming this movie. The story follows Redmond Barry, a man fumbling his way through high society, and is desperate to fit in. Kubrick mocked the absurd rituals of aristocracy through a man too average to truly belong, and that irony formed the soul of the film.
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However, Barry Lyndon wasn’t just about its story. It became famous for how it was made. It was shot over more than eight months across Ireland, England, and Germany and pulled in attention not only for its ambition but also for being a major production happening in places rarely used for films of this scale.
Barry Lyndon (1975 dir. Stanley Kubrick) (Cinematography by John Alcott) pic.twitter.com/7IWp3lOUnc
— Ebru Yıldırım (@Ebruyldrm_88) July 27, 2024
According to Far Out Magazine, people were already raising eyebrows when Kubrick cast Ryan O’Neal in the lead. No one expected the polished, emotionally distant performance he delivered, but somehow, it worked in the best possible way. The film moved quietly through different parts of Lyndon’s life, reflecting his rise and slow fall, but behind the camera, things weren’t always as calm.
When the film neared its final stages, something unexpected happened. An unexpected (but somewhat expected) threat surfaced during the filming, and interestingly, this one didn’t come from bad weather or moody actors. It came from the IRA (Irish Republican Army) instead.
The ordeal was not part of the script by any means, but it became very real for those on location. Whether it was a hoax or not never got confirmed, and Kubrick didn’t stick around long enough to find out. The Shining creator left the country within a day since most of the filming was already done and the exit didn’t sink the project.
Every frame is a painting in Stanley Kubrick’s ‘Barry Lyndon’ pic.twitter.com/ZHSwOaermB
— Film Daze (@filmdaze) June 20, 2025
Stanley Kubrick’s producer Jan Harlan said, “He [Kubrick] was directly threatened, and he didn’t want to test whether it was real or not. And, y’know, within 24 hours, he was gone. We had most of the film done, so it wasn’t a huge disaster for us. The story’s true.”
Now, after all these years, it probably won’t be an exaggeration if one says that while other productions have dealt with plenty of arguments, breakdowns, and unpredictable elements, few can say they were potentially under threat from a paramilitary group. For Kubrick, it became another strange episode in a career full of them.
For more such stories, check out Hollywood News
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