FILM · 1975 · UK
Barry Lyndon
- Directed by
- Stanley Kubrick
- Runtime
- 188 min
- Studio
- Warner Bros. Pictures, Hawk Films, Peregrine
27 archived facts 3 topics 1 source Last reviewed Nov 2026
An Irish rogue uses his cunning and wit to work his way up the social classes of 18th century England, transforming himself from the humble Redmond Barry into the noble Barry Lyndon.
27 Interesting Facts About Barry Lyndon
Interesting Facts (22)
- #001
Most of the shooting was composed and filmed to evoke certain eighteenth-century paintings, particularly those of Thomas Gainsborough.
- #002
Leon Vitali genuinely vomited during the final duel. He was given a mixed lunch of the heaviest ingredients they could find in the hope it would make him sufficiently nauseous; when that failed, he swallowed a whole raw egg and vomited immediately. Fortunately, writer, producer and director Stanley Kubrick was satisfied right away and did not ask him to repeat the take — a truly rare occurrence for Kubrick, who was famous for multiple takes.
- #003
To provide as much light as possible in the candlelit scenes, Stanley Kubrick used custom-made candles. Each candle had three wicks instead of one and a highly volatile wax was used. This caused the candles to burn very quickly, which is why most of the candles seen are so short.
- #004
Leon Vitali, who played the older Lord Bullingdon, became Stanley Kubrick's personal assistant and held that role until Kubrick's death.
- #005
The December 1975 release included a letter from Stanley Kubrick to projectionists. It began: "The look, the photography, the sets, the costumes of 'Barry Lyndon'; the careful color grading, the overall laboratory quality of the prints and the film's score were given infinite care; all this work is now in your hands, and the attention you give to sharp focus, good sound and careful handling of the film will make that effort worthwhile."
- #006
Stanley Kubrick instructed Marisa Berenson to stay out of the sun in the months before production in order to achieve the period-appropriate pallor he needed.
- #007
In the early 1970s, writer, producer and director Stanley Kubrick called director Ken Russell to ask where he found the locations for period films. Russell told him, and Kubrick used those locations for this film. Years later Russell said: "I felt quite chuffed."
- #008
The editing of the final duel between Barry (Ryan O'Neal) and Lord Bullingdon (Leon Vitali) took 42 days.
- #009
A legend grew that the Academy Award-winning costumes used in this film were genuine antique garments, but this is only partly true. Some of the costumes consist of original antiques bought at auction by costume designer Milena Canonero, while others were made specifically for this film based on the clothing of the period and the costumes seen in period paintings.
- #010
In a scene where Patrick Magee (Chevalier de Balibari) had to deal cards, he began to sweat, and the sweat on his palms made dealing the cards smoothly almost impossible. Writer, producer and director Stanley Kubrick hired a professional card dealer and then noticed that the dealer's hands were smooth while Magee's were hairy. To avoid continuity problems, Magee's hands were shaved so that both sets of footage would look like him.
- #011
Marisa Berenson stated that Stanley Kubrick was unusually shy with her and generally preferred to direct her with numerous handwritten notes.
- #012
Warner Bros. would only finance this film on the condition that Stanley Kubrick cast one of the top 10 box-office stars (according to the annual Quigley Top Ten Money Making Stars Poll) in the lead. Ryan O'Neal was the number two box-office star of 1973, behind only Clint Eastwood. Ironically, this was his only time in the top 10, because the poll's participants attributed the success of Love Story (1970) (one of the era's biggest earners) to his co-star Ali MacGraw and added her to the list in 1971. The other top 10 stars were 3. Steve McQueen, 4. Burt Reynolds, 5. Robert Redford, 6. Barbra Streisand, 7. Paul Newman, 8. Charles Bronson, 9. John Wayne and 10. Marlon Brando. Since many were too old or otherwise unsuitable for the role, the only actors Kubrick could cast in it while retaining Warner Bros.' financial backing were O'Neal and Redford. Both O'Neal and Redford were Irish American, both were box-office draws and both were young enough to play the role, but Redford was five years older than O'Neal. O'Neal was the bigger star at the time and had also earned a Best Actor Oscar nomination for "Love Story." However, Kubrick apparently offered the role to Redford, who turned it down, and so O'Neal was cast. After the successes of The Sting (1973) and The Way We Were (1973), Redford's star would soon rise to the top of the box-office lists in 1974, eclipsing O'Neal's. O'Neal entered the top 10 after 1973, and it remains his only appearance on the list to date.
- #013
Stanley Kubrick initially wanted to film William Makepeace Thackeray's most famous novel "Vanity Fair", but then decided that he couldn't do justice to its expansive plot within the limits of a three-hour movie. The announcement of a television mini-series production contributed to his decision.
- #014
Despite this being her second appearance in the film, Marisa Berenson (Lady Honoria Lyndon) is neither seen nor named until halfway through, and moreover speaks only thirteen lines of dialogue… fewer than 100 words.
- #015
The young girl seated behind Lady Lyndon's left shoulder during the magic show is Stanley Kubrick's daughter.
- #016
Although Marisa Berenson plays Leon Vitali's mother in this film, she was only one year older than Leon Vitali.
- #017
The love scene between Barry and Lady Lyndon was filmed but cut.
- #018
If Ryan O'Neal looks convincing in the first fight at the beginning of the film, it is because he was an eager amateur boxer in his youth.
- #019
Stanley Kubrick hoped to shoot the entire film in England, preferably within driving distance of his home in London, but he largely disliked the look of the period pieces recreated on sound stages and insisted on shooting the film entirely on location, both exteriors and interiors. This was a demanding job for production designer Sir Ken Adam, and his team had to expand their search and location scouting in England and Ireland.
- #020
Despite its striking visual effects and technical achievement, this film was not the financial success Stanley Kubrick and Warner Bros. had hoped for. The lack of financial success at the time influenced Stanley Kubrick's decision to make The Shining (1980).
- #021
Only ten of the Zeiss 50mm f/0.7 lenses were ever produced; Stanley Kubrick bought three of them. One remained optically unmodified, while the other two were fitted with special wide-angle adapters that converted them to 35 mm and 25 mm focal lengths. The 25 mm was ultimately never used because Kubrick disliked the amount of distortion it produced.
- #022
The music heard when the Prussian forces are shown is the "Hohenfriedberger Marsch" (also known as "Der Hohenfriedberger" and "Auf Ansbach Dragoner"), which commemorates Prussia's victory at the Battle of Hohenfriedberg on 4 June 1745.
Production Story (2)
- #023
After learning that writer, producer and director Stanley Kubrick's name appeared on an I.R.A. hit list, the production moved from Ireland to England. Many scenes were consequently cancelled.
- #024
Stanley Kubrick initially planned to make a film about Napoléon Bonaparte. Following his usual method, he and his team conducted meticulous research into the subject and period for several years (Kubrick was said to have read several hundred books about Napoleon), so much so that during the long pre-production period a similarly themed Waterloo (1970) also began development. When the studio chose to withdraw from the project, reportedly over budget concerns, Kubrick had to abandon the Napoleon film (contrary to popular belief, the commercial failure of Waterloo (1970) had nothing to do with this decision, since Kubrick and the studio had already parted ways before Waterloo (1970) was even made). Kubrick decided to make A Clockwork Orange (1971) instead, but he continued searching for a story set in the eighteenth century, since it would allow him to use the extensive period research done for the cancelled Napoleon project. After considering and rejecting several of them, his eye finally fell on William Makepeace Thackeray's Barry Lyndon story.
Behind the Scenes (3)
- #025
Contrary to the legend, artificial lighting was used in some scenes in this film (for example, when Bryan (David Morley) learns he is to ride a horse). It is true, however, that no electronic lighting was used in the candlelit scenes. A lens made for NASA by the Carl Zeiss Company — a 50 mm Zeiss lens modified with the Kollmorgen adapter used on still cameras — was used solely to shoot the candlelit scenes. This lens had the widest aperture ever produced for film use (f/0.7).
- #026
According to Marisa Berenson, the actors in the candlelit scenes were not allowed to move freely because the custom-made lens had a very shallow depth of field. This supports cinematographer John Alcott's claim that camera movement during these sequences was minimal and therefore required constant monitoring of the lens's depth of field.
- #027
For the final scenes in which Barry has only one leg, Stanley Kubrick suggested that Ryan O'Neal cut off his leg when a stunt double proved unworkable. O'Neal was not sure how serious Kubrick was about the idea. Even so, O'Neal's lower left leg was bent back to create the illusion of amputation.
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
- Wikipedia
- IMDb
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