10 October 2015 Journal Page
Blog Love
How much I love this review of Barry Lyndon from 1976 especially this: "Like many other critics and filmgoers, I have grown so accustomed to films based on literary conventions and familiar structures, that to see a film which stretches one's awareness of what can be achieved in the medium seems prickly and puzzling...
...Instead, the basic division seems to be between people who are fixed in their notions of what a film is or should be, and those of more flexible personality who are willing to respond to an esthetic experiment. Maybe the only abstract maxim that one can derive from Kubrick's new film is: "Openness is everything."
I remember the first time I saw Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon. It was at home via laser disc and I fell asleep. I was 22 or so. David would rave and rave about it and I just looked at him. Fast forward many years later and I went to a screening at LACMA for it. Holy shit! I pulled my head out of my derriere and was astounded. It was an entirely different experience. It also says something about the importance of seeing a film in a theatre, where they are meant to be seen.
Same thing with 2001: A Space Odyssey. Each time I see it, I see something new and I am thinking about the film for days. Those are always my favorite kinds of films, the ones that stay with you and that you're still thinking and talking about days, weeks, months later. I want the films that I see to offer an experience and not just be thought of as a way to escape reality.
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