Barry Lyndon vs. Eyes Wide Shut

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2 comments

Barry Lyndon is still my favorite Kubrick film. Eyes Wide is my third favorite as of right now, so this is a relatively close pair. I enjoyed Barry Lyndon's epic tone to it and how it really doesn't feel much like Kubrick's other films. Eyes Wide was great because it's similar to an unraveling nightmare while still being incredibly realistic. This may change sometime in the future for me, but Mr. Lyndon gets my vote.

Two great cinematic films from Kubrick. Neither is in my top 5 from him thou. Barry Lyndon here

An easy win for Barry Lyndon...

Eyes Wide Shut is the much better Kubrick film in my opinion.

I like Eyes Wide Shut more than I used to, and would ever consider it a minor favorite. My only real problem with it was the conspiracy paranoia stuff toward the end. It kind of drags, and isn't as interesting as the rest of the movie. Barry Lyndon is arguably my favorite Kubrick film, or at least close. I enjoy costume dramas and Lyndon delivers the goods on a level few others have in my experience.

Both are great Kubrick films with equally punchable actors in the lead roles. I think this may be intentional however, as both leads end up getting their comeuppances in pretty satisfying ways. But which is better? Eyes Wide Shut has more going on, so I'll give it that.

Complaining that a Kubrick film is pretentious is like complaining that Florida is hot. Of course it's hot, and you should have known it before you went there. Eyes Wide Shut, however, is not merely pretentious, but is clumsily so; the color symbolism is laid on with a trowel, and Tom Cruise is hopelessly out of his depth (and looks it in every frame). Of all the Kubricks made after 2001, I like Barry Lyndon best of all. It is pretentious (and Ryan O'Neal is awful, too), but it is sumptuous and gorgeous.

It really comes down to your opinion. As much as I love EWS, Barry Lyndon is beyond perfect