Movie #69: Released in 1975, directed by Stanley Kubrick, 188 minutes. New to me!

LetterBoxd Score: 4 stars

Kind of a puzzle. The movie is objectively beautiful. One scene literally made me cry (though that’s not too hard these days, so long as it is about a child). And it has memorable funny scenes as well – my favorite being the robbery from Captain Finney.

And yet – when I think about it, it feels cold and clinical, and doesn’t stick with me. Apparently a lot of critics felt the same way. If I had to venture a guess, possibly the issue is that this feels like a movie that should be a lot of fun. Apparently that’s how the Thackeray novel is played. But it doesn’t really feel fun, maybe because Lyndon is not enough of a charming rogue and the movie is sometimes detached. Maybe I would feel differently on a rewatch.

There is a theme running through the film about fathers and sons, which I largely missed while watching. Another reason I should probably revisit, to see if that helps bring it out of the cold for me.

Some other stray thoughts:

• It’s a good portrait of military life
• It’s a grim portrait of how things might go if AI delivers us into a post-scarcity world
• Duels were crazy

Why would someone think it’s one of the ten greatest films ever made?

There is such a commitment to recreating what this world looked like; costumes and settings of course, but also the innovations in camera technology to capture the lighting. Plus – it does have those scenes, and it does have things to say.

Next: Taxi Driver