The Genius of Barry Lyndon: Factual and Theoretical Approaches to Kubrick’s Masterpiece

One of the most visually compelling films ever made, Barry Lyndon can--and should, argues the author--be seen as Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece. This comprehensive analysis examines such topics as the unique way in which Kubrick photographed the film, Kubrick’s subtle understanding of cinematic storytelling, the deliberate upturning of generic expectation, and the eclectic use of music. It also provides a more rigorous reading of the film from a diverse range of theoretical approaches: structuralist, feminist, psychoanalytical, Marxist and postcolonial readings.

Patrick Webster is a musician, writer and university lecturer. A graduate and postgraduate of the University of Leeds, he has written on subjects including Stanley Kubrick and masculinity, ecology and dyslexia. He lives in Leeds, in the North of England.