How did 18th century paintings help influence the look of Kubrick’s “Barry Lyndon”
<p>Stanley Kubrick was forthcoming in admitting the influence of period paintings in his 1975 film <a href=“http://screenprism.com/film/page/barry-lyndon” target=“_blank”><em>Barry Lyndon</em></a>. Kubrick<a href=“http://www.visual-memory.co.uk/amk/doc/interview.bl.html”> described how he accumulated a large file of paintings and drawings taken from art books</a> and used them as reference material for designing the film’s clothing, furniture and hand props. On top of utilizing such references, <a href=“http://www.visual-memory.co.uk/amk/doc/interview.bl.html”>the production designers acquired clothes from the time period</a> and <a href=“http://www.visual-memory.co.uk/amk/doc/interview.bl.html”>created the new costumes in roughly the same manner as the antiques they had used for model</a>s. This commitment to authenticity may sound like overkill, but then again, Stanley Kubrick was never known for skimping on the details of a shot. </p>
<p>Such authenticity in <em>Barry Lyndon</em> also extends to the manner in which it was shot, rumored to have been filmed entirely using only natural light. False though it is, it is worth noting that Kubrick and cinematographer John Alcott sought to shoot as many scenes without electric light due to Kubrick's<a href=“http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/4524037/Barry-Lyndon-Kubricks-neglected-masterpiece.html”> dislike of the artificial way other period dramas dramas looked</a>. Most of the scenes in <em>Barry Lyndon</em> are shot through candlelight to produce the intended effect of natural 18th century lighting. To achieve such an ambitious and unique pre-industrial effect <a href=“http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/4524037/Barry-Lyndon-Kubricks-neglected-masterpiece.html”>the production used super-fast 50mm lenses that were last utilized by NASA to film the Apollo 11 moon landing</a> (or for conspiracy theorists, perhaps the same lenses Kubrick used to film the Apollo 11 moon landing on a Hollywood soundstage). </p>
<p>In answering this query, it's best to see some examples of 18th century art juxtaposed with clips of the film itself. Getting past the overtly dramatic introduction and music, the following link (<a href=“https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRAHI2kvz-c”>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRAHI2kvz-c</a>) shows how 18th century art influenced <em>Barry Lyndon </em>and demonstrates Kubrick's masterfull film making style. </p>