Who would you have play Barry Lyndon?
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kenny-164 — 12 years ago(March 14, 2014 12:44 PM)
harry,
Nice thoughtful post, but ftr I merely referred to Douglas's appearing twice to note one of the few times a lead appeared in more than one Kubrick film.
I will take issue with your referring to Maureen O'Hara in The Quiet Man as hving a stage Irish accent, though. Heading into St. Patrick's Day weekend at that! Ms. O'Hara was born in Ireland, in a suburb of Dublin. She often played American characters, such as in Miracle on 34th Street, and i think with an acceptably competent American accent. (One of hte great beauties of the twentieth century as well! - don't pick on Maureen O'Hara) And John Wayne spoke in the entire film with his American accent, not attempting an Irish one, since he played a character who had spent the vast majority of his life in the US, even if born in Ireland. Bad example for you to pick on The Quiet Man.
I also think calling Ryan's Daughter condescending is painting with too broad a brush.
But the rest of your post was good. -
hyperstillharry — 12 years ago(March 15, 2014 06:23 PM)
"Nice thoughtful post, but ftr I merely referred to Douglas's appearing twice to note one of the few times a lead appeared in more than one Kubrick film."
Cheers, yeah, it's okay, I was simply pointing out that Kubrick did not cast Douglas, as Douglas did.
"I will take issue with your referring to Maureen O'Hara in The Quiet Man as hving a stage Irish accent, though."
She does, as do numerous other characters in the film, in spite of those characters being portrayed by Irish actors. There's also an unfortunate element of this in
Barry Lyndon
where a number of the Irish actors in the film play up the stage-Irishness of their roles, acting out a role to satisfy or appeal to the other's/foreigner's fantasy construct.
"Heading into St. Patrick's Day weekend at that!"
But isn't that a massive exemplification of the petrification and reification of stock-Irish idiot identities?
"Ms. O'Hara was born in Ireland, in a suburb of Dublin."
So? I was born in Dublin and live nearby. That has nothing to do with the arguments being made here.
"She often played American characters, such as in Miracle on 34th Street, and i think with an acceptably competent American accent."
Yeah, but this is all a
non sequitur
, as we're not talking about her character portrayals in other films. Sure, she portrays a convincing New York Jewish mother in Woody Allen's
Hannah and Her Sisters
, but all of this is quite separate from the one-dimensional passive-dumb stereotype she was required to play in
The Quite Man
.
"And John Wayne spoke in the entire film with his American accent, not attempting an Irish one,"
I wasn't suggesting that he was, as his role is clearly that of a sentimental-masochistic Irish-American seeking out his imaginary 'roots'.
"Bad example for you to pick on The Quiet Man."
On the contrary, it is a supreme example of insular-nationalistic stereotyping, of constructing pseudo-ethnic fantasies of the passified other.
"I also think calling Ryan's Daughter condescending is painting with too broad a brush."
Not at all. It really is atrocious, a direct reflection and manifestation of stage-Irish idiot stereotypes, perpetuating as it did a racist-classist foreign gaze. Compare it to, for instance, Jim Sheridan's
The Field
, which also has its stock of rural-idiot Irish characters (like, for example, John Hurt playing the toothless village idiot ("
The field, Bull, it's for sale! by
auction
"), but at least that latter film, however tokenistically, examines the underlying socio-economic, oedipal, and psycho-biographic complexities of the characters and their motivations, in spite of its many other obvious limitations).
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Felixthecat34213 — 10 years ago(December 13, 2015 10:12 PM)
The only real shortcoming was O'Neal's ridiculous attempt at an Irish accent, as irritatingly stage-Irish as in numerous other Hollywood and British films, from Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman in Far and Away to John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara in Ford's The Quiet Man, to Fred Astaire in Coppola's Leprechaun film, to the Blarney babblers in David Lean's condescending Ryan's Daughter (Funnily, it's as if that film was made by a relative of the corrupt and obsequious Lord Bullingdon such is the classist and patronizingly racist and sexist stereotyping). Of course, Bullingdon would indirectly 'reappear' as a spectre in Kubrick's subsequent film, via Philip Stone (Graham in Barry Lyndon) playing Delbert Grady, the obnoxiously classist-racist 1920s butler-waiter-caretaker who directs Jack Torrance to do his superegoic duty by "correcting" his family.
I disagree completly. I'm not Irish, but I found his accent to be subtle and non intrusive. I almost forget his character is supposed to be Irish because he makes the accent very natural. -
Nicanthony — 9 years ago(January 10, 2017 06:17 AM)
I didn't notice the bad Irish accent. Perhaps one has to be Irish, or be from Europe/UK to notice the difference.
Also, I enjoyed Ryan O'Neal as the lead.
PS. I give Clockwork Orange, Barry Lyndon, and Dr Strangelove all 10/10. But Kubrick movies for me tend to go off the scale. Clockwork deserves an 11, and Strangelove a 10.5. Barry Lyndon is the most flawed of the 3, but so beautiful it still deserves a 10. Else I would have to shift all my other ratings down by a point. -
The_Centurion — 12 years ago(March 11, 2014 01:20 PM)
I think Ryan O'Neill fit the part very well, and remember that it was the studio who demanded that Kubrick cast a top ten actor in the leading role thus limiting options. Malcolm McDowell and Anthony Hopkins are both interesting possibilities, however.
You are a smooth smoothie, you know. -
tyrexden — 11 years ago(June 02, 2014 09:29 AM)
This movie is the movie it is, because of Ryan O'Neal. He has a great balance of youthful naivitee, admirable heroics, moppish affection for his love life, innocence yet capability. He makes it easy to root for, even though he's not a typical protagonist.
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danasider — 9 years ago(August 14, 2016 08:51 PM)
I agree with this most. Sure, the Irish accent wasn't great, but all the other qualities you've stated make O'Neal perfect for the role.
I saw some other actors mentioned like Malcolm McDowell and Anthony Hopkins. Neither have the boyish charm that O'Neal and the character share, not to mention, the looks one would need to be a believable casanova which would cause the Lady Lyndon to fall in love 6 hours after meeting.
Normally, I don't care about looks and even get annoyed when everyone looks perfect in film, but Redmond Barry is the quintessential hero in all aspects including charm, natural ability and looksbut subverted like only Kubrick can do. -
robhiphop — 11 years ago(December 01, 2014 03:38 AM)
The character of Barry Lyndon requires a certain sense of naivet. He's an opportunistic social climber, but there's a kind of cluelessness in the way he blunders crudely from one situation to the next. Both Malcolm McDowell and Anthony Hopkins would've been too "knowing" and self aware to really carry this off. Ryan O'Neal might have his limitations as an actor, but he was right for this part.
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Bourbon_King — 11 years ago(December 25, 2014 03:25 PM)
Barry Lyndon is one of my all time favorite films as well.
I do think however that Ryan was a good choice to play Redmond (bad accent and all). Ryan's poor accent lends to Redmond's inability to ever fit in with the English Aristocracy. Remember also that the Chevalier himself spoke German and Hungarian with a passive Irish lilt that the Chief of Police in Prussia found highly suspect as well. It's a running theme throughout the film about not fitting in.
"Where's your spark now?" -
Felixthecat34213 — 10 years ago(December 13, 2015 10:16 PM)
I do think however that Ryan was a good choice to play Redmond (bad accent and all). Ryan's poor accent lends to Redmond's inability to ever fit in with the English Aristocracy. Remember also that the Chevalier himself spoke German and Hungarian with a passive Irish lilt that the Chief of Police in Prussia found highly suspect as well. It's a running theme throughout the film about not fitting in.
I don't know, What was so bad about it? -
TravisChaplin — 10 years ago(May 17, 2015 08:45 AM)
Malcolm McDowell and Anthony Hopkins both would have been interesting( as would have David Hemmings) but after watching Barry Lyndon again for first time in a while, I do think that Ryan O'Neil did do a good ( great?) job. It's not as as an immediately iconic a performance as say Malcolm McDowell in A Clockwork Orange, Jack Nicholson in The Shining, or George C. Scott in Dr. Strangelove but O'Neil was able to bring enough nuances to the role that he definitely worked despite not being the most well suited for the part.