Stanley Kubrick's Historical Odysseys | Barry Lyndon | Spartacus #129

Queen is Dead - A Film, TV and Culture Podcast

Tis' Kubrick Month!

Dhruv, Amartya, and Hemant will spend the entirety of July revisiting and discussing 10 (of 13) Kubrick-directed films (the Horror and Noir films will be discussed in October and November, respectively!) plus 1 conceptualized and obsessed over by him but eventually directed by his dear friend, Steven Spielberg.

In Part 2 (of 4), we focus on Kubrick's historical epics, which feel like a continuation of his War films and, at times, a counterpoint to them.

We start by discussing the only film he believes he never had a final cut on—"Spartacus" (1960)—a swords-and-sandals epic whose main point of value for us lies in debating the limits of the auteur theory and the behind-the-scenes shenanigans that made the production a living hell for most involved.

Then, we pivot to focus extensively on "Barry Lyndon" (1975), best described as a "rebound" for Kubrick after he couldn't get his "Napoleon" project off the mark. But what if—we discuss and argue—"Barry Lyndon" is his best film? What if it retains the utter silliness of "Dr. Strangelove" but somehow also works as a heartbreaking character tragedy?

Listen to the full episode and much more about Yorgos Lanthimos ("The Favourite," "Poor Things") and Sofia Coppola's ("Marie Antoinette") Kubrickian touches in their period pieces!

TIME CODES

Intro: [00:00 - 06:14]

"Spartacus" (1960): [06:14 - 55:04]

Kubrick's "Take" on Humanity: [55:04 - 57:13]

"Barry Lyndon" (1975): [57:13 - 02:07:59]

Outro: [02:07:59 - 02:15:36]

Book Referenced in this Episode -

"Kubrick: An Odyssey" (Nathan Abrams & Robert P. Kolker).

Audio Excerpts -

1. "Kermode Uncut: Barry Lyndon." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gk-xbqrJHzE&t=60s&ab_channel=kermodeandmayo.

2. "I'm Spartacus - Spartacus." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKCmyiljKo0&ab_channel=Movieclips.

3. "Georges Friedrich Haendel - Sarabande - Main Title (Barry Lyndon)." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWMR79IMQ-M&ab_channel=Gepetto.

4. "Hail Caesar! Got Most of It Scene." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9v6VJLZ8_I&ab_channel=Movieclips

5. "A Clockwork Orange Trailer." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T54uZPI4Z8A&ab_channel=WarnerBros.Entertainment

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