Barry Lyndon poster

Barry Lyndon

1975184 minutesPG
6
Arcplot Score
📊 Solid
Unverified
⭐ 8.1IMDb
🍅 78%Rotten Tomatoes
Ⓜ️ 89/100Metacritic
🎬 8.0TMDb
📊 3.5Popularity
🏆Won 4 Oscars. 17 wins & 14 nominations total
Genre: Adventure, Drama, War
Directed by: Stanley Kubrick
In the eighteenth century, in a small village in Ireland, Redmond Barry (Ryan O'Neal) is a young farm boy in love with his cousin Nora Brady (Gay Hamilton). When Nora gets engaged to British Captain John Quin (Leonard Rossiter), Barry challenges him to a duel of pistols. He wins and escapes to Dublin, but is robbed on the road. Without an alternative, Barry joins the British Army to fight in the Seven Years War. He deserts and is forced to join the Prussian Army, where he saves the life of his Captain and becomes his protégé and spy of Irish gambler Chevalier de Balibari (Patrick Magee). He helps Chevalier and becomes his associate until he decides to marry the wealthy Lady Lyndon (Marisa Berenson). They move to England and Barry, in his obsession of nobility, dissipates her fortune and makes a dangerous and revengeful enemy.

Box Office

Budget:$11.0M
Revenue:$31.5M
Profit:$20.5M

Arcplot Score Breakdown

Beat Timing Precision6.1/10
Emotional Arc Impact10/10
Thematic Consistency2/10
Overall Score6/10

Beat Sheet

15 plot points

Barry Lyndon Arcplot
1
Opening Image
1 min
2
Theme Stated
12 min
3
Set-Up
24 min
4
Catalyst
36 min
5
Debate
48 min
6
Break Into Two
60 min
7
B Story
80 min
8
Fun and Games
104 min
9
Midpoint
120 min
10
Bad Guys Close In
136 min
11
All Is Lost
156 min
12
Dark Night of the Soul
170 min
13
Break Into Three
176 min
14
Finale
180 min
15
Final Image
184 min

Emotional Arc

+100-10

Plot Points

#1

Opening Image

1 min

18th century Ireland; young Redmond Barry ambitious; poverty and social aspiration evident.

#2

Theme Stated

12 min

Ambition, class, love, and fate; navigating society and personal desires.

#3

Set-Up

24 min

Barry joins British army; learns manners, swordplay, and strategy; loves Nora.

#4

Catalyst

36 min

Tragedy strikes; family or romance complications; forced to act for survival.

#5

Debate

48 min

Should Barry pursue ambition at cost of morality? Society vs. personal happiness.

#6

Break Into Two

60 min

Barry rises through European high society; duels, marriage, gambling; stakes increase.

#7

B Story

80 min

Relationship with Lady Lyndon and heirs; love, betrayal, and social maneuvering.

#8

Fun and Games

104 min

Society balls, duels, intrigue, wealth accumulation; personal victories and setbacks.

#9

Midpoint

120 min

Barry achieves social status; false victory; personal cost rising.

#10

Bad Guys Close In

136 min

Rivals, debts, and personal enemies threaten him; vulnerability exposed.

#11

All Is Lost

156 min

Love lost; fortunes fade; social isolation; Barry faces consequences of ambition.

#12

Dark Night of the Soul

170 min

Reflects on choices, morality, and fate; emotional low point; reckoning imminent.

#13

Break Into Three

176 min

Final attempts at resolution; accepts limitations; reconciles ambitions with reality.

#14

Finale

180 min

Final confrontations; Barry faces consequences; narrative closure achieved.

#15

Final Image

184 min

Barry alone, reflecting; triumph and tragedy intertwined; mirror opening with wisdom.