Barry Lyndon - Stanley Kubrick Ryan ONeal Marisa Berenson with another music th...

In the opening scene, set in 1750s Ireland, the father of Irishman Redmond Barry (Ryan O'Neal) is killed in a duel over the sale of some horses. The widow (Marie Kean), disdaining offers of marriage, devotes herself to the raising of her son. When Barry is a young man, he falls in love with his cousin, Nora Brady (Gay Hamilton). She likes him well enough to seduce him, but when the well-off English Captain John Quin (Leonard Rossiter) appears on the scene, the poverty-stricken Barry is quickly dropped. She & her whole family are set on relieving their financial difficulties with an advantageous marriage. Barry refuses to accept the situation & (seemingly) kills Quin in a duel. Fleeing the law, Barry travels towards Dublin, but is robbed by a famous highwayman, Captain Feeney (Arthur O'Sullivan), & his son Seamus (Billy Boyle), leaving Barry little choice but to join the British army. Later, he is reunited with a family friend, Captain Grogan (Godfrey Quigley), who informs him that the duel was faked. Barry's pistol was not loaded with a real bullet, but one made with tow, & Quin was only stunned. It was staged so as to get him out of the way, so the cowardly Quin could be coaxed into marrying Nora, thereby securing the family's financial situation. Barry's regiment is sent to fight in the Seven Years' War in Europe. During one skirmish, Grogan is fatally wounded, & Barry deserts at the first opportunity, impersonating a courier. He spends a few pleasant days with Lischen (Diana Körner), a lonely woman whose husband is away fighting. When he resumes his journey, he encounters a Prussian captain, Potzdorf (Hardy Krüger), who sees through his disguise. Given the choice of joining the Prussian army o. being taken for a deserter, Barry enlists in his second army. During one battle, he saves Potzdorf's life. A scene featuring Barry, Nora Brady, & Captain Quin. Kubrick looked toward paintings of the era for inspiration. A scene featuring Barry, Nora Brady, & Captain Quin. Kubrick looked toward paintings of the era for inspiration. After the war ends in 1763, Barry is employed by the Prussian Minister of Police, Potzdorf's uncle. It is arranged for him to become the servant of the Chevalier de Balibari (Patrick Magee), a professional gambler. The Prussians suspect that he is a spy & Barry is assigned to try to determine if he is. However, when Barry finds out the chevalier is a fellow Irishman, he confesses all to him & they become confederates. Barry assists the chevalier in cheating at card games, but when the Prince of Tübingen (Wolf Kahler) suspects the truth after losing a large sum, they are unceremoniously expelled from Prussia. They wander from place to place, cheating the nobles. Barry proves to be very useful; when a loser refuses to pay his debts, Barry's excellent swordsmanship convinces him otherwise. Hardened by his experiences, Barry decides to better himself by marrying well. During the course of his travels, he encounters the beautiful & wealthy Countess of Lyndon (Marisa Berenson). Barry has little difficulty seducing her. Her sickly husband, Sir Charles Lyndon (Frank Middlemass) dies; the following year (1773), she & Barry are married. Young Lord Bullingdon (Dominic Savage), Lady Lyndon's son by Sir Charles, hates Barry from the beginning. The marriage is not a happy one, although they welcome a new son, Bryan Patrick. Barry enjoys himself & is unfaithful to his wife while keeping her in dull seclusion. Barry brings his mother over from Ireland to live with him. She warns her son that his position is precarious. If Lady Lyndon were to die, all her wealth would go to her son Lord Bullingdon (now a young man played by Leon Vitali); Barry would be left penniless. Barry's mother advises him to obtain a noble title to protect himself. He cultivates the acquaintance of the influential Lord Wendover (André Morell) with this goal in mind, spending much money to grease his way. All this effort is wasted however. One day, Lord Bullingdon announces his hatred of his stepfather & is beaten by Barry in front of many important guests. Bullingdon leaves the family estate after this. Barry's public cruelty loses him all the powerful friends he has worked so hard to make & he is shunned socially. As badly as he has treated his stepson, Barry proves to be a doting father to Bryan. However, when he is eight, the boy is thrown from a horse & soon dies. The grief-stricken Barry turns to drink, while Lady Lyndon seeks solace from religion, assisted by the Reverend Samuel Runt (Murray Melvin), tutor first to Lord Bullingdon & then to Bryan. Barry's mother dismisses Reverend Runt partly because they no longer need a tutor, partly for fear that his influence is only making Lady Lyndon worse. Plunging even deeper into grief, she attempts suicide. Upon hearing of this, Lord Bullingdon returns & challenges Barry to a duel. A coin flip gives Bullingdon the privilege of shooting first, but his pistol misfires. Barry fires into the ground, but Bullingdon refuses to let the duel end here. He fires again, this time hitting Barry in the leg, which has to be amputated at the knee. While Barry is recovering, Bullingdon takes control of the estate. He offers his stepfather an annuity of 500 guineas if he leaves England; otherwise, with his credit exhausted, his creditors will see to it that he is put in jail. Wounded in spirit & body, Barry accepts. He goes first to Ireland with his mother, then to the European continent to resume his former profession of gambler, though without his former success. He never sees Lady Lyndon again. The final scene (set in 1789) shows the middle-aged Lady Lyndon signing Barry's annuity check. 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