A lady who sets her heart upon a lad in uniform must prepare to change lovers pretty quickly, or her life will be but a sad one.

First thing that is patently obvious is that as a visual piece of work the film has few peers, from stunning shots of rolling hills to the lavish period detail, it quite literally is breath taking. The attention to detail by director Stanley Kubrick and cinematographer John Alcott is admirable, whilst the costumes are of the highest order. I have never read the novel by William Makepeace Thackeray so have no frame of reference as regards the portrayals we witness unfolding. I have read that many find the film lacking in the humorous wit that is rife in Thackeray's page turner, yet Kubrick's take is full of satire surrounding the social standing that is the core beat of the story - well it certainly had me smiling anyways.

The film is pretty downbeat, thus, for a three hour movie it can bog down many a viewers patience. Which puts this into the movie for mood scenario bracket - because I personally wouldn't want to watch it if I was having a particularly blue day, so that is something newcomers to the film might want to bear in mind. There seems to be much division as regards Ryan O'Neal's performance in the film, and again having not read the novel I couldn't tell you if he nailed it. What I do know is that he seems perfect for the tone of the movie, and that really shouldn't be seen as a negative in my opinion. My only gripe really with it is that as a story it really doesn't engage me, I really didn't care about what happened to our title character or the assorted people close in his rapidly annoying world. Is that Kubrick's fault? Well he did his job with much style, the story just doesn't warrant a three hour epic, even when it's dressed up as splendidly as this most assuredly is. 8/10

Please click this link to listen to while reading.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpoNjrM5DlY

This is a film that makes you think you're in a museum looking at great artwork. But omg, that artwork is moving and there's a plot strung together from painting to painting. Put your damn pinky up, because it just gets classy from here.

I'll admit, this is a really long movie that does not move quickly from scene to scene. For some, that is going to be a big turn off. I'll admit, it would really suck if the cinematography was not so frigg'n good. I feel like the slow cuts from shot to shot are intentional, so you can take in the full meaning of everything. I'm also going to guess that life was kinda like that for people back in the 1700s. They didn't exactly have the plethora of stuff to do for entertainment that we have today.

Watching a guy go from his young 20s all the way to his old age is fascinating too. They don't simply make this protagonist a good guy. There are elements where you like him, sympathize with him, root for him; but there are other times you hate him and want him to fail. He clearly loves his son, but is terrible to his stepson. He fights for his true countrymen, but betrays them as well. He's kind of a human.

Some night where you're feeling classy, just pour yourself some high end wine, listen to some classical music, eat some fine cheese & sausage, and then pop this in for a good time.