MovieChat Forums > The Duellists (1978) Discussion > It sure does want to be Barry Lyndon doe...

It sure does want to be Barry Lyndon doesn't it?


It even has that same actress that plays Barry's cousin. An excuse to claim 'homage' to a film that came out two years prior, perhaps? Just saw this film and it continues to solidify my thought that Ridley Scott and David Fincher are the most over rated directors in American film history. He hasn't made one film that raises itself above the level of mediocrity. This one is just plain silly and uninvolving.

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Despite similarities this one is definitely its own film.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24MZcKtps1w

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Ridley's always been very open about his admiration for Kubrick's body of work so what you see as blatant "homage" I see as inspired motivation to create a work that speaks to a visual narrative that inspires him.

If you want to talk about blatant copycat film making then perhaps we can discuss some of Quentin Tarantino's revenge films from the last 13 years or JJ Abrams' love affair with being 13 years old and binge watching Spieberg movies.

A good medium point between cliched homage and high end homage would be Brian DePalma who in my opinion wore out his Hitchcock pallet by the late 90s with Snake Eyes. His early works were more inspiring but by the time he made the Untouchables his work just seems too mechanical.

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i thought it was better than barry Lyndon. A bit slow, but not as dull.

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I liked this one better.

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This is a very weak version of Barry Lyndon. Both are nicely directed but Barry Lyndon is a close masterpiece.

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Interesting observations.

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