Barry Lyndon (1975)

Written and directed by Stanley Kubrick, this historical drama is a masterclass in how to make a great film. Everything about it is superb. 

Consisting of the varied and rambling adventures of the title character (portrayed by Ryan O’Neal), the story details the exploits of an 18th-century Anglo-Irish loner. He has to leave home following a duel with British Army captain John Quin (Leonard Rossiter), is robbed by highwaymen and then ends up in the British army – until he deserts and sets off on a whole sequence of other adventures.

There’s a quirky tone, enhanced by the narration of Michael Hordern. The film has an unusually sophisticated deadpan wit and intelligence. It's visually stunning, too. Kubrick treats you to a sequence of brilliantly composed shots. It’s like a rare liqueur – a luxurious treat. 

A masterpiece.

The Main Event (1979)

The goodwill built up by Barbra Streisand and Ryan O’Neal in the hilarious What’s Up, Doc? is quickly dispersed in this lame “comedy” that reunited the two stars. Streisand plays Hillary Kramer, a businesswoman who made a fortune through perfumes – only to have her profits embezzled by her accountant. O’Neal is a financial asset she inherits – a retired boxer who has to fight again to win back the money she is owed. This ludicrous scenario might not be a problem in itself but a bigger issue is that the film simply isn’t funny. Countless scenes fall flat. Often you’re not even sure if they are supposed to be funny. How much did the producer – Barbra’s boyfriend, the hairdresser Jon Peters – have to do with this mess? (While Peters is credited as Producer in the opening titles, Streisand appears to take all the credit for the film in the commentary on the DVD. This is especially ironic as she should have been washing her hands of the whole debacle. Elsewhere on the DVD menus she is credited as co-producer. But if she was, why wasn’t that made clear when this first showed in cinemas?)

Failed humour is one problem, but there are also dodgy themes about race and gender that really don’t feel right. At points there’s a prominent feminist theme, but at other times Streisand seems to be angling her bottom at the camera and showing off pointless costume changes far more than the plot requires. What exactly is this film trying to say?

The boxing narrative is fairly weird and never rings true, but then the inevitable love story (or “glove story”, as they call it) doesn’t seem to work either. Whereas Streisand absolutely sparkles in What’s Up, Doc?, here she cannot transcend the limitations of the script. And that script is so muddled and unconvincing that you’re left baffled rather than entertained.

What’s Up, Doc? (1972)

Ingenious “screwball” comedy starring Barbra Streisand (as Judy Maxwell) and Ryan O’Neal (as Howard Bannister). The script is hilariously sharp. The slapstick is spot-on. Produced, written and directed by Peter Bogdanovich, it begins as farce and becomes increasingly ridiculous. Four identical-looking bags get mixed up in a San Francisco hotel. One contains top-secret documents, one contains expensive jewels, one contains rare igneous rocks and one contains Judy’s clothing and a dictionary. Endless mix-ups ensue, with Streisand and O’Neal eventually finding themselves being pursued by gangsters. There are countless laugh-out-loud moments. Streisand is as funny as she has ever been – an absolute delight. As a witty romp, with a dash of romance and plenty of absurdity, it’s pretty much unbeatable.