For this week’s addition of Waterford Castle’s blog we will take a look at the upcoming Waterford Film Festival ; which takes place between the 8th-10th November in Greyfriars Art Gallery. To coincide with the upcoming Waterford Film Festival, we are going to take a look at what is arguably the most significant film to be produced in Waterford; ‘Barry Lyndon.’ Many of the films exterior scenes were shot in locations throughout Waterford, including Waterford Castle. As such, through the microcosm of film, this blog should serve as an snap-shot of Waterford's cultural vibrancy.
Now in its 7th year, the Waterford Film Festival provides a platform for
film-makers and writers to showcase a wide range of short films from
documentaries, animation, short films, experimental and student work. The
Greyfriars Art Gallery will be transformed into a cinema for the
duration of the festival. The festival centres on and aims to
promote independent short films and screenplays. The festival features and
exciting programme including a variety of competitions, covering a wide
spectrum of areas of writing and cinema. For instance, The Waterford City
Council Award for Best Short Film celebrates short fiction and documentary
films. Additionally, the Screenplay competition, now in its 6th year,
attracts a variety of excellent submissions, primarily from budding, first-time
writers. Whilst the Best Screenplay Award will be open to all short film
screenplays which have not been filmed/ produced. Due to the variety and quality
of the competitions, the festival continually attracts high quality film
submissions from filmmakers around the world, thus providing a diverse range of
cinema for audiences to enjoy.
‘Barry
Lyndon’, directed by Stanley Kubrick and staring Ryan O Neil and Marisa
Berenson, was released in 1975. The film is
an adaptation of The Luck Of Barry Lyndon, a novel set in the 18
century, written by William Makepeace Thackeray. The story centers on
a young farm-boy, Redmond Barry, a loveable rouge who is determined to become a
wealthy nobleman and will use any means possible to realise his dream. Falling
on hard times after being robbed, Redmond is forced to join the British Army;
fighting in the ‘Seven Years War.’ He latter deserts the British Army to become
a spy in the Pursian army, subsecently becoming a conman. He continually lies,
dupes and charms his way up the social ladder and enters a loveless marriage to
a Countess; Lady Lydon, to further advance his cause. However, his deceptive
nature and promiscuous lifestyle catches up with him and he slowly descends
into ruin.
Whilst
the film features a number of cinematographic innovations, the magnificent
settings and classical music allow it to evoke and remain true to its 18th century
setting. For instance,
a number of locations throughout Waterford, including Waterford Castle’s
Island, Little Island, provided the naturally picturesque yet rugged landscape
for many of the film’s exterior shots. Furthermore, many of film’s interior scenes where
set in a number of as Powerscourt House, Co.Wicklow, Dublin Castle, Cahir
Castle and Huntington Castle in County Carlow. In
terms of musicality, the film’s score features a number of motifs from works by
famous composers such as Bach, Mozart, Schubert, and Vivaldi.
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Additionally,
the film’s unique stylistic feature was that most of this film’s interior
footage were filmed solely by candle light, which proved to be a cinematic
innovation and further emphasized the authenticity, beauty and
significance of the scenes. While the film had limited box office success, it
won many awards including won four Oscars in production categories and it is
often regarded as Kubrick finest work. Furthermore, it has been regarded
as one of the greatest films ever made. Amongst Kubrick’s highly acclaimed
directorial portfolio include ‘2001: Space Odecey’, ‘Sparticus’, ‘the Clockwork
Orange' and 'Eyes Wide Shut.'
To conclude, we have seen a snapshot of Waterford's cinematic exploits.Waterford’s history, cultural vibrancy, architecture and
un-spoilt natural landscape are just some factors which contribute to Waterford’s potential as an idyllic film destination. Furthermore, the region has a wealth of talented writers, directors and actors, which is clearly demonstrated each year through the
Waterford Film Festival. For more information in relation to the Waterford Film Festival please visit
http://www.waterfordfilmfestival.com/
. For more information in relation to Waterford Castle Hotel, please visit
www.waterfordcastle.com
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