— I have hidden my ribbon somewhere on my person. If you find it, you can have it.
— …
— You are free to look anywhere for it.
— …
— I will think little of you if you do not find it.
— …
— …
— I cannot find it.
— You haven’t looked properly.

Some people find Barry Lyndon a fascinating, if cold, exercise in masterful filmmaking; others find it a terrific bore. I have little sympathy for the second opinion; how can anyone be bored by such an audacious film, unless they’ve become such passive filmgoers that no movie can involve them unless it caters to them? Barry Lyndon isn’t a great success, and it’s not a great entertainment, but it’s a great example of directorial vision: Kubrick saying he’s going to make this material function as an illustration of the way he sees the world. — Roger Ebert