Storm Scenes
Ireland, especially the South and West thereof, is bracing itself tonight for the arrival of Storm Ellen. It seems likely to reach Maynooth in the early hours of tomorrow morning but will probably have dissipated a bit by then.
Anyway, the thought of a storm battering the Irish coast reminded me of the memorable storm scenes in David Lean’s 1970 film Ryan’s Daughter. The film crew had to wait almost a year near the coast at Dingle for a sufficiently violent storm but when one arrived they caught its elemental power superbly. No CGI in these shots!
I love the long shots of the people scurrying like ants on top of the cliff. Their movement makes them look terrified. I suspect they weren’t acting.
Update: it was indeed a very stormy night. I was woken up a few times by the gales, and there are lots of reports on the radio of fallen trees and debris, but I don’t know of any serious damage here in Maynooth.
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In the Dark 
August 20, 2020 at 12:20 pm
I thought the chess scene was more famous? And famously parodied in De Duva.
Here is Murray Melvin, who played the Reverend Runt in Barry Lyndon, on Kubrick’s number of retakes:
August 21, 2020 at 10:45 am
He’s a bit weird. I am fond of The Best Intentions, which he wrote but did not direct. It is based loosely on the complex courtship and early years of marriage of his parents, up the point where his mother is pregnant with him. The 3-hour film, cut down from the 5-hour TV version, is outstanding.
August 20, 2020 at 1:09 pm
That’s a long scene just to show a storm. Perhaps it inadvertently shows how long they’d waited for it. And it’s a long film.
August 20, 2020 at 1:39 pm
Actually that’s just the storm footage – there is quite a lot going on between the various shots that has been cut out. If you watch closely you can see a tiny bit of other action left in by accident partway through by the edit. Watch without blinking around 1.13…
August 20, 2020 at 1:45 pm
It is a long film and it has many flaws but the cinematography rightly won an Oscar, as it looks sumptuous.
August 21, 2020 at 8:14 pm
I tried to think of actors who had been in more than one Kubrick film, and without googling thought of Kirk Douglas (Paths of Glory, Spartacus) and Peter Sellers (Lolita, Dr Strangelove). I also suspected that Leon Vitali, who worked a lot with Kubrick on the other side of the camera, might have played more parts than Lord Bullingdon (in Barry Lyndon), and found that he indeed had a role in Eyes Wide Shut. Anybody else?
August 21, 2020 at 8:25 pm
Leonard Rossiter (2001 and Barry Lyndon)
August 21, 2020 at 8:31 pm
Pretty sure Steven Berkoff was in Barry Lyndon and he was definitely in A Clockwork Orange.
August 21, 2020 at 8:45 pm
Rossiter yes of course – thank you!
And I am certain that Berkoff was in Barry Lyndon – he played a Lord at the gambling table who got cleaned out by Barry and the Chevalier’s cheating and took off for dinner with two courtesans. Onscreen for little more than a minute but we can add him to the list. I didn’t know he was in Chocolate Orange or whatever.
August 21, 2020 at 9:39 pm
Patrick McGee – I could see his face but not remember his name – was also in Barry Lyndon and A Clockwork Orange.
August 22, 2020 at 12:05 am
Here’s a list:
https://www.imdb.com/list/ls076834590/
Philip Stone, Norman Gay, Frank Silvera, Joe Turkel, Sterling Hayden, Timothy Carey, Patrick Magee, Peter Sellers, Kirk Douglas, Leonard Rossiter, Steven Berkoff, Godfrey Quigley, Anthony Sharp, Leon Vitali, Pat Roach, Margaret Tyzack, Glenn Beck, Vivian Kubrick.
I am kicking myself for forgetting Sterling Hayden.