marisa berenson, ladies and gentlemen. i can't remember the first time i saw the lovely marisa. i'm thinking it might have been in blake edwards underrated black comedy 's.o.b.' but i know her best from her role as natalia in bob fosse's 'cabaret.' this shot, however, is from stanley kubrick's gorgeous 1975 epic 'barry lyndon,' where she played opposite ryan o'neal as the lilting, melancholy, ethereal lady lyndon. she looked perfectly appropriate in the grandeur of her costume. i read the william makepeace thackeray book when i was in residential rehab. i'm not trying to be melodramatic, that's the truth. the movie is surprisingly faithful to the original work. some of the dialogue was, i think, directly lifted. marisa was perfectly cast; in the book lady lyndon was little more than a wealthy, glamorous phantom. i don't remember where i found this shot. i mean, i didn't capture it from the disc, but i tricked it after i found it to bring out the contrast. i wish she had been in more stuff, i think she's wonderful.
