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Film Description
Julie Christie stars in this adaptation of Thomas Hardy's 19th century tale of a woman's passion. Christie is in love with three very different men who are also in love with her: a handsome and wayward soldier, the local noble Lord, and the third an ever-patient farmer. Nicholas Roeg's cinematography is excellent and it's well accompanied by Richard Rodney Bennett's haunting soundtrack.
Despite its period setting, Far From the Madding Crowd was a fashionable project for its time. Terence Stamp and Julie Christie were swinging London’s hottest couple –... more >
Despite its period setting, Far From the Madding Crowd was a fashionable project for its time. Terence Stamp and Julie Christie were swinging London’s hottest couple – they had just been immortalised on vinyl as Terry and Julie in The Kink’s Waterloo Sunset – and John Schlesinger was one of the few English directors properly in tune with the zeitgeist. Nevertheless, this is a sincere and faithful adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s brooding tale of a headstrong girl’s effect on three very different suitors (Stamp, Peter Finch, Alan Bates), as she takes over her late uncle’s farm and endeavours to make an impression on a hard, male dominated world. Madding Crowd resonates with authentic visual detail, from the sodden grind of rural labour to the trinket-box materialism of 19th Century bourgeois life. But the film ultimately belongs to Nicolas Roeg, whose cinematography magically illuminates the dark, rainswept English landscape with a depth and richness that rises to the emotional challenges of the narrative, and captures Hardy’s west country with a coarse, unyielding beauty. < less
disappointing is the word !
how shallow and unconvincing the characters are! even Alan Bates does not manage to give Gabriel much power !
the circus scene is ... more >
disappointing is the word !
how shallow and unconvincing the characters are! even Alan Bates does not manage to give Gabriel much power !
the circus scene is given far too much importance and time too!
Henry James's comment when the book was published was :"the only things we believe in are the sheep and the dogs "!there are some beautiful exterior shots that could make that true! but basically the magic isn't there. The BBC adaptation of other T. HARDY's novels are a hundred times better ! < less
John Schlesinger's sensitive adaptation of the Thomas Hardy classic of the same name may have rather modern-looking principals in Julie Christie and Terence Stamp, but... more >
John Schlesinger's sensitive adaptation of the Thomas Hardy classic of the same name may have rather modern-looking principals in Julie Christie and Terence Stamp, but Alan Bates and Peter Finch are matchless, and more than compensate. Far From The Madding Crowd is the tale of Bathsheba (Julie Christie), a country girl unsatisfied with her modest lot on a quest for true love and her profound effect upon three men (Alan Bates, Terence Stamp, Peter Finch). Stunning cinematography (Nicholas Roeg) accompanies Richard Rodney Bennett's haunting soundtrack which is the perfect accompaniment. < less
"Far From The Madding Crowd" -
DavidLeanFan on 5th July 2009
Far from the Madding Crowd provides unmitigated viewing pleasure to all! Julie Christie as the beautiful, vain and fiercely independant Bathsheba Everdene; Alan Bates ... more >
Far from the Madding Crowd provides unmitigated viewing pleasure to all! Julie Christie as the beautiful, vain and fiercely independant Bathsheba Everdene; Alan Bates as the wise, kind and caring Gabriel Oak; Terence Stamp as the greed driven and unstable Frank Troy and Peter Finch as the isolated but well meaning farmer Boldwood.
Bathsheba is an independant and strong willed young woman, played by 60s icon Christie, who's vanity costs her an initial chance of happiness, surprisingly for her own good. The Hardyesque fatalism drives the film as the lives of each diverse character are intertwined. As Bathsheba's vanity induces more than just jealousy, the storyline is sent tumbling over the undulating hills of Dorset.The events of her life and the lives of those around her, including Troy's murder and Boldwood's imprisonment bring Bathsheba back in full circle to Oak.
A Hardy novel with a happy ending is a rare find. As is an adaptation this good. With direction by John Schlesinger and cinematography by future director Nick Roeg, the film is superbly successful. < less
