Far from the Madding Crowd (Schlesinger, 1967)

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

View all 76 of Julian Upton’s reviews

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

View all 346 of Barry Forshaw’s reviews

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DVD Extras

• This is a cropped 4:3 version of a film that is 2.35:1 in its original widescreen aspect ratio - a proper widescreen version should be available in early 2009

Film Details

Cast

Alan Bates, Terence Stamp, Julie Christie

Technical Details