Far from the Madding Crowd (1967)

Director:

John Schlesinger

Writers:

Thomas Hardy (novel)
Frederic Raphael (screenplay)

Release Date:

18 October 1967 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Her romance with three men becomes a bold adventure [UK theatrical]

Plot:

Bathsheba Everdine, a willful, flirtatious, young woman, unexpectedly inherits a large farm and becomes romantically involved with three widely divergent men.

Plot Keywords:

Sergeant | Farm | Sheep | Love | 19th Century

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Julie Christie	...	Bathsheba Everdene
Terence Stamp	...	Sgt. Francis 'Frank' Troy
Peter Finch	...	William Boldwood
Alan Bates	...	Gabriel Oak
Fiona Walker	...	Liddy
Prunella Ransome	...	Fanny Robin
Alison Leggatt	...	Mrs. Hurst
Paul Dawkins	...	Henery Fray
Julian Somers	...	Jan Coggan
John Barrett	...	Joseph Poorgrass
Freddie Jones	...	Cainy Ball
Andrew Robertson	...	Andrew Randle
Brian Rawlinson	...	Matthew Moon
Vincent Harding	...	Mark Clark
Victor Stone	...	Billy Smallbury

Runtime:

168 min | Finland:170 min (uncut) | Finland:157 min (cut)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Mono (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 (uncut) (1988) | Finland:K-16 (heavily cut) (1968) | UK:U (cut) | USA:TV-14 | France:U | Singapore:PG | Australia:PG | Sweden:11 | USA:PG | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Abbotsbury, Dorset, England, UK

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Director Cameo: [John Schlesinger]Briefly spotted as an extra in the harvest celebration at about the midway point, before the film's Intermission.

Quotes:

Gabriel Oak: At home by the fire, whenever I look up, there you will be. And whenever you look up, there I shall be.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 76th Annual Academy Awards (2004) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Bushes and Briars

Boring? NO WAY!

Like another reviewer, I'm continuously amazed at detractors to this fine adaptation of Thomas Hardy's strongest novel. The reviewer who whines about it being "boring" should tune into a good TV sit-com and let the good cinema go-- it will always be "boring." Those reviewers, and there are several, who read Hardy can appreciate this fine film which builds on directly on Hardy's novel. One reviewer noted that Hardy "...gets into the heads of his characters..." Quite true, but unless you're goofy like the Coen Brothers or Terry Gilliam, you can't always do that in the cinema. So, Schlesinger does the next best thing in developing the characters with an excellent cast including Christie, Finch, Stamp and Bates. This is an excellent film and captures much of the rural English lifeways that Hardy wrote about in this and Tess of the D'Ubervilles, Return of the Native and others. Check it out.