Far from the Madding Crowd (1967)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

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:

Love | 19th Century | Sheep | Sergeant | Unrequited Love

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 (heavily cut) (1968) | Finland:K-16 (uncut) (1988) | 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:

Joseph Poorgrass: [Very drunk] Well, I got a slight attack of the multiplying eye.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in A Profile of 'A Town Like Alice' (2001) (V)

Soundtrack:

Jesus Christ Is Ris'n Today

Wade through the first hour and you won't be sorry

Okay, I'll admit it. The first hour of this film dragged so much that I almost gave up on it. All there was was Julie Christie fighting the Dorset scenery for beauty, and that was about it. Then, Terrance Stamp, as the charming louse Christie marries, came on the scene, and that did it. The story really got moving at that point, with all the principals giving solid performances.

Stamp, as mentioned before, stands out as Frank, the amoral ex-soldier whose love-hate relationship with Christie leads to tragedy. The ever-excellent Peter Finch, underplaying more than was usually his wont, does equally as well as a neighboring farmer, whose growing obsession wth Christie's Bathsheba is brought out subtly but forcefully. And Christie's Bathsheba does, indeed, make a strong protagonist. We sympathize with her through every twist and turn, every trial and tribulation, every pain and pleasure. Why she and Stamp, especially, weren't Oscar-nominated for this film is unfathomable. Richard Rodney Bennet's score, future director Nicolas Roeg's camerawork, and, especially, John Schlesinger's direction bring it all together.

As I said earlier, wade through the first hour as best you can, then sit back and enjoy.