Loin de la foule déchaînée

This adaptation of the Thomas Hardy novel is a lush Cinemascope production with a rich British cast. The flirtatious Bathsheba (J. Christie) is spoiled for choice between the dashing caddish soldier, the simple shepherd and the brooding landowner. But, alas, I wasn't really spellbound watching it. I just couldn't believe that Julie Christie was this headstrong 19th century maiden. She looks far too contemporary for me; as she is just the perfect 60s icon in costume (same as in Doctor Zhivago).

The actual visual aspect of the film made me wonder. The director was obviously trying very hard to give to this feature a feeling of the Dorset countryside. But, somehow, his efforts to include subjective camera, overhead shots, etc, didn't work for me. It didn't blend with the story. I felt that Bathsheba didn't evolve through the film. Julie Christie played the same way from start to finish, in spite of the ordeal she had to go through.

Alan Bates was perfect as the farmer turned shepherd, as was Peter Finch as the landowner. It's striking that some silent sequences that should have been devastating just left me completely cold. It lacked atmosphere. On the plus side, there is a nice score by British composer Richard Rodney Bennett.

"Far from the Madding Crowd" is one of a handful of elegantly produced, intelligent wide screen masterpieces which have sadly been neglected by those responsible for DVD. Fortunately, by early in 2009, Warner Brothers finally released it on a handsomely remastered standard DVD edition. There is no news of a Blu Ray version. It is richly scenic in an unusually stark, atmospheric way. Its cast is made up of some of the finest actors working at the time it was made. All of them handle their parts in this well-written, literate script, extremely well. Peter Finch, who seldom turned in a weak performance, is a standout in this film.

The great works of literary giants like Thomas Hardy invariably inspire strong opinions about film adaptations. It is no surprise to me that some reviewers were very critical of Far From the Madding Crowd, based on their feelings that it distorted aspects of the original novel. Despite such interpretive choices, or modifications as may be at play in this dramatization, the rewards of its many great strengths, in my opinion, make it a glorious viewing experience.

If you are a home theater buff with the technology needed to view this film on a fairly large screen, you will delight in its evocative wide screen splendor. It draws you into the very unique environment that was always so important in Thomas Hardy's writing. I am thrilled that such thoughtful epics as "Tess" and "Lord Jim" are all, at last, available in DVD release. "Far from the Madding Crowd" and David Lean's "Ryan's Daughter" are among those long awaited widescreen home entertainment selections which constitute the sublime highlights of any film library. They are visual masterpieces that cry out to be seen in such a high-resolution format as the DVD provides.

I have watched this film many tens of times and never tire of its beauty. Each viewing has me finding it even more beautiful than on the previous occasion – it may seem slow to first-time viewers but they should make the effort to watch the thing a few more times !!!

This film is without any doubt that which perfectly renders the atmosphere of Thomas Hardy's Wessex ! The careful filming, lighting and attention to the changing moods of the Dorset countryside is absolutely PERFECT, and the music is perfectly suited to the atmosphere ! This Film has just been issued on DVD in the UK but I was very disappointed to find that little or no remastering of the picture had been carried out and that, although the picture quality is reasonable for the time, I had been expecting the full treatment for a work of art such as this to get rid of remaining compression artefacts, spots, grain etc.! Also there are no subtitles for the deaf, and no subtitles or languages for foreign viewers (inadmissible !!) nor special features which you would expect for such a great work of art as this. Other films of Thomas Hardy country, such as Tess and others, pale into insignificance beside this one though it must be said that Tess, although taking place in Dorset was actually filmed in Normandy ( Cherbourg Peninsula) which would explain why the atmosphere wasn't the same.

Each scene of this film has remained indelible in my mind, the sheep being pushed over the cliff by the mad sheepdog, the corn market ( actually filmed in Devizes, Wiltshire ), the water flowing down Gold Hill in Shaftesbury, Dorset where poor young Fanny Robbins painfully seeking to mount during her last few hours on earth, the cock-fight, the beautiful views of the Dorset Coast with Durdle Door and the chalk cliffs, the romantic dalliance of Troy and Bathsheba doubtlessly filmed in one of those prehistoric burial mounds so common in Wiltshire. Truly, 'tis one of the most beautiful areas on earth. When I was at university in Bath, Avon, U.K. during the seventies, I made a point of visiting the Thomas Hardy country, and in particular the sites used in this film, as it was not too far away. I found a sense of timelessness there and the area has to be visited to 'feel' the atmosphere that the film exudes !

Above and beyond the magnificent sets and music, we have the actors' performance, which I seem to appreciate even more on each successive viewing of the film. Each character is very well developed and the performances are masterly even those of the minor characters. There is also a significant number of traditional songs of the day which are sung most convincingly by the actors. There is something quintessentially English about this film not to be found anywhere else, for this reason alone it should not be missed. I can only hope that one it will be remastered for picture and soundtrack and will then be truly appreciated on a home cinema.

The cast and the fact that I love the book(possibly my personal favourite of Thomas Hardy's work) were what drove me into seeing this Far From the Madding Crowd. And I personally really liked it, though I can see why people might not. It does have a couple of cliché moments and the film is overlong. On the other hand, the film looks gorgeous, the scenery is evocative and the cinematography positively shimmers. The music is hauntingly beautiful, the script is literate and thoughtful and the complex story unfolds slowly and deliberately, is faithful in detail and spirit to the book(in the film's favour rather than against it) and several scenes such as the scene in the graveyard have their impact. The direction from John Schlesinger is fine, I can see where some are coming from when they say his personality doesn't come through as it does in his other work but considering how different the story and his directing style is that's understandable, while the characters still have credibility and complexity if even more so in the book. Julie Christie is an affecting and spirited Bathsheba, Terence Stamp is appropriately soldierly and crusty, Alan Bates does down-to-earth very effectively and Peter Finch devastates as the tragic Boldwood. In conclusion, maybe not for everybody but I really liked it for mainly the cast, visuals and music. 8/10 Bethany Cox

I first saw this movie in 1968 when I was 14 as an assignment for school. The other day I saw it again late one Saturday night on my local PBS station. I remembered how entranced I was in the mood and the music, and that was still the same now. The movie was nominated for a Golden Globe as best picture(drama) and it won for best score.

But after living for 30 years I really see it as a great story about the relationship choices we make in life. It really made me reflect on my own choices in life.

The main character is played by Julie Christy age 26, who is the owner of a sheep farm in England. She is very beautiful and more than one man is in love with her. I won't say which man she marries but even after the movie was over I felt perplexed as to any one right outcome. That we all make choices at different times in our lives and sometimes the reasons are the same and sometimes they are different. Sometimes we make emotional choices and sometimes intellectual ones. But they are all choices we have to live with.