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
