Fahrenheit 451

A film about the deliberate dumbing down and control of the populace using information control is perhaps more relevant than ever but Fahrenheit 451 also shows it's age in many parts and the conclusion doesn't feel right to my sensibilities.

Even so it's a story worth knowing and still an effective - though at times glacially paced - film.

The acting is passable. It follows the rather stilted form common at the time but it still conveys the story well and since the characters are supposed to be emotionless and controlled it's also fairly effective.

All in all I would recommend anyone to see it. It's not as impactful as 1984 but still a classic story that should be remembered.

This is a thought-provoking and poignant story happens in an oppressive and odd far world , a strange and terrifyingly mechanised society . It describes future Earth civilization with television a universal father-figure poring out messages , there a fireman whose duty is to destroy all books begins to question his task . This is the best adaptation of a Ray Bradbury book to hit the big screen , furthermore quite faithful to the tone of the story. It deals with a fire fighter named Montag ( Oscar Werner ) works in the line of duty as responsible for the destruction of materials , but he begins to question about the necessity of his job . Guy Montag is a veteran fireman who is much respected by his superiors (Cyril Cusack) from fire department and is in line for a promotion . Montag doesn't wonder what he does or why he does it until he deals with Clarisse ( Julie Christie in double role also as Montag's wife ). As his doubts enhance , he starts to rob some books he is about to burn . But a work's companion named Fabian (Anton Driffing) suspects about his hidden activity .

It's an intriguing type of story with Science-Fiction leanings and stretching rather far for some of the plot points . This cerebral picture is full of cinematic and literary references as Charles Dickens-David Copperfield- , Robert Stevenson , James Joyce and many others . The interesting story , generally slow-moving , mingles the genres of Dystopian science fiction and suspense film . It contains an intelligent and surprising ending , Truffaut's own invention , with the rebels wandering in idyllic exile by the edge of a glittering icy lake . Although set far in the future , there are no great special effects or elaborate sets ; despite , the movie was filmed in real locations by prestigious cameraman Nicolas Roeg , subsequently filmmaker , in Danebury Avenue, Roehampton, London, England, UK (opening sequence, block of flats) ,Linkway, Edgcumbe Park, Crowthorne, Berkshire, England, UK(Montagu's bungalow)Black Park, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, (Monorail),Fortismere Secondary School, Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, UK and Loiret, France , though most scenes were shot in Pinewood Studios . It is colorfully photographed in bright and gleaming red . Suspenseful and thrilling musical score by the classic Bernard Herrmann , Alfred Hitchcock's usual . The flick is stunningly directed by Francois Truffaut , in his fist English-language movie treating the subject of literature and tyranny with a intelligence and dignity not found in other films . This is one of the best of his suspense movies along with ¨ La Sirene du Missisipi ¨ and ¨Shoot the piano player¨. Rating : Very good , above average and well worth watching .

L

In a future where books have been outlawed, firemen are paid to burn books instead of put fires out. However, one fireman realizes that what he is doing is wrong and decides to go against the degenerate society he lives in.

I have read reviews of this movie calling it "boring" and "outdated," and frankly I am amazed by how ignorant some people can be. Calling "Fahrenheit 451" outdated simply because the set designs look old and because there are no flashy computer effects shows that you have completely missed the point. The people who made this were not trying to give you a spectacle, they were trying to give you a message - a message that is even more important today than it was when this movie came out.

"Fahrenheit 451" is a fine adaptation of Ray Bradbury's classic novel about censorship. The movie changes many of the book's events, but the spirit of the book is preserved. The cinematography is truly great and the score is quite powerful. The acting is also great. Oskar Werner is right on the money as Montag the fireman. Julie Christie is wonderful playing dual roles as yin and yang: Montag's zombie-like wife, Linda, and Montag's friend, the young and energetic Clarisse. Cyril Cusack is also memorable as the evil Fire Captain Beatty - he isn't a cartoon villain, but a very realistic and human character.

You may think that "Fahrenheit 451" delivers an irrelevant message. You may think that book burning is a thing of the past, a relic of Nazi Germany and Communist Russia. Look around you - book burning happens every day! How do you feel about people trying to ban "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" because the word "nigger" is used in it? How about whole sections of "Doctor Dolittle" being rewritten so that they are politically correct? Did you know that school textbooks may not make any mention of Mount Rushmore because it is offensive to a certain Indian tribe? Meanwhile, we are watching our giant-screen TVs and listening to our Walkmans (two inventions that were predicted by Bradbury). We are constantly "plugged in" and never take any time to just sit and think. Look around you - Ray Bradbury's story is coming true. I advise you to watch this movie, and to read the book. (Read the book first. You will appreciate the film more.)

I hear that a remake is in the works. No doubt it will be filled with gaudy special effects and silly Hollywood cliches. I guess I should hold off judgment until I actually see it, but I doubt that it will contain any of the genius that can be found in this sadly underrated gem. It will be interesting to see what they do with the mechanical hound, though....

From Ray Bradbury's novel about totalitarian society that has banned books and printed words in order to eliminate independent thought; Oskar Werner plays professional book-burner who becomes enraptured with stories. Possibly a bit too thin at this length, but a fascinating peek at a cold future (which the times have just about caught up to). Didn't get a warm reception from critics in its day, yet the performances by Werner and Julie Christie (in a dual role as both Werner's wife and a rebel acquaintance) are top notch. I was never a fan of director François Truffaut's too-precious stories of childhood, but this film, curiously his only English-language picture, is extremely well-directed; the sequence with the woman and her books afire is one amazing set-piece, with tight editing, incredible and precise art direction, and the camera in all the right places. Truffaut lets you feel the agony of book paper curling up black in a mass of orange flames, and the proud defiance of the woman as she herself strikes the match. Unforgettable. *** from ****

The Firemen take the knowledge, they won't permit, those with power make the rules, it's their remit, books are burned and turned to ash, as sparking kerosene arcs flash, if you're caught with contraband, they will commit. Montag works the fire, erasing texts, since meeting Clarisse he's increasingly perplexed, she's opened up a door, that's taken him to hidden floors, now he knows the flames he throws are all pretext.

It's not the greatest piece of filmmaking you've ever seen, and you can pull a wagon through some of the holes in the logic, but for its time, and as an example of how the few can control the many, it's still worth an exploration to benchmark where the world is all these years later.