Far from the Madding Crowd

A British period drama; A story about a beautiful woman who arouses the ardour of three rival suitors in 19th-century rural Dorset. Headstrong, and having flirted and toyed with their affections, she chooses to marry one that leads to trouble. John Schlesinger's adaptation of Thomas Hardy's classic novel is a superbly photographed production thanks to cinematographer Nicolas Roeg. The screenplay is faithful to the original story whilst maintaining the wit necessary for it to be engaging. Richard Rodney Bennett's wistful score works very well. Julie Christie is a fascinating presence. She is convincing as one, under whose spell, many a man could fall.

In this sprawling adaptation of the Hardy novel, a beautiful woman in 19th century English countryside must select a suitor among three men. It has become fashionable to bash this film but it is quite an impressive production. Although she may not be exactly what Hardy had in mind, Christie is radiant as the heroine. The men pursuing her are well played by Finch as a rich landowner, Stamp as a cad, and especially Bates as a poor sheep farmer. Schlesinger's direction is leisurely and meticulous but he sustains interest despite the nearly three-hour length. The cinematography by Roeg is breathtaking and Bennett's score adds a haunting quality to the film.

What a treat to see an adaption of this marvellous but hard going book, of course it's always worth the effort to read Hardy, but it takes getting into, you have to be in the right mind frame, so dramatisations of his wonderfully rich characters are always wonderful to watch, and open up his work to a wider audience I should imagine.

This film in particular was pretty true to the script, if a little condensed, in places. I felt Alan Bates was just fantastic on screen, but probably had the right amount of charm and screen magnetism for the box office, but a little too much to be a true Farmer Oak as described by Hardy, what women in her right mind would ever turn him down,being so sweet and looking like that, I must watch more of his films.

Everyone else was just brilliant as well, and it was lovely to see the beautiful Dorset I visit often so on the big screen and note it really hasn't changed that much at all since the filming in the 60's.

An excellent film, don't miss it !!!

If you are wanting fast action and thrills then this film is not for you, however, if you enjoy a good drama with a haunting score then look no further. Bathsheba Everdine (Christie)has three suitors in the form of the dashing Troy(Stamp) the dependable Oak (Bates) and the brooding/obsessed Boldwood (Finch). The story revolves around her relationship with each of these three men with rural Victorian England as the backdrop. I particularly enjoyed Terrence Stamp's performance as Sergeant Troy whose real love is Fanny Robbin and not Bathsheba. Richard Rodney Bennett creates a lovely haunting soundtrack which conjures up the English countryside. A smashing film!!

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