IMDb > Fahrenheit 451 (1966)
Fahrenheit 451
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Fahrenheit 451 (1966) More at IMDbPro »

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Fahrenheit 451 (1966) -- ZuGuide.com - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
7.2/10   11,379 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 3% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
François Truffaut
Writers:
Ray Bradbury (novel)
François Truffaut (screenplay) ...
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Contact:
View company contact information for Fahrenheit 451 on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
14 November 1966 (USA) more
Genre:
Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller more
Tagline:
Aflame with the excitement and emotions of tomorrow! more
Plot:
In an oppressive future, a fireman whose duty is to destroy all books begins to question his task. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 2 nominations more
User Comments:
visionary brilliance more (124 total)

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)
Oskar Werner ... Guy Montag

Julie Christie ... Clarisse / Linda Montag
Cyril Cusack ... The Captain
Anton Diffring ... Fabian / Headmistress
Jeremy Spenser ... Man with the Apple
Bee Duffell ... Book Woman
Alex Scott ... Book Person: 'The Life of Henry Brulard'
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Noel Davis ... Cousin Midge - TV Personality
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Additional Details

Runtime:
112 min
Country:
UK
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.66 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
François Truffaut considered science fiction as uninteresting and arbitrary and because he was saying that someone told him the story of Ray Bradbury's novel Fahrenheit 451. Immediately after hearing the story Truffaut wanted to make a movie about it and it took him years to raise the money for making it. more
Goofs:
Continuity: When the books are being burned in the beginning of the movie, some books that are on the ground suddenly appear in the fire pit even though nobody moved them. more
Quotes:
Clarisse: Why?
Guy Montag: What?
Clarisse: How did it come about? How did it begin? How could someone like you be doing this work? I know everyone says that but you - you're not like them. When I say something to you, you look at me. Why did you choose this job? With you it doesn't make any sense.
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: Fahrenheit 932 (#1.12)" (2001) more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
37 out of 47 people found the following comment useful.
visionary brilliance, 6 January 2005
Author: Jonny_Numb from Hellfudge, Pennsylvania

Go figure that I had the privilege of seeing "Fahrenheit 451," for free, on a big screen a few years back (an independent Illinois art house had gotten hold of what was allegedly one of the last surviving prints), and at the time hadn't the foggiest concept of how PRIVILEGED an event it was. Sitting in a theater crowded with college students on a budget with nothing better to do, I watched this diverting little retro item, appreciated its subtlety, nuance, bold visual style, and 'got' the message that if we're not careful, we'll be mindless drones having our desires dictated by The Tube (in current times, that's hardly a profound statement).

Francois Truffaut's adaptation of Ray Bradbury's novel is a bold visual feast that presents a time that might seem 'retrograde' in the eye of a modern pop-culture snob, but ultimately projects what a conceivable 'future' might look like (and not that CGI malarkey served up in "The Matrix"). Interiors of houses are awash in odd colors and give shelter to appliances that don't look dissimilar from our own; TV screens embedded in living-room walls play programs which vacuous housewives interact with sometimes. The film is so relentlessly confident in its appearance that it withstands the test of time.

Though if "Fahrenheit 451" only had its storybook style to rely on, it would fade and be filed away as a mere technical achievement. Truffaut, working from strong source material, concocts a riveting parable about ignorance and the things we, as humans, take for granted. The story follows Guy Montag, an Everyman who is employed as a fireman--a connotation which entails ransacking residences in search of books (reading and writing have been outlawed in this world) and burning them. He has a medicated-smile wife (Julie Christie), a quiet home life, and is in line for a promotion, until a neighbor (Christie again) inspires him to question his motives for working such a sordid job.

One character argues that books cause depression, making people confront unpleasant feelings. "Fahrenheit 451" sometimes runs the risk of lending truth to that statement--in some ways, it is a bleak commentary on civilization, but at the same time grounded in a benevolent humanity that offsets Orwell's brutal, pessimistic world of "1984" (though both texts and films share similar themes). This humanity is underlined in an upbeat, even comic ending (the details of which I won't divulge here).

"Fahrenheit 451" is a spellbinding work of art, in good company with other incendiary works ("A Clockwork Orange" and "Fight Club" come to mind) that have defied the constraints of time and age.

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Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Fahrenheit 451 (1966)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Location For Last Scene 'Book People' bdswagger
What use are physical books when we have Kindle? mickeyone
Ode to Hitchcock ckdh67
Any news on the new version? im52x_max
important question about the book abelmn2000
Leaving out the war in the movie. jschillig
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