Far from the Madding Crowd (1967)

Bathsheba Everdene, a willful, flirtatious, young woman, unexpectedly inherits a large farm and is romantically pursued by three very different men.

Director:

John Schlesinger

Writers:

Thomas Hardy (from the novel by), Frederic Raphael (screenplay)

Stars:

Julie Christie, Peter Finch, Alan Bates

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 3 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Julie Christie	...	Bathsheba
Terence Stamp	...	Sergeant Troy
Peter Finch	...	William Boldwood
Alan Bates	...	Gabriel Oak
Fiona Walker	...	Liddy
Prunella Ransome	...	Fanny
Alison Leggatt	...	Mrs. Hurst
Paul Dawkins	...	Henery Fray
Julian Somers	...	Jan Coggan
John Barrett	...	Joseph Poorgrass
Freddie Jones	...	Cainy Ball
Andrew Robertson	...	Andrew Randle
Brian Rawlinson	...	Matthew Moon
Vincent Harding	...	Mark Clark
Victor Stone	...	Billy Smallbury

Storyline

Based on Thomas Hardy's 19th century novel, Bathsheba Everdene is a willful, passionate girl who is never satisfied with anything less than a man's complete and helpless adoration. And she captures the lives and loves of three very different men: Gabriel Oak, a sheep farmer who is captivated by her beauty and proposes marriage; William Boldwood, a prosperous man in his early forties and a confirmed bachelor; and Sergeant Frank Troy, a handsome, reckless swordsman given to sudden fits of violence.

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Plot Keywords:

unrequited love | 19th century | love | sergeant | sheep | 

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Taglines:

"Zhivago's" Lara meets "Georgy Girl's" guy...in the love story of the year!

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Genres:

Drama | History | Romance

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 October 1967 (USA)

Also Known As:

Lejos del mundanal ruido

Filming Locations:

Abbotsbury, Dorset, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Vic Films Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

168 min 170 min (uncut) 157 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Mono (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

John Schlesinger: Briefly spotted as an extra in the harvest celebration at about the midway point, before the film's Intermission.

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Goofs

As Terence Stamp applies makeup for his circus act, an edit shows the half-finished lines drawn on his face, but the subsequent shot shows him applying the lines that were previously there already.

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Quotes

Gabriel Oak: At home by the fire, whenever I look up, there you will be. And whenever you look up, there I shall be.

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Connections

Referenced in Watching the Alien (2003)

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Soundtracks

The Drunkard Song (There Is a Tavern in the Town)
(ca 1883) (uncredited)
Traditional
Played by the band at the circus

User Reviews

Under-rated version of the Hardy classic.

For many the casting of sixties beauty Julie Christie as the vulnerable heartbreaker Bathsheba Everdene was erroneous, but Christie does a fine job, and makes the role her own. Schlesinger remains faithful to the romantic spirit of Hardy, drenching the magnificent cinematography in the exquisite pastoral music of Richard Rodney Bennett, who clearly wrote under the influence of Vaughan Williams and Delius, while interpreting the story for the cinema very much in his own way. The film is long; but craftmanlike, and characterised by superb performances, with Peter Finch as the tormented Boldwood, and Alan Bates as Gabriel, who is the moral force within the story, particularly excellent. The film's climax is one of the most hauntingly poignant in sixties cinema.

I like to see it as an oblique commentary on the essentially tragical (and doomed) nature of selfish or sensual or possessive love; and the innate nobility of the marriage state buttressed by genuine mutual respect, with Gabriel as the agent of reason and decency amid so much unbridled passionateness....