Far from the Madding Crowd (TV 1998)

A vain pretty girl has recently taken over her uncles farm. Her independent, naive personality leaves her torn between three men who wish to marry her.

Director:

Nicholas Renton

Writers:

Thomas Hardy (novel), Philomena McDonagh

Stars:

Paloma Baeza, Nigel Terry, Nathaniel Parker

2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Paloma Baeza	...	Bathsheba Everdene
Nigel Terry	...	Mr Boldwood
Nathaniel Parker	...	Gabriel Oak
Jonathan Firth	...	Sergeant Frank Troy
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Victoria Alcock	...	Temperance Miller
James Allen	...	Will Coggan
Robin Ardra	...	Tollgate Keeper
Peter Aubrey	...	Daniel Selby
Paul Ax	...	Sergeant
James Ballantine	...	Joe Coggan
David Barrass	...	Pennyways
Tim Bartholomew	...	Sam Sammy
Linda Bassett	...	Maryann Money
Gwynn Beech	...	Simeon
Shannon Bone-Sands	...	Lizzie Coggan

Storyline

Bathsheba everdene, a young vain girl, has just taken over her uncles farm. Her pretty face, wealth, and naive personality attracts three men who wish to marry her. She ,bieng so naive and vain, gets herself into a love tangle between them. As her time passes and the responsibilities of her farm, workers, and personal status pile up into a stressful mess, she begins to learn the hardships of life.

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Plot Keywords:

suitor | pregnancy | alias | singing | loss of husband | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 May 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Thomas Hardy's Far from the Madding Crowd

Filming Locations:

Abbotsbury, Dorset, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Granada Television, WGBH

Technical Specs

Runtime:

54 min 54 min (4 parts)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Connections

Version of Far from the Madding Crowd (1967)

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Soundtracks

"I Lost My Love"
Traditional
Performed by Andy Robb

User Reviews

In my opinion, there is no contest...

Having read this book more than once (it is my favorite Thomas Hardy book, and one of my favorite books of all time), and having seen both filmed versions, I have to say that the original version (with Alan Bates, Julie Christie and Peter Finch) cannot hold a candle to the second (with Nathaniel Parker, Paloma Baeza and Nigel Terry).

The original version was a great disappointment to me -- Julie Christie was, as another reviewer pointed out, too old for the part of Bathsheba, did not fit Hardy's description of her at all, and has never impressed me as much of an actress -- a major casting faux pas, in my opinion. Peter Finch, as Boldwood, did not elicit the strong feeling of empathy from me, as Nigel Terry did in his portrayal of the character. The greatest surprise to me, in regard to the first version, was that I also felt the same about Alan Bates' performance as Gabriel Oak -- he did not convey the emotions and the quality of Oak's character, as described by Hardy in the book, and I found his portrayal to be bland, boring, and, at times, overacted. Part of the blame would have to be shared by the director of that version -- the actors appeared to be acting, and neither they, nor the director, seemed to have a firm grasp or understanding of the explicit emotions and personalities of the characters, which Hardy had gone to great effort and detail to describe in the book.

After having seen Nathaniel Parker's interpretation of Gabriel Oak, I cannot imagine anyone else playing the part -- it was the first time I had seen Mr. Parker in any performance, and he ripped my heart out with his portrayal of this noble, dignified, aggrieved and tormented soul. He and Ms. Baeza, Mr. Terry, and Mr. Firth (Sergeant Troy), seemed to have a thorough comprehension of, and sensitivity toward, the characters as they were intended by Thomas Hardy -- they appeared to have walked straight out of the pages of the book! In addition, the sensitive and intuitive direction by Nicholas Renton drew powerful performances from all, including a superior supporting cast. The accurate period costumes, and beautiful sets and cinematography, serve to round out a production of true quality.

I highly recommend to anyone interested in this story, that he or she consider reading the book first. Although this screenplay remains true to the book, some of the detail which enhances understanding and feeling for the characters, the time period, and the plot, was edited due to time constraints, as is common with filmed productions of great pieces of literature.