Fahrenheit 451 (1966)

In an oppressive future, a fireman whose duty is to destroy all books begins to question his task.

Director:

François Truffaut

Writers:

François Truffaut (screenplay), Jean-Louis Richard (screenplay)

Stars:

Oskar Werner, Julie Christie, Cyril Cusack

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 3 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Julie Christie	...	Clarisse / Linda Montag
Oskar Werner	...	Guy Montag
Cyril Cusack	...	Captain Beatty
Anton Diffring	...	Fabian / Headmistress
Jeremy Spenser	...	Man with the Apple
Bee Duffell	...	Book Woman
Alex Scott	...	Book Person: 'The Life of Henry Brulard'

Storyline

Based on the 1951 Ray Bradbury novel of the same name. Guy Montag is a fireman who lives in a lonely, isolated society where books have been outlawed by a government fearing an independent-thinking public. It is the duty of firemen to burn any books on sight or said collections that have been reported by informants. People in this society, including Montag's wife, are drugged into compliance and get their information from wall-length television screens. After Montag falls in love with book-hoarding Clarisse, he begins to read confiscated books. It is through this relationship that he begins to question the government's motives behind book-burning. Montag is soon found out, and he must decide whether to return to his job or run away knowing full well the consequences that he could face if captured.

---

Plot Keywords:

haircut | futuretro | 1960s | near future | psychotronic film | 

---

Taglines:

What if you had no right to read?

---

Genres:

Drama | Sci-Fi

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Truffaut originally wanted Tippi Hedren and Jean Seberg to play the parts of Linda Montag and Clarisse. However, Alfred Hitchcock told Truffaut that Hedren was not available to work with him, and Seberg was considered "not bankable enough" by the producers, so Julie Christie was cast instead in both parts.

---

Goofs

After Montag comes out of the first raid to burn the books, the placement of the fire protective clothing (helmet and gloves) are unnatural movements and appear to be a reverse run of film footage. This is further compounded by the fact that he walks backwards to get the flamethrower which has flame entering the nozzle instead of leaving the nozzle.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Announcer: An Enterprise Vineyard Production. Oskar Werner, Julie Christie... in Fahrenheit four-five-one.

---

Crazy Credits

The beginning credits are spoken instead of written on the screen.

---

Alternate Versions

Originally Noel Davis (who plays Cousin Midge) did the opening voice over. In the current version it is done by Alex Scott ("The Life of Henry Brulard" Book Person).

---

Connections

Referenced in NewsRadio: Padded Suit (1999)

User Reviews

Imagine a world without books....

Fahrenheit 451" is a strange film, hard to describe. No one could have interpreted the classic Bradbury novel in the same bizarre, fascinating manner as Francois Truffaut. It's a book, and a film, about freedom, choices, individuality, and intellectual repression in a future where books are forbidden; where Firemen are men who start fires...fires in which they burn books.

It was also the first color film directed by Truffaut. Although he by all accounts was not happy about making a color film and found it a bit unsettling, color is used to great effect here; sparingly, except for the extreme shade of red that is seen throughout.

"Fahrenheit 451" is supposed to be the temperature at which book paper catches fire, as the protagonist Guy Montag (Oskar Werner) explains in a scene at the beginning. Guy is a Fireman who seems happy enough with his life until he is approached by a young woman named Clarisse (Julie Christie) on his way home from work one day. She starts up a conversation with him, and the two become friendly. She bewilders him but challenges him to think and feel....and read. And when he arrives home we see his wife (also played by Julie Christie, with long hair), sedated and watching the wallscreen (TV of sorts)...we see what his life is really like, although he had told Clarisse he was "happy"...he is not.

As his friendship with Clarisse grows, he starts to secretly take home, hoard, and read some of the books he finds in the course of his daily work, and as he reads, he becomes obsessed with the books. They become his mistress, and are what finally make him feel affection and warmth. And when he starts to feel and care, so do we.

The two single best scenes are a passionate one involving an old woman who refuses to leave her books, her "children" as she calls them; and the wonderful ending of the film. The countless, painful closeups of books as they are being burned are beautifully done, and difficult to watch.

Truffaut was a well-known disciple of Alfred Hitchcock's films, so when Hitchcock fired his long-time music collaborator Bernard Herrmann during the filming of "Torn Curtain", Truffaut was thrilled to acquire his talents for his own film. The score for "F451" is beautiful, and the film would not be nearly as effective without it.

Writer/producer/director Frank Darabont ("The Green Mile", "The Shawshank Redemption") is working on a new film of "Fahrenheit 451" this year. He says it won't be a remake of the original film.

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 November 1966 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fahrenheit 451

Filming Locations:

14 Linkway, Edgcombe Park, Crowthorne, Berkshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$1,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$11,206, 25 April 1999

Gross USA:

$509

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$509

Company Credits

Production Co:

Anglo Enterprises, Vineyard Film Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1