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:

A willful passionate girl and...the three men who want her!

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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

Box Office

Budget:

$2,750,000 (estimated)

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

The problem the sheep were suffering from when they broke out into the green field is called "pasture bloat". They got into a field with immature legumes such as alfalfa or clover. The food causes excessive gas production which inflates the sheeps' stomach (rumen) and compresses their lungs so they can't breath. Using a trocar as Gabriel did to puncture the rumen and release the gas is a lot messier than was shown in the film.

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Goofs

At the wedding party at the end of the film one of the band members is playing a sousaphone, which wasn't invented until around 1893.

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Quotes

Joseph Poorgrass: [Very drunk] Well, I got a slight attack of the multiplying eye.

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Connections

Referenced in Sunny Side Up (1994)

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Soundtracks

Banks of Allan Water
(uncredited)
Traditional folk song

User Reviews

Boring? NO WAY!

Like another reviewer, I'm continuously amazed at detractors to this fine adaptation of Thomas Hardy's strongest novel. The reviewer who whines about it being "boring" should tune into a good TV sit-com and let the good cinema go-- it will always be "boring." Those reviewers, and there are several, who read Hardy can appreciate this fine film which builds on directly on Hardy's novel. One reviewer noted that Hardy "...gets into the heads of his characters..." Quite true, but unless you're goofy like the Coen Brothers or Terry Gilliam, you can't always do that in the cinema. So, Schlesinger does the next best thing in developing the characters with an excellent cast including Christie, Finch, Stamp and Bates. This is an excellent film and captures much of the rural English lifeways that Hardy wrote about in this and Tess of the D'Ubervilles, Return of the Native and others. Check it out.