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:

Her romance with three men becomes a bold adventure [UK theatrical]

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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

Prunella Ransome receives an "introducing" credit.

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Goofs

The Valentine's Day greeting card that Bathsheba sends to Mr. Boldwood is of a contemporary 1960s style.

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Quotes

Sgt. Francis 'Frank' Troy: [to Bathsheba] This woman is more to me dear than you ever were... or are... or could be.

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Connections

Referenced in Going the Distance: Remembering 'Marathon Man' (2001)

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Soundtracks

Bushes and Briars
Traditional folk song (adapted by Richard Rodney Bennett)
Sung by Julie Christie (dubbed by Isla Cameron)

User Reviews

Alan Bates is just fantastic

What a treat to see an adaption of this marvellous but hard going book, of course it's always worth the effort to read Hardy, but it takes getting into, you have to be in the right mind frame, so dramatisations of his wonderfully rich characters are always wonderful to watch, and open up his work to a wider audience I should imagine.

This film in particular was pretty true to the script, if a little condensed, in places. I felt Alan Bates was just fantastic on screen, but probably had the right amount of charm and screen magnetism for the box office, but a little too much to be a true Farmer Oak as described by Hardy, what women in her right mind would ever turn him down,being so sweet and looking like that, I must watch more of his films.

Everyone else was just brilliant as well, and it was lovely to see the beautiful Dorset I visit often so on the big screen and note it really hasn't changed that much at all since the filming in the 60's.

An excellent film, don't miss it !!!