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

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

Boy practicing prayer on way to church walking near Bathsheba as she is waking up in the woods.: Almighty God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness. And put upon us the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life... Author: The Revd Dr Peter Toon, The Book of the Common Prayer 1549. For the four weeks of Advent.

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Connections

Featured in The 76th Annual Academy Awards (2004)

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Soundtracks

Can-Can
(1858) (uncredited)
from "Orphée aux enfers"
Written by Jacques Offenbach
Played by the band at the circus

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.