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 nineteenth 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

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

One of three collaborations, and the last, between Director John Schlesinger and Julie Christie. The others being Billy Liar (1963) and Darling (1965).

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Goofs

During the "pie in the face" circus scene, the cream is piled on contemporary 1960s white paper plates with fluted edges. Disposable paper plates were invented in the early 1900s. The movie time frame (which differs slightly from the book) ends around 1868.

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Quotes

Gabriel Oak: At home by the fire, whenever I look up, there you will be. And whenever you look up, there I shall be.

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Alternate Versions

Although the cinema version was uncut all UK video releases were cut by 12 secs by the BBFC to remove a cockfighting scene. The cuts were expanded to 24 secs for the later wide-screen DVD releases.

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Connections

Featured in The 76th Annual Academy Awards (2004)

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Soundtracks

Far From The Madding Crowd (Main Title)
Composed and Arranged by Richard Rodney Bennett

User Reviews

Julie Is Luminous

This is a brilliant film from beginning to end and Julie Christie delivers one of the great female performances in movies. She is enchanting and utterly charming dominating every scene she's in because she is just so incredibly beautiful. Her three male co-stars, however, shine just as well and it's difficult to say which one is the best because they are all so good. It's the director, of course, who is responsible for creating this incredible ensemble of acting and John Schlesinger is one of the great directors who reigns at the peak of his field. But ultimately the film belongs to Julie Christie who is in virtually every scene. The promise she showed in Darling for which she won the Oscar is more than demonstrated here where she is so great she can only be compared with Garbo, Hepburn, Crawford or Davis. I am a Julie Christie fan forever.