Far from the Madding Crowd

Name: Far from the Madding Crowd
Director: John Schlesinger
Genre: Drama, Romance, History
Released: 1967
Duration: 2 h 40 min
Cast: Julie Christie, Terence Stamp, Peter Finch, Alan Bates, Fiona Walker

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Drama
Romance

1967
John Schlesinger
160 mins
U

Summary

Period romantic drama adapted from the novel by Thomas Hardy, starring Julie Christie, Terence Stamp, Peter Finch and Alan Bates. Rural England in the late 19th century: Bathsheba Everdene is a captivating and headstrong young woman who inherits her uncle's farm and has a profound effect on the three men in her life - the dashing Sergeant Troy, the rich and ageing William Boldwood and the ever-faithful shepherd Gabriel Oak.

IMDB

Review

A star rating of 4 out of 5.

Jeremy Aspinall

Director John Schlesinger had the cream of 1960s British acting talent at his disposal for this beautifully realised adaptation of Thomas Hardy's windswept Wessex romance. Julie Christie (still basking in the glow of her best actress Oscar for another Schlesinger film, Darling) stars as Bathsheba Everdene, the headstrong country girl made good after inheriting her uncle's estate, who captivates devoted shepherd Gabriel Oak (Alan Bates), lonely landowner Boldwood (Peter Finch) and dashing soldier Sergeant Troy (Terence Stamp). When the film was released in 1967, some critics thought Christie more Swinging Sixties than 1860s, but she remains a fascinating presence and it's easy to see why her trio of suitors could fall under her spell. The male stars are rather good, too: Stamp is all cheek and charm (his sword-wielding seduction of Bathsheba is a standout), Finch exhibits pain and passion almost in the same breath and Bates is charismatic despite playing a virtual bystander to the trials and tragedies occurring around him. It won't be to every Hardy fan's taste but Nicolas Roeg's masterful photography acts like another member of the cast, convincingly creating a grimy, weather-beaten pastoral landscape that's brilliantly underscored by Richard Rodney Bennett's wistful and evocative music.

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7.2/10

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Credits

Cast

rolenameBathsheba EverdeneJulie ChristieSergeant TroyTerence StampWilliam BoldwoodPeter FinchGabriel OakAlan BatesLiddyFiona WalkerFanny RobinPrunella RansomeMrs HurstAlison LeggattHenery FrayPaul DawkinsJan CogganJulian SomersJoseph PoorgrassJohn BarrettCainy BallFreddie JonesAndrew RandleAndrew RobertsonMatthew MoonBrian RawlinsonTemperanceHarriet HarperSobernessDenise CoffeyBarkerBryan Mosley