Far From the Madding Crowd (1967)

Featured Audience Ratings

• William D

  
  John Schlesinger's surprisingly dull three-hour epic "Far From the Madding Crowd" is not so much a movie as a TV mini-series. It is grandly majestic in its look but puny in its content and perspective. Just because something is filmed in wide-screen Cinemascope and… More
  John Schlesinger's surprisingly dull three-hour epic "Far From the Madding Crowd" is not so much a movie as a TV mini-series. It is grandly majestic in its look but puny in its content and perspective. Just because something is filmed in wide-screen Cinemascope and covers a long chronological period doesn't mean it is broad in perspective. "Madding" has the look of a grand epic but the content of a soap opera. The Thomas Hardy novel upon which it is based must have some depth. But Schlesinger ends up providing the appearance of depth more than the real thing. His actors, who are almost absurdly talented, give a lot of meaningful looks, but they have little to say that is interesting. Almost everyone from England's 1960s acting royalty is represented here, including Julie Christie, Terence Stamp, Alan Bates and Peter Finch. But great actors cannot do much more than look regal when all they have is soap opera to play. This is the downfall of British television in general: almost without fail it puts aristocratic actors into petit-bourgeois soap opera. The film Schlesinger made after this, "Midnight Cowboy" (1969), is so much better than "Madding" that it's almost surreal. How could the same person direct these two films in the span of a few years? Amazing. (Incidentally, I still don't know what the hell "madding" means. Also incidentally, if you haven't seen "Midnight Cowboy," you are missing out on something extraordinary.)

• jay n

  
  Absolutely gorgeous version of the Hardy classic, with some captivating scenes particularly the storm sequence. Some of the top talent of the acting world of the 60's is on hand making this an entertaining epic. A livelier pace would have made it more compelling however. All the… More
  Absolutely gorgeous version of the Hardy classic, with some captivating scenes particularly the storm sequence. Some of the top talent of the acting world of the 60's is on hand making this an entertaining epic. A livelier pace would have made it more compelling however. All the leads acquit themselves well but top honors go to Alan Bates, an actor of great skill.

• Red L

  
  Typical Thomas Hardy - painful love stories. In "Far From the Madding Crowd", Julie Christie's character captivates one character after another - each with his different flaws.

• Eric B

  
  The costumes and scenery of this romantic saga are wonderful, and the direction is impeccable (John Schlesinger, with help from cinematographer Nicolas Roeg). But there's something curiously unsatisfying about this Thomas Hardy adaptation. Maybe it's that Julie Christie… More
  The costumes and scenery of this romantic saga are wonderful, and the direction is impeccable (John Schlesinger, with help from cinematographer Nicolas Roeg). But there's something curiously unsatisfying about this Thomas Hardy adaptation. Maybe it's that Julie Christie never earns much empathy as the heroine Bathsheba, and just seems irritatingly fickle. Maybe it's that she wastes so much energy on the terminally skeevy Francis (Terence Stamp), and neglects poor Gabriel (Alan Bates). Maybe it's the abrupt happy ending, which defies the tone of everything which precedes it. Or maybe the film is just overlong. But something doesn't fit. I do know this much: The scene where moronic Francis wins Bathsheba's heart through showing off his sword tricks is one of the most ludicrous scenes I can remember seeing in a movie which intends to be a classy drama. I was haunted by its embarrassing memory throughout the remainder of the film and beyond.

• Dimitris S

  
  The English can do no wrong.A rising star sitting in the director's chair having 4 future giants in front of the camera,deliberately tarnished cinematography for the social depiction of a counter-cultural status on Hardy's book.3 decades later Winterbottom would explore… More
  The English can do no wrong.A rising star sitting in the director's chair having 4 future giants in front of the camera,deliberately tarnished cinematography for the social depiction of a counter-cultural status on Hardy's book.3 decades later Winterbottom would explore another Hardy book in perfection,nevertheless,Schlesinger gives us a magnitude of a film.