Far from the Madding Crowd

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BoSoxGal
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Far from the Madding Crowd

Post by BoSoxGal »

I am embarking on a marathon viewing of the three major adaptations of this novel from the 20th and 21st centuries. Noticed the 1967 version was upcoming on TCM, found the 1998 TV miniseries on YouTube and previously purchased the 2015 version from Amazon.

This is the kind of thing I love streaming and internet for - the ability to fashion one’s own film festivals in one’s own comfy living room.

I have only ever seen the 2015 film; the novel was a favorite from high school honors English - Bathsheba Everdene is one of my all time favorite heroines from classic Brit literature. (Jane Eyre is the other.)

Anyone else a fan? Have a favorite adaptation?
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
~ Carl Sagan

Big RR
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Re: Far from the Madding Crowd

Post by Big RR »

I'm partial to the 1967 film; Iparticularly loved Julie Christie in it (It's one of the first things I saw her in). Definitely worth the watch.

ex-khobar Andy
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Re: Far from the Madding Crowd

Post by ex-khobar Andy »

Not seen the other 2. Julie Christie was/is always one of my favourite actresses. And Terence Stamp as Sgt Troy was great and he has long been an underappreciated actor. (Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.). When you think of the cast list (Peter Finch and Alan Bates as well) the movie could not fail.

And BTW I am with you on Jane Eyre. That's one of the books I have by the bed and reread probably every couple of years. If you are ever in England take a trip to the Haworth parsonage where Charlotte and her sisters (and Branwell the ne'er-do-well brother) grew up.

Thomas Hardy's poetry is well worth reading. I love his poem about the sinking of the Titanic. While men were noisily making the great ship, nature was silently fashioning an iceberg - and then the two converged.

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BoSoxGal
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Re: Far from the Madding Crowd

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ex-khobar Andy wrote:
Mon May 23, 2022 12:01 pm
Not seen the other 2. Julie Christie was/is always one of my favourite actresses. And Terence Stamp as Sgt Troy was great and he has long been an underappreciated actor. (Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.). When you think of the cast list (Peter Finch and Alan Bates as well) the movie could not fail.

And BTW I am with you on Jane Eyre. That's one of the books I have by the bed and reread probably every couple of years. If you are ever in England take a trip to the Haworth parsonage where Charlotte and her sisters (and Branwell the ne'er-do-well brother) grew up.

Thomas Hardy's poetry is well worth reading. I love his poem about the sinking of the Titanic. While men were noisily making the great ship, nature was silently fashioning an iceberg - and then the two converged.
A trip to Haworth has long been on my bucket list - I need a few months to explore the UK and see all the places I’ve read about since childhood.

If you haven’t seen it, I recommend the BBC/PBS Masterpiece miniseries To Walk Invisible: The Bronte Sisters. It’s a very well acted and produced depiction of the family’s life in Haworth and the sisters’ beginning of their published career. Gorgeous location shots in abundance.


I loved the 1967 film and agree wholeheartedly that the cast and performances were uniformly fantastic - I loved Alan Bates especially. I also love Julie Christie, who I first saw as a teen when my mother couldn’t find a copy of Gone With the Wind so gave me Doctor Zhivago instead for Xmas - what a lucky happenstance! I adore that film and still watch it often when I’m laid up with migraine or suffering insomnia, it’s in my store of most watched films.

I was surprised to learn from the TCM commentary preceding the 1967 film that it wasn’t very well received when it opened in US theaters back in the day - much more critically acclaimed in the years since.

I got waylaid from my film festival because the movie next up on TCM was Mildred Pierce and I just had to watch that, too - such a great film.

Today I’m enjoying Depp v Heard but will recommence my FFTMC film festival this evening.
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
~ Carl Sagan

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