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Amazon.co.uk Review
John Schlesinger's solid adaptation of Thomas Hardy's novel sees three rival suitors vying for the affections of the beautiful Bathsheba Everdene (Julie Christie decked out in a variety of bonnets and frilly dresses), who has just inherited a farm. The men in her life are stout, whiskered yeoman Gabriel Oak (Alan Bates), an impoverished local farmer; neurotic, repressed squire William Boldwood (Peter Finch); and handsome rascal Sgt Troy (Terrence Stamp), who dresses as if he's Flashman and breaks women's hearts for a hobby.
Thanks to cameraman Nic Roeg and production designer Richard MacDonald (who also worked for Joseph Losey), 19th-century Dorset looks as pretty and as picturesque as a John Constable reproduction on top of a biscuit tin. Not that Schlesinger or screenwriter Frederic Raphael underplay the duress of rural life. We see the hardship of the farm workers' lives as the seasons turn. The film opens with a spectacular sequence in which Gabriel Oak's dog drives his flock of sheep over a cliff, thereby forcing him into penury. Whether hunger or heartbreak, every character here suffers. Bathsheba (like the model Christie plays in Darling) is a free-spirit in a society in which women's rights are severely restricted. --Geoffrey Macnab
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
163 of 165 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Okay, all the good news first: yes, this IS the John Schlesinger-directed version of Thomas Hardy's classic novel, finally getting the long-overdue DVD release it so richly deserves. Everything about this film smacks of class. I cannot fault the perfomances; Julie Christie is gorgeous as always, and Peter Finch, Terence Stamp & Alan Bates will always make the ladies swoon. The production values are all first-class as well with stunning recreation of time and place. The music by Richard Rodney Bennett expertly teases our emotions in all the rights places, and Schlesinger's vivid direction should have won an Oscar.
Now the bad news (VERY BAD): the DVD transfer and presentation is an absolute travesty, up there with Zulu Dawn & the British releases of El Cid and The Fall of the Roman Empire as the worst to date. Nicolas Roeg's beautiful 2.35:1 Panavision photography (one of the main reasons I bought this) has been severely cropped to 1.78:1 after the opening credits (the back cover of course does not mention this fact, merely stating incorrectly that its "2.35:1 Widescreen"), and there is a lot of print damage that at times makes certain scenes distracting to watch. We are also treated to a tinny-sounding mono soundtrack that does the film no justice whatsoever. There are no extras, which begs the questions where are the documentaries and commentaries etc (Stamp & Christie are still around)?? Your guess is as good as mine.
I hope that the-powers-that-be see fit to re-release this film properly, nicely restored with at least one or two extras, and in its correct Panavision ratio all the way through! Until then, I recommend saving your money and waiting for it to either (a) get a fine re-release or (b) show up on TV instead.
108 of 110 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
At last! the long awaited DVD of John Schlesinger's 1967 cinematic masterpiece of Thomas Hardy's FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD. But don't throw your hats up too soon, discerning DVD buffs should avoid this dreadful quality package at all costs. I'm grudgingly prepared to accept the sad absence of ANY extras - even a trailer, but I have to say that this new release insults both it's valuable customers and the film itself, with extremely poor sound and the worst quality transfer I've seen in a long time. And it gets worse - Richard Rodney Bennett's towering emotional score is seriously depleted by a measly MONO soundtrack, and Nick Roeg's beautiful 2.35:1 Panavision photography is horrifyingly blown up to 16:9 full-screen aspect ratio immediately after the opening titles! This invalidates the sleeve-note claim to be the 2.35:1 version, and continues to rob the world from seeing the film on DVD in all it's widescreen glory. It also proves to be the short version, coming in at just under two hours, probably the TV cut, and certainly not the magnificent 3-hour plus version which I believe is available in widescreen on VHS in the US. In stark contrast, the other great Hardy film - Polanski's simultaneously released "TESS" comes in a fantastic value 2-disc restored special edition, packed with delicious extras, so this sub-standard MADDING CROWD fare is all the more difficult to take. John Schlesinger's masterpiece was photographed in Super-70mm Widescreen Panavision by Nicolas Roeg, one of the greatest cinematographers of our time, and performed by a rare ensemble of legendary players from Frederic Raphael's sumptuous screenplay. So will the studio please believe that this is the version we yearn to see again - and nothing less! Perhaps the highly respected US film restorers CRITERION will come to the rescue, and do for MADDING CROWD what they did for the US special edition DVD of Schlesinger's other great masterpiece BILLY LIAR (not to be confused with the lack lustre UK release). Ironically, even this mean offering can't stop the greatness of Hardy and Schlesinger from shining through, but until the arrival of a superior package - quality enthusiasts should leave this version on the shelf.
83 of 85 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a review of the latest version (released on DVD in 2008) of John Schlesinger's 1967 film.
Having owned the previous DVD release of this film (and the newspaper freebie from a few years ago), I was hoping that this version would be an all new transfer with the original ratio of 2.35:1 preserved. I was so wrong! It's exactly the same poor quality print and exactly the same badly cropped picture as before. Despite the cover reporting that the feature aspect ratio is 2.35:1, only the titles are in the correct format. After which the image is zoomed to fill the 16.9 widescreen television picture. I could just about bear the poor print, but not the image crop.
6 star movie, 1 star DVD and I'm being generous with that.
Having owned the previous DVD release of this film (and the newspaper freebie from a few years ago), I was hoping that this version would be an all new transfer with the original ratio of 2.35:1 preserved. I was so wrong! It's exactly the same poor quality print and exactly the same badly cropped picture as before. Despite the cover reporting that the feature aspect ratio is 2.35:1, only the titles are in the correct format. After which the image is zoomed to fill the 16.9 widescreen television picture. I could just about bear the poor print, but not the image crop.
6 star movie, 1 star DVD and I'm being generous with that.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Classic - a film worthy of Hardy's prose
First saw this film in 1968 and have watched it with enormous pleasure ever since. Apart from the trusty performances of the formidable leading actors it's the well-observed... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Bob Hunt
not very happy
Not very happy at all with this item! only played half the film and was a complete waste of money. Bought for my nan but she was very upset when she found out half of the film was... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Aimee Johnson
This version is excellent
I ordered this DVD with some trepidation, having read all the bad reviews of the other poor quality (UK?) version. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Patrick in Hampshire
The NTSC US DVD is the one to get
I bought the US NTSC Region 1 DVD. The aspect ratio is 2.35:1, the picture quality and audio quality are very good, and it's the full theatrical version. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Julian Hughes
A great film but ...
This is a great film and a thoughtful adaptation of one of Hardys's most enjoyable, moving books; taking a book into the cinema can lose a lot in translation and leave a trail in... Read more
Published 9 months ago by RR Waller
An Optimum Resolution
Most of the reviews pertaining to " Far from the Madding Crowd" DVD concern the poor picture and sound quality of the particular version they have purchased. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Carl B,
I've waited for this
I saw this film in 1968 and memory fades, but this disc restored faith! Schlesinger and Raphael stitch this experience into Victorian Dorset at so many points. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Michael John Letton
This film is a masterpiece - and this version is superb
As I have been waiting a long time for a good copy of this film on DVD, I took the advice of a previous reviewer and ordered the US version. Read more
Published 19 months ago by kittiwake
delivery
My product didn't arrive on 27/8 and I had to wait until 10/9 to report the non arrival. I had no tracking information.
Published 20 months ago by sbb
Lovely film of Thomas Hardy's novel
As the story opens, Miss Bathsheba Everdene (Julie Christie) has just inherited a farm and has decided to run it herself, a very unusual thing in Victorian England. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Kona
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