Fahrenheit 451 (1966)

Director:

François Truffaut

Writers:

Ray Bradbury (novel)
François Truffaut (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

14 November 1966 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Aflame with the excitement and emotions of tomorrow!

Plot:

In an oppressive future, a fireman whose duty is to destroy all books begins to question his task.

Plot Keywords:

Book | Fireman | Future | Television | Book Burning

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 2 nominations

Cast

Oskar Werner	...	Guy Montag
Julie Christie	...	Clarisse / Linda Montag
Cyril Cusack	...	The Captain
Anton Diffring	...	Fabian / Headmistress
Jeremy Spenser	...	Man with the Apple
Bee Duffell	...	Book Woman
Alex Scott	...	Book Person: 'The Life of Henry Brulard'
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Noel Davis	...	Cousin Midge - TV Personality

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-12 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | UK:12 | USA:Unrated | Singapore:PG | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Black Park, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Anglo Enterprises

Trivia:

The scene where the fireman first put on his gear, is filmed in reverse. The same scene but in normal run is used again later for him to take out his gear.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: After Montag comes out of the first raid to burn the books, the placement of the fire protective clothing (helmet and gloves) are unnatural movements and appear to be a reverse run of film footage. This is further compounded by the fact that he walks backwards to get the flamethrower which has flame entering the nozzle instead of leaving the nozzle.

Quotes:

Guy Montag: [holding a book in his hand] Behind each of these books, there's a man. That's what interests me.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Pieni rakkaustarina" (2004)

An Underrated Movie

Yes, the movie is slow. Yes, the sets and the costumes are very 60ish and very dated. But it has something to say.

Its depiction of a narcissistic, alienated, superficial, mass media lobotomized culture might ring true for more than a few of us. The movie also shows the fireman's wife as being addicted to downers/uppers. All of the "normal" human relations that are shown in the movie appear to be detached and lacking emotion.

People are not to trouble themselves with unpleasant thoughts or feelings. Hence, the banning of books and literature. They bring up unpleasant, sad, and depressing subjects. They depict too much of life as it actually is. This is troubling to people. Consequently, the government pushes drugs, emotion-free and sanitized sex, and witless mass media. There is more than a little resemblance to our society of the year 2000 and heaven knows what the future will bring.

Oskar Werner is one my favorites, so I'm very prejudiced, but I think he does an excellent job. I think both Truffaut and Werner wanted the audience to see the fireman's partial dehumanization. He recovers much of that humanity as the film progresses. The supporting cast was good, especially the actor who played the fire chief. Julie Christie was good in the film, too, although her self-conscious woodenness or manner bothered me more than Werner's.

Perhaps something less than one of the great films. But it is a very thoughtful film with a lot to say to its audience--although some viewers choose to focus only on its rather dated veneer.