Far from the Madding Crowd

Saw this film a few weeks ago and really enjoyed it. Good acting and beautiful scenery. Could easily watch it again,

I did manage to stay awake. Couldn't remember a lot of the film, but must have seen it before as I did remember some bits of it. I had told my daughter to watch it, but she said she wanted to read the book first. I told her she wasn't going to get round to reading it so just watch the film, but I'm now thinking it would, perhaps be better if she watched the later version before this one [might be too late now, though]. Much as I enjoyed it last night I have no great desire to watch it again, whereas I wanted to go back and see the Carey Mulligan version again. Strange that Hardy and Tolstoy, who both wrote such strong parts for women treated the women in their own lives so shabbily. I guess that, because of that he, perhaps wanted to be a Gabriel Oak but couldn't help but be a Captain Troy.

Whoops - getting my Hardy characters in a muddle.

I meant Giles Winterbourne in The Woodlanders.

I think of all the characters he created Thomas Hardy fancied himself as

Sergeant Troy - or was it Clem Yeobright in Return of the Native or Gabriel

Oak in the Woodlanders.

For me Troy is Terence Stamp and always will be.

the " bosoms of Bathsheba" I like it!!
What about the glimpse of Stamp derrière then! Blink and you'd have missed it , lucky I didn't!

I shall have to go and see it, though, like most of you, I remember the original with great affection. But I shall have to wait until DD and DGD (19) can come with me. I taught English, DD teaches English, and DGD is off to read English. DH, on the other hand, is a very down to earth mathematician / physicist and, though a great reader, just does not "get" Hardy, Austen, Dickens etc.etc. and fell asleep during the Terence Stamp version, despite the bosoms of Bathsheba.

Bit of a late night!
I enjoyed it even more than first time around in fact, despite Alan Bates sounding too posh 75% of the time and some ham cameos by the locals staggering out of the tithe barn on the " morning after". Terence Stamp just oozed sex appeal and I can see why Julie Christie had every man in every cinema in love with her!
The photography was wonderful, Dorset is so quintessentially English, and all in all it was a heart-warming if selective representation of a bygone age.

I have taped it and am looking forward to watching it again one afternoon when DH is out!

Last film I saw Terence Stamp in was Song for Marion. He was excellent in that as well, but his eyes aren't quite as blue.

I'm recording it (well, I think I am....I've got one of those TiVo boxes, and haven't recorded on it before!)

Julie Christie and Alan Bates sounding awfully received pronunciation to my 21st century ear! Didn't notice that last time round

I've not been sleeping well because of the heat, but then sleeping late into the morning so I should be ok. tonight. A friend of mine told me yesterday about a cinema he went to in London that had sofas [not unusual, that] but also beds . I pointed out that, if I went to a cinema and lay on a bed I'd just fall asleep. I'm sure he must have been mistaken .

I'm going to try and remember that it's on ['tying string round finger, so I don't forget' emoticon].

Terence Stamp is well worth staying up for [heaves bosom and sighs....]

Ooh, late night tonight perhaps?

Just noticed that the original film is on BBC4 tonight at 10. Hoping it will be on catchup also, but films often aren't. The S.O. has never seen the original film [and it was a long long time ago that I saw it] so it will be interesting to see how he compares it to the newer version.

Thank you for that, Elegran. My friend and I were talking about it today and she'd said she'd always thought it was 'maddening' (which I found REALLY maddening, because I knew it was MADDING)!

Thanks Elegran .

Tegan The reference in the title is to Thomas Gray's "Elegy in a Country Churchyard" - (I'll risk being told off by jings for adding unwanted information with a quote or two) -

"Far from the madding crowd's ignoble strife,
Their sober wishes never learn'd to stray;
Along the cool sequester'd vale of life
They kept the noiseless tenor of their way."

and
"The short and simple annals of the poor."

and
"Perhaps in this neglected spot is laid
Some heart once pregnant with celestial fire;
Hands, that the rod of empire might have sway'd,
Or waked to ecstasy the living lyre."

"Full many a gem of purest ray serene
The dark unfathom'd caves of ocean bear:
Full many a flower is born to blush unseen,
And waste its sweetness on the desert air.

Some village Hampden that with dauntless breast
The little tyrant of his fields withstood,
Some mute inglorious Milton here may rest,
Some Cromwell guiltless of his country's blood."

ie. There are as many stories in the lives of "everyday country folk" as in the lives of famous people in busy cities.

I often wondered why it was actually called 'Far from the Madding Crowd', so maybe it was a reference to the title?

DH and I went to see it this afternoon. We enjoyed it but both agreed that it lacked something of the drama of the sixties film and it felt a bit flat. Carey Mulligan was a far better Bathsheba Everdene than Christie, but that's as far as it went. Troy didn't cut it for me - not raffish enough by half. DH had a struggle to hear some of the dialogue and there were places where it escaped me too! I thought the sixties version had a better score too - have never been able to get that soaring haunting title theme out of my head. One thing that did make me smile was at the opening of the film where it said "Dorset - one hundred miles from London". Was this wholly superfluous bit of info a sop to our transatlantic brethren, do you think? Anyway, an excellent way to spend a very wet afternoon, but wouldn't rush off to see it again.

I really am considering going to see it again.

Been to see it tonight, and really enjoyed it. Our cinema's quite small, and it has lots of comfy sofas! The audience seemed to be quite mature people and one chap along from us was wiping his eyes as the film finished....(so he must have enjoyed it, too).

Tegan -

...you can't have TOO much of Terence Stamp NTO!! [computer probably went all of a flutter]