In the future, an oppressive government maintains control of public opinion by outlawing literature and maintaining a group of enforcers known as "firemen" to perform the necessary book burnings. This is the premise of Ray Bradbury's acclaimed science-fiction novel Fahrenheit 451, which became the source material for French director François Truffaut's English-language debut. While some liberties are taken with the description of the world, the narrative remains the same, as fireman Montag (Oskar Werner) begins to question ...
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In the future, an oppressive government maintains control of public opinion by outlawing literature and maintaining a group of enforcers known as "firemen" to perform the necessary book burnings. This is the premise of Ray Bradbury's acclaimed science-fiction novel Fahrenheit 451, which became the source material for French director François Truffaut's English-language debut. While some liberties are taken with the description of the world, the narrative remains the same, as fireman Montag (Oskar Werner) begins to question the morality of his vocation. Curious about the world of books, he soon falls in love with a beautiful young member of a pro-literature underground -- and with literature itself. Critics were divided on the effectiveness of the result; some praised the unique design and eerie color cinematography by Nicolas Roeg, while others found the film's stylized approach overly distancing and attacked the central performances as unnatural. In any case, however, the film inarguably succeeds in making Truffaut's reverence for the written word abundantly clear, especially during the film's justifiably famous finale. Judd Blaise, Rovi
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Fair. Ex-Library rental. Disc(s) are professionally cleaned and free of scratches. Includes disc(s), case, and artwork. Disc(s), case, and artwork may contain library/security stickers and ink writing. ARTWORK MAY BE UNORIGINAL AND PRINTED BY LIBRARY. Case and artwork may show some wear. If applicable, digital copies may not be redeemable. All disc(s) are authentic.
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Good. May have very light or no surface scratches. Case and cover artwork are included but may show minimal signs of wear. If applicable: Digital copy or ultraviolet codes may be expired or not included. Slipcover may not be included.
Excellent interpretation of Ray Bradbury's Book. It depended on content to tell the story rather than dazzling special effects. Julie Christie and Oskar Werner gave excellent performances.
mehaul
May 16, 2010
Firemen Put Out A Burning Desire
TITLE: Farenheit 451
GENRE: SciFi/ Distopian political satire, near term Earth
CAST: Julie Christie, Oskar Werner, Cyril Cusack and Anton Diffring
PLOT: In it's attempt to make everyone equal, a society, gone mad through drug use, acts to stiffle independent thought by outlawing what they believe to be the source of new and different ideas: books. All the buildings by then are fireproof so they change the job of firemen into that of being the ones in charge of burning the books. A rebellious underground exists. They strive to keep the very idea of ideas alive. Our hero goes from one side to the other trying to simply determine his relevancy to life.
RETURN ON INVESTMENT: 9.5 of 10; The Director, Francois Truffaut, created one of the most masterful presentations of a concept. Long a student of Hitchcock, he understood the significance of every little detail of a film's bits help make a whole. To show two sides of a woman's personality, he had J C play two parts to juxtapose one side of character against the other. Few realize he did this also with another character in the film. The asst fire chief, A D also plays the female headmistress at a school (I won't get into what he may have been trying to say with that one). In a story about no books, we are denied the written word even in the opening credits. He scores on the selection of music score (he he he) to set mood. There is master use of lighting and cinematic techniques, some highly innovative for the time. And in the DVD see below.
DVD BONUS: This is one of the best Special Features I've seen! There is an overdub of commentary by J C, by the editor, by a truffaut historian and by the producer; there is a theatrical trailer; there is a Making of...; best of all, there is an interview of Ray Bradbury who wrote the book that didn't get burned.
ADDED NOTES: Will it happen? In a way, NO because we are all exposed to so many different ideas by the web. In another way, it has already happened! Our literature is being preserved digitally and books are fading, you will never again see a million book printing run. There will be some books printed, yes, but the majority of the spreading of the idea will take place electronically as it disfunctionally did in Farenheit 451.Truffaut points out that the need to express ourselves and latch on to the ideas we have is basic to the human psyche when the wife packs her bags to leave, she puts her diary into the suitcase,
![Fahrenheit 451 [Dvd]](https://www1.alibris-static.com/cover/t31126ma6lq_t.jpg)
![Fahrenheit 451 [50th Anniversary Edition] [Blu-ray]](https://www2.alibris-static.com/fahrenheit-451-50th-anniversary-edition-blu-ray/cover/w36362c1kv8.jpg)
![Fahrenheit 451 [Blu-ray]](https://www3.alibris-static.com/fahrenheit-451-blu-ray/cover/v73174i7c3i.jpg)
