Far from the Madding Crowd

[HolyShmoly]

Anyone watching? I remember trying and failing to read it when I was younger.

I don't think I've ever seen a scene as shocking in a while as the sheep one.

Ta. Will watch it on Iplayer tomorrow. < hides thread >

Oow great ending, first sweethearts and the kiss.

How rosemantic

Thomas Hardy wrote brilliantly but every book I can remember was heartbreaking. So much misery! That film was lovely but I have been sobbing away here.

Note to self to watch 60's version too.

Please do - Peter Finch is particularly brilliant as Farmer Boldwood. Quite chillingly obsessive once Bathsheba gets his attention with the "Marry Me" valentine.
The whole cast is superb though.

If you have Sky it's often on True Movies or Sony channels.

Terence Stamp and Julie Christie, they'll never better that.

Enjoyed that - nice easy watch and that Belgium chap is easy on the eye.
I think they caught the story and range essence of the book nicely.

I've never read or saw FFTMC before and was really disappointed after seeing this tonight! Maybe this was a particularly awful version but it was dire! Is the book as bad or did they bollocks up the tv version?

We studied Far From the Madding Crowd at school.

We learned the poem the book title came from and our English teacher got us a screening of the original film up the West End.

Hated it all....

The book is tragic and full of hardship and heartbreak.

It all felt very predictable as a viewer.

I think it is a lovely film, Carey Mulligan is great and it is nice Sunday evening viewing. The countryside is utterly gorgeous, as is farmer Tom!

I really enjoyed it. Carey Mulligan has the tiniest waist. The soldier was gorgeous.

I enjoyed it. Beautifully filmed and it stayed true to the plot.

But I am a huge Thomas Hardy fan and won't hear a word said against him.

Oh no, much preferred mr oak!

Just googled. He's ex partner of Sienna Miller and they have a daughter.

Was the farm house used in another film? It looked very familiar.

I missed the beginning. But what happened to Gabriel Oak's fantastic line from the book and the 60's film unless I have imagined it all, when Alan Bates proposed to Julie Christie's Bathsheba 25 times and every time he said 'When I look up, there shall you be and when you look up there shall I be' which was her cue to go off and do something stupid.
Terence Stamp as Troy and the very long sword scene was amazing choreography.
The sheep scene was far more gory in that one too, it is a real thing, in case anyone was wondering.

I thought the sword scene looked ridiculous!

Oh hang on, you're taking about a different version than the one that was on This evening. Ignore me!

The house is Mapperton and it was also used in Emma (Gwyneth Paltrow). Just answering myself but somebody else may find it interesting

Didn't Thomas Hardy mostly write for monthly magazines so had to leave each chapter/edition with a poignant heartbreaking cliffhanger?

This Gabriel Oak was gorgeous though.

'When I look up, there shall you be and when you look up there shall I be' aah, nice that isn't it. The 1998 version had that line in too I'm sure.

Sounds like the Terence Stamp one maybe the best, that's the only one I haven't seen. Not on Youtube and the DVD is a bit dear.

Terence Stamp played Sergeant Frank Troy, Alan Bates was Gabriel Oak, Peter Finch was Mr Boldwood and Julie Christie was Bathsheba in the 60s version, which I think was better than this one, Terry Stamp was very handsome in all his films, even in The Collector, where he was a total creep.

It's my favourite Hardy book, though all of them are wonderful, great writer.
I didn't like this version at all, just didn't capture the atmosphere at all. Too bland & they missed out so much that is important. Troy came across as a wimp & where was Boldwood's obsessive madness.
Even the farmhands were nonentities.
The sixties version is so much better, no comparison.