Fahrenheit 451

Plot synopsis:
In the future, a totalitarian government employs a force known as Firemen to seek out and destroy all literature, permitting them to search anyone, anywhere, at any time. One of the Firemen, Guy Montag (Oskar Werner), meets one of his neighbors, Clarisse (Julie Christie), a 20-year-old schoolteacher whose job is hanging by a thread due to her unorthodox views. The two have a discussion about his job, where she asks if he ever reads the books he burns. Curious, he begins to hide books in his house and read them, starting with Charles Dickens' David Copperfield. This leads to conflict with his wife, Linda (also played by Julie Christie), who is more concerned with being popular enough to be a member of The Family, an interactive television program that refers to its viewers as cousins.
At the house of a book collector, the captain (Cyril Cusack) talks with Montag at length about how books change people and make them want to be better than others, which is considered anti-social. The book collector, a middle-aged woman who was seen with Clarisse a few times during Montag's rides to and from work, refuses to leave her house, opting instead to burn herself and the house so she can die with her books. Returning home that day, Montag tries to tell Linda and her friends about the woman who martyred herself in the name of books and confronts them about knowing anything about what's going on in the world, calling them zombies and telling them they're just killing time instead of living life. Disturbed over Montag's behavior, Linda's friends try to leave but Montag stops them, by forcing them to sit and listen to a novel passage. During the reading, one of Linda's friends breaks down crying, aware of the feelings she repressed over the years, while Linda's other friends leave in disgust over Montag's alleged cruelty and the sick content of the novel. That night, Montag dreams of Clarisse as the book collector who killed herself. The same night, Clarisse's house is raided but she escapes through a trapdoor in the roof, thanks to her uncle. Montag breaks into the captain's office looking for information about the missing Clarisse and is caught but not punished.
Montag meets with Clarisse and helps her break back into her house, to destroy papers that would bring the Firemen to others like her. She tells him of the "book people", a hidden sect of people who flout the law, each of whom have memorized a book to keep it alive. Later, Montag tells the captain he is resigning but is convinced to go on one more call, which turns out to be Montag's house. Linda leaves the house, telling Montag that she couldn't live with his book obsession and leaves him to be punished by the Firemen. Angrily, he destroys the bedroom and television before setting fire to the books. The captain lectures him about the books and pulls a last book from Montag's coat, for which Montag kills him. He escapes and finds the book people, where he views his "capture" on television, staged to keep the masses entertained and because the government doesn't want him alive. Montag selects a book to memorize, Tales of Mystery & Imagination by Edgar Allan Poe and becomes one of them.

Tags: psychedelic, satire, murder

Review:
However, one fireman realizes that what he is doing is wrong and decides to go against the degenerate society he lives in.I have read reviews of this movie calling it "boring" and "outdated," and frankly I am amazed by how ignorant some people can be.
The people who made this were not trying to give you a spectacle, they were trying to give you a message - a message that is even more important today than it was when this movie came out."Fahrenheit 451" is a fine adaptation of Ray Bradbury's classic novel about censorship.
Although he by all accounts was not happy about making a color film and found it a bit unsettling, color is used to great effect here; sparingly, except for the extreme shade of red that is seen throughout."Fahrenheit 451" is supposed to be the temperature at which book paper catches fire, as the protagonist Guy Montag (Oskar Werner) explains in a scene at the beginning.
And when he arrives home we see his wife (also played by Julie Christie, with long hair), sedated and watching the wallscreen (TV of sorts)...we see what his life is really like, although he had told Clarisse he was "happy"...he is not.As his friendship with Clarisse grows, he starts to secretly take home, hoard, and read some of the books he finds in the course of his daily work, and as he reads, he becomes obsessed with the books.
And when he starts to feel and care, so do we.The two single best scenes are a passionate one involving an old woman who refuses to leave her books, her "children" as she calls them; and the wonderful ending of the film.
The countless, painful closeups of books as they are being burned are beautifully done, and difficult to watch.Truffaut was a well-known disciple of Alfred Hitchcock's films, so when Hitchcock fired his long-time music collaborator Bernard Herrmann during the filming of "Torn Curtain", Truffaut was thrilled to acquire his talents for his own film.
From Ray Bradbury's novel about totalitarian society that has banned books and printed words in order to eliminate independent thought; Oskar Werner plays professional book-burner who becomes enraptured with stories.
I was never a fan of director François Truffaut's too-precious stories of childhood, but this film, curiously his only English-language picture, is extremely well-directed; the sequence with the woman and her books afire is one amazing set-piece, with tight editing, incredible and precise art direction, and the camera in all the right places.
Sitting in a theater crowded with college students on a budget with nothing better to do, I watched this diverting little retro item, appreciated its subtlety, nuance, bold visual style, and 'got' the message that if we're not careful, we'll be mindless drones having our desires dictated by The Tube (in current times, that's hardly a profound statement).Francois Truffaut's adaptation of Ray Bradbury's novel is a bold visual feast that presents a time that might seem 'retrograde' in the eye of a modern pop-culture snob, but ultimately projects what a conceivable 'future' might look like (and not that CGI malarkey served up in "The Matrix").
The story follows Guy Montag, an Everyman who is employed as a fireman--a connotation which entails ransacking residences in search of books (reading and writing have been outlawed in this world) and burning them.
He has a medicated-smile wife (Julie Christie), a quiet home life, and is in line for a promotion, until a neighbor (Christie again) inspires him to question his motives for working such a sordid job.One character argues that books cause depression, making people confront unpleasant feelings.
"Fahrenheit 451" sometimes runs the risk of lending truth to that statement--in some ways, it is a bleak commentary on civilization, but at the same time grounded in a benevolent humanity that offsets Orwell's brutal, pessimistic world of "1984" (though both texts and films share similar themes).
Ray Bradbury's disturbing vision of a possible future comes vividly alive in this film adaption of Fahrenheit 451.
But read for enjoyment or for education about the world beyond the small space of earth you frequent, that's a big no-no in this future America.Oskar Werner stars in Fahrenheit 451, he plays a fireman who have a different function in this society.
Entertainment has really dumbed down and the circuses aren't too far from what used to entertain the Romans.In the supporting cast you will remember Cyril Cusack as the fire brigade captain who functions as the spokesman for this new world and Bee Duffring as the book lady who martyrs herself for knowledge in an unforgettable scene.The ending is not Bradbury's, but one written by director Francois Truffaut.
Fahrenheit 451 (1966)Directed by a legendary director (Francois Truffaut) and featuring one of the scorching female stars of the time (Julie Christie) and based on a imaginative book by a great American fantabulist (Ray Bradbury) there really has to be something amazing here.
And Bradbury may have liked the adaptation but I've read the book and it has some kind of flow and subtlety that the movie misses.
Ray Bradbury's famous novel about a future society in which books are outlawed gets the movie treatment.
In a future world where people basically float through life as mindless zombies Clarisse dares to live and it is she who critically, and fatefully, opens Montag's eyes to the possibilities of the written word.
In a future totalitarian and oppressive society, where books are forbidden, Guy Montag (Oskar Werner) is a fireman.
He decides to steal and read a book, twisting his view of life.François Truffault is one of my favorite directors, and his unique English-spoken film "Fahrenheit 451" is a masterpiece and one of my favorite movies ever.
Although set far in the future , there are no great special effects or elaborate sets ; despite , the movie was filmed in real locations by prestigious cameraman Nicolas Roeg , subsequently filmmaker , in Danebury Avenue, Roehampton, London, England, UK (opening sequence, block of flats) ,Linkway, Edgcumbe Park, Crowthorne, Berkshire, England, UK(Montagu's bungalow)Black Park, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, (Monorail),Fortismere Secondary School, Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, UK and Loiret, France , though most scenes were shot in Pinewood Studios .
The main character, Oscar Montag was nicely played by Oskar Werner but the films belongs to the insanely beautiful Julie Christie who played the roles of Montag's wife, and school teacher Clarissa.
Oskar Werner plays Guy Montag, a fireman who burns books rather than puts fires out.
I loved this film because its message is so very clear today and so scary as we live in a society very different from Montag's yet not so far away.
In an oppressive future, a fireman (Oskar Werner) whose duty is to destroy all books begins to question his task.I am torn on this film.
The idea and premise are very interesting, but what ended up on screen is just dull and uninteresting.There are times when the movie looks good, I would've liked to see more of this early spring concrete suburbia.
I'm a little shocked by all the whiny comparisons to the Ray Bradbury book and to Truffaut's own films.
It even was better than the book, which is quite a feat.Oskar Werner is the perfect person to play Guy Montag (actually, we never hear his first name in this version, it's always `Montag'), a fireman in the near future.
And, like the book, Bradbury got most of everything right on target.Werner is a great actor, but who really stands out here is Christie.
"Fahrenheit 451" was an adaption, but not one that stands among the infamous.Our troubles begin in this film with our lead, Guy Montag (played by "Jules and Jim" lead, Oskar Werner), who obviously hated working for Truffaut and this project.
Feeling a bit Brunel-ian, Christie was used as two characters in this film, providing an opportunity for Truffaut to demonstrate a particular emotion with books and without them.
Based on Ray Bradbury's excellent futuristic novel of a totalitarian society that is dedicated to burning all written works(books especially).
One such fireman, Guy Montag(played by Oskar Werner) has a change of heart after he falls in love with a beautiful dissident book reader(played by Julie Christie, who also doubles as his bored and drug-addicted wife) who leads him on an adventure that will forever change his life, and how he looks at the world...Beautifully directed by French director Francois Truffaut, who creates an effective colorless view of this oppressed society that wallows in ignorance.
I have not read the novel albeit I love Bradbury, so I can make no comparisons to this particular book(I will say that this is very much in his spirit), and this is the first film by Francois Truffaut I watch, so I can't say if this is typical for him or not.
Because the book is so current, it was very difficult for me to watch this movie; I have no problem with retro-futuristic 1960's sci-fi (I love Voyage to the bottom of the sea, for God's sake!), but I repeat, the story is so 2011 that the production design and cheap visuals don't involve me.
That intellectual decline is actually predicted by this film and the novel on which it is based.A future authoritarian state has converted the role of fireman from saviour of property to saviour of minds; they now dispense fire from their hoses to destroy books, these being a cause of misery according to the new society.
In the movie "Fahrenheit 451", written by none other than Ray Bradbury, we have a society wherein a Fireman's job is not to extinguish fires, but to innate them by burning books found among the reading public.
However things began to hinder Montag's life when he meets, Clarisse (Julie Christie) who creates uncertainty in the young fireman, by challenging him to read a book before burning it.
In the future, all books are not allowed and they are burned.A wonderful science fiction film that I return to with repeat viewings every ten years or so.
So yes, you must get the DVD to get the full experience of Fahrenheit 451.I personally think the film would not have been as good without Herrmann's rich and, slightly daffy (just like the plot of the movie), score playing over it.
FAHRENHEIT 451 is a Dystopian science fiction drama film which takes place in a controlled society, in an indefinite future, where books and written texts are prohibited, while, individual thought has become a question of consciousness.
It is based on the 1953 novel of the same name by Ray Bradbury.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.
"1984" of course stands as the template for this dystopian future depiction but this fine Truffaut film of the Ray Bradbury book also put me in mind of its near-contemporary small-screen counterpart "The Prisoner".Of course the invention of Kindle-like reading tablets renders the premise of "Fahrenheit 451" somewhat useless, but there were several other recognisable motifs in the film which have reverberated down into today, like interactive TV show participation, the ever-present debate on state censorship and the dumbing-down of society.Stylishly directed by Francois Truffaut and superbly shot by the emergent Nicolas Roeg, it's a strikingly visual film, with Roeg's trademark use of the colour red evident everywhere.
Red of course is also the colour of fire which is used to destroy the books discovered by the state-run "fire-brigades" sent out on informant tip-offs, one of whose crew, the rigorous, seemingly ambitious Oskar Werner, is the central character whose conversion (or reversion) to an appreciation of literature is the fulcrum of the film.His young wife, played by Julie Christie is deliberately based upon Dickens' child-like Dora in "David Copperfield", the book that turns Werner's character and in an imaginative twist, she also plays the "girl on the train" who seeks him out as a possible convert to the book-people cause.
I understand the criticisms of the acting in the film, particularly by the leads as vacant, wooden and stilted but I can allow this given that they are representing almost automatons in the way they live ordered lives, are fed on comic-like "fake-newspapers", state-propaganda TV shows and travelling to work lemming-like in efficient sky-trains.I'm a great book-lover myself, so I lapped up the premise of the importance of literature in our lives but Truffaut never forgets he's making a thriller too.
In Fahrenheit 451, we meet Guy Montag (Oskar Werner) who works as a fireman; only in the future, firemen exist to start fires to burn books.
Fahrenheit 451 did not disappoint, if I had the experience to do over, however, I would probably not watch this film at the same time as reading George Orwell's 1984, as I'm now searching the internet for safes for all my books.
In spite of his promising career, a fireman named Montag (Oskar Werner) has grown disillusioned with his life and boring wife Linda (Julie Christie), and after meeting a young school teacher Clarisse (also Julie Christie) he starts dabbling in reading books himself.
The people around him aren't happy about his new attitude to life, however.The retro-futuristic production design looks good and Oskar Werner is believable in his everyman role, but there are things in the film I didn't like as much.
Any problems that happened off the set (fueds between Truffaut and star Oscar Werner) are not prevalent here- this is a film that with its style captures the kind of thought process behind Ray Bradbury's classic futuristic cautionary tale.
Although Fahrenheit 451 movie itself is an adaptation of Ray Bradbury's book.
In Truffaut's film, no one explains WHY books are important, why they matter - so given that Montag only becomes violent AFTER he starts reading, this version comes dangerously close to supporting Captain Beatty's argument: an ignorant society is a safe one.
In the midst of it all, he meets a cheerful school teacher named Clarisse (Julie Christie), who looks a great deal like his wife Linda (also Julie Christie)and challenges him to actually read the books he burns!
Ray Bradbury's book about a bleak future in which books are banned and firemen start fires is a genuine classic which is rightfully considered part of the science fiction canon.Anybody who has read the book will be acutely chagrined by this film adaption.
Francois Truffaut's film adaptation is a big failure for all the above reasons, especially considering he had the captivating novel by Ray Bradbury as his starting point..
It is based on a small story by Ray Bradbury about a society where books are banned and public service officials called, errr 'firemen', enforce their destruction.What gives this movie its special atmosphere is the smallness of the story.
This didn't just show how there was something sacred about the books that she's die for then live in ignorance, but it was also to show how much of a living hell the society created truly is as it's a world with not just no place for books but intellects as well.It's true the future looks a little more like the 60's and 70's with some futuristic equipment added, this film was made around the 60's after all.
But when you think about it more it does make sense, there was some sort of war sometime in the past which means certain resources would be scarce and due to the intellectual bankruptcy, it means very little invention and technological advancement, ok a few but like I said few and most of that tech is under government control.In a way this film along with the book was sort or prolific on Reality TV and podcasting as we see there is this interactive program they have going where people at their own homes they commutate with each other live, with whatever script given to them.
bradbury himself has stated that it is his only science fiction book, and that element is so important to the genesis of the ideas, the characters, and the plot, that to remove it...well this film shows what happens when you remove it.
"Fahrenheit 451" is instead a Sci-Fi film based on Ray Bradbury's work; it is also the only Truffaut's English language opus.From an aesthetical point of view the film is very old, this feeling can be deeper when we compare it to Stanley Kubrick's "2001" -a film released two years later and that still looks modern.
About the film itself, there's so much to enjoy: Truffaut's incisive direction; Nicholas Roeg's stark cinematography; Bernard Herrmann's gripping score; Julie Christie's radiant dual roles as Linda & Charisse; Cyril Cusack's fatherly but soulless fire chief; and -- holding it all together with a riveting focus -- Oskar Werner as the robotic "fireman" who eventually rediscovers his humanity and sacrifices everything to keep it.It's astonishing to look at Fahrenheit 451 from the vantage of the 21st century and marvel at the incredible concentration of A-list (for its time) talent assembled in one place for what would amount to pocket change in today's dollars.
Although Ray Bradbury wrote Fahrenheit 451 in 1951, the film produced in 1966 is as fresh as if Truffaut created today.
Life is good for one fireman, Montag (Oskar Werner), en route to promotion until he starts to think a little and wonder if something is not quite right.As an adaptation of Ray Bradbury's novel of the same name, "Fahrenheit 451" covers well-known ground in a thoroughly unique way.
As a big sci-fi fan and reader, having read all the major works of all the major authors, I can safely say the only books that should be burned are those of Ray Bradbury.
François Truffaut's Fahrenheit 451 is an adaptation of a novel, and as such, it is not bad, but as usual with such pictures, the film comes up a bit short against the book.