Fahrenheit 451 (1966)

The Fire That Binds

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

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Francois Truffaut was deep into his Hitchcock phase when directed this adaptation of Ray Bradbury's novel; he was in the middle of the interviews that would eventually make up his essential book Hitchcock. And so, besides the very deliberate Bernard Herrmann score, Fahrenheit 451 features Hitchcockian color schemes, rhythms and building of suspense. On the downside, it doesn't particularly feel like a Truffaut film, but on the upside, it's a decent entry in the sci-fi genre. A slightly miscast Oskar Werner plays Guy Montag, a fireman in some kind of futuristic/alternative universe, whose job is to locate and burn books rather than put out fires. (Books are banned because they make people think for themselves, and therefore create unhappiness.) Julie Christie plays both Montag's wife, fully assimilated into the government-run society, and also the short-haired Clarisse, a rebellious teacher who loves books. Montag eventually comes over to Clarisse's way of thinking. The film has some wonderfully spooky touches, such as a "newspaper" made up of wordless comics. It's fun to spot all the books referenced, such as Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles. Characters also burn a copy of Cahiers du Cinema, Truffaut's former employer. It was the first and only English-language film for Truffaut. Nicolas Roeg was the cinematographer.

Starring: Oskar Werner, Julie Christie, Cyril Cusack, Anton Diffring, Jeremy Spenser, Bee Duffell, Alex Scott, Noel Davis
Written by: François Truffaut, Jean-Louis Richard, Helen Scott, based on a novel by Ray Bradbury
Directed by: François Truffaut
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Running Time: 113 minutes
Date: January 30, 2008