Movies - Fahrenheit 451

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	Movies - Fahrenheit 451

Fahrenheit 451 (1953) is a 1966 film of a dystopian future, based on the novel by Ray Bradbury. It is set in a world where books are banned and critical thought is suppressed; the central character, Guy Montag, is employed as a "fireman" (which, in this case, means "book burner"). 451 degrees Fahrenheit (about 233°C) is stated as "the temperature at which book-paper catches fire, and burns ...". It was directed by François Truffaut, his first and only English-language film.

The movie differed somewhat from the novel. For example, Clarisse survives throughout the film and accompanies Montag when he leaves the city, and the role played by Faber is reduced significantly, appearing only briefly in one scene as an old man asleep on a park bench. Bradbury has said that Truffaut "captured the soul and essence of the book," although he disliked the elimination of Faber. The film starred Oskar Werner as Montag and Julie Christie in the dual roles of Linda (Mildred) Montag and Clarisse.

Production

The film was shot at Pinewood Studios
in England, with the monorail scene taken at Châteneuf-sur-Loire near Orléans, France.
François Truffaut spoke virtually no English, but co-wrote the screenplay with Jean-Louis Richard. Truffaut expressed disappointment with the often stilted and unnatural English-language dialogue. He was much happier with the version which was dubbed into French.
The production work was done in French.
The friendship between Truffaut and Werner soured during the filming of Fahrenheit 451. Exhibiting profound disillusionment, Truffaut complained (not without justification) that Werner had become a "cold" performer. During the last two weeks of filming, things had become so bad that the director and actor would not even speak to each other. Werner would stay in his trailer all day drinking wine, and he would only communicate with Truffaut on set through messages passed between him and other crewmembers. Towards the end of the film, Werner had his hair cut differently from the appearance of his character Guy Montag in earlier parts of the film, creating continuity problems — look closely and you can see that it has been fluffed up to make it look more as it previously was.
Also evidence of Truffaut and Werner's soured relationship was the director's use of a heavily tobacco stained hand for an insert shot later in the film. The hand in question can be seen when Montag reaches out from behind a blanket while he hides in a boat.

Influence

The film's score, by Bernard Hermann, strongly influenced The Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby" (from the Revolver album).

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Movies - Fahrenheit 451

Production

Influence

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