Fahrenheit 451 (1966 film)

Fahrenheit 451 is a science fiction film directed by François Truffaut, released in 1966 and starring Oskar Werner, Julie Christie and Cyril Cusack. It is based on Ray Bradbury's novel of the same name and is Truffaut's only film shot in English.

Plot

The film takes place in a society after the year 2010, where the task of firefighters is no longer to put out fires (houses at that time are not flammable) but to burn books, since, according to their government, reading prevents us from being happy because it fills us with anguish; by reading, men begin to think, analyze and question their lives and the reality that surrounds them. The government's objective is to prevent citizens from having access to books, as it ensures that citizens are happy, that they do not question their actions and perform their tasks.

In this context is Guy Montag, a firefighter who in principle does not question these laws and is willing to comply with them. During the development of the film Montag meets a 17-year-old girl on the monorail, Clarisse McClellan. During this first interaction, Clarisse comments to Montag that "she and her family are labeled 'antisocial' because they think for themselves." At first, Montag calls her crazy, but it is this young woman who begins to generate in him doubts about whether she is truly happy, as well as arousing her curiosity about the books she burns.

Montag begins to read and this implies not only going against the laws that he did not question before, but he begins to realize the one in which he lives and his consequent unhappiness.

Montag, from here, begins to turn against what he previously believed, challenging the law on various occasions and admiring the way Clarisse and her family live. Clarisse's family is arrested, and she is able to escape. After a furtive meeting with Montag, where he tells him that he will go to live with the book-men, which are a group of people who have managed to escape from the law or flee before being caught and, to keep the books, but in turn not committing a crime for this reason, each one learns a book by heart, passing its identity to that of the book, substituting its name for the title of the work and its author.

Following this, Montag has several disagreements with his wife Mildred (Linda in the film), who is completely absorbed by this sick society. After asking her to choose between her and her books, she decides to report him.

Still working at the fire department, Montag and his coworkers head out to an emergency, only to discover they were headed to their own home. After burning almost all the books, Montag hides one, and after burning down his own house, he manages to escape, burning his boss in the process. He finally makes it to the book-men, reuniting with Clarisse.

"Fahrenheit 451" (equivalent to 233 °C) received that title because the novel mentions that paper burns at that temperature.

Production

The Hollywood lawyers of the Universal (tape producer) did not want the books of Faulkner, Sartre, Proust, Genet, Salinger, Audiberti to be burned...: "Limit to books that belong to the public domain," they say for fear of eventual processes. That would be absurd. I have consulted a London lawyer who says, "No problem. You have every right to quote all the titles and authors you want." There will be so many appointments in Fahrenheit 451 like Godard's eleven films together... Only today I realized that it is impossible to drop books out of picture in this movie. I must accompany his fall to the ground. The books are here characters, and cutting their path is tantamount to leaving an actor's head out of picture. I noted that some planes of the film were bad from the beginning and now I understand it was because of this.

François Truffaut

With this film, François Truffaut had Bernard Herrmann and not Georges Delerue who was his usual composer.

Truffaut kept a detailed diary during production and later published it in both French and English (in Cahiers du Cinema in English). In this diary, he called Fahrenheit 451 his film experience "saddest and most difficult," mainly due to the intense conflicts between Werner and himself.

The film was Universal Pictures' first European production.

Actors

Julie Christie was originally cast as Linda Montag, but not as Clarisse. Well, the role of Clarisse was offered to Jean Seberg and Jane Fonda. Tippi Hedren was also considered for the role, but Alfred Hitchcock told Truffaut that she was unavailable. After much thought, Truffaut decided that the characters should not have a villain/hero relationship, but rather be two sides of the same coin, and cast Christie in both roles, although the idea came from the producer, Lewis M. Allen. In a 1998 interview, Charles Aznavour said that he was Truffaut's first choice to play the role assigned to Werner; Aznavour said that Jean-Paul Belmondo was the director's second choice, but the producers refused on the grounds that neither was familiar enough for an English-speaking audience.

Differences with the book

This film adaptation, while being faithful in message and form to the original work, presents some differences both in development and in the ending compared to the work on which it is based. Among the most notable differences are the simplification of some scenes and the omission of others, for example in the book Mildred has her stomach pumped by means of a "robotic snake" Which doesn't happen in the movie. In addition, in the film the existence of the mechanical dog of the firefighters is obvious, which served as "executor" and he is the one who chases Montag in the last stretch of the novel.

On the other hand, Professor Faber, a key character in the book who serves as a mentor to the protagonist, does not appear either, although it is implied in one scene that, at least, he did meet Montag and in the same way who knows him in the book: in the park.

Clarisse's character dies in the middle of the book and never gets to meet Montag, so the scene where Clarisse walks Montag into her old house looking for some old manuscripts is an original implementation.

Montag's escape is longer in the novel, his meeting with the homeless is raised in a more casual way, being the homeless nomads unlike in the film, Montag also witnesses how a bomb hits his city because of a war, which is not mentioned in the feature film.

Montag also does not hold a position as a professor at the fire academy, this is an original implementation of the principal.

Criticism and reception

The film was met with mixed critical reception upon its release. The Time called the film an "strangely joyous little picture that attacks with horror and humor all forms of tyranny over the mind of man"; "strongly supports the widespread suspicion that Julie Christie cant really act. Although she plays two women of diametrically divergent dispositions, they seem to differ in their portrayal of her only in her hairstyles. They also noted that the "somewhat remote subject matter" challenged [Truffaut's] technical competence more than his heart; the finished film showing the craftsman rather than the artist".

It has gained wide critical acclaim over the years. On the website of review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes the film has a positive rating of 82% among major film critics based on 33 reviews. The critical consensus reads: " Fahrenheit 451 is an intriguing film that infuses Truffaut's trademark wit and dark humor with the intelligence and morality of Ray Bradbury's novel. Martin Scorsese has called the film an "underrated image," which has influenced his own films.

Opinion by Ray Bradbury

Author Ray Bradbury said in subsequent interviews that, despite its flaws, he was pleased with the film. He especially liked the climax of the film, where the people in the book walk through a snowy field, reciting the poetry and prose they have memorized, to Herrmann's melodious score. He found it especially moving. However, alluding to a possible remake, Bradbury said in a 2009 interview: "The mistake they made with the first one was casting Julie Christie as the revolutionary and the boring wife."

List of works and authors mentioned