6.9 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
The beautiful and headstrong Bathsheba Everdene is a penniless girl who inherits a fortune and an expansive farm in Weatherbury. As she learns to run the farm, two distinct suitors vie for her hand: one is Sergeant Frank Troy, a vain and volatile soldier, and the other is William Boldwood, a terse gentleman and the owner of a nearby farm. Meanwhile, she is aided by Gabriel Oak, an honest farmhand and shepherd who knew Bathsheba before she became a wealthy landowner and holds her in fond regard.
Starring: Carey Mulligan, Matthias Schoenaerts, Michael Sheen, Tom Sturridge, Juno TempleRomance | 100% |
Drama | 37% |
Period | 30% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
Thai: Dolby Digital 5.1
English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Hindi, Indonesian, Korean, Malay, Mandarin (Simplified), Thai, Vietnamese
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
UV digital copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Baby Boomers or YouTube aficionados with a penchant for checking out cheesy old television will know The Dating Game drill: one charming and babelicious woman interviews three bachelors, sight unseen, and then chooses one of them to go a really exciting date to places like Venice (California, that is). This long running experiment in social engineering plied much the same territory as later entries like The Bachelorette, albeit more akin to “speed dating,” with a few minutes of banter resulting in the “win,” rather than the latter day show’s more drawn out proceedings. Bathsheba Everdene (Carey Mulligan) is a headstrong “bachelorette” in a time when single women were viewed somewhat askance, something that is only exacerbated by the fact that Bathsheba doesn’t seem all that intent on “remedying” her marital situation, despite the fact that over the course of Far From the Madding Crowd she will in fact entertain, in true Dating Game style, entreaties from three very different bachelors. In much the same way that authors like Jane Austen started to examine (then) contemporary society’s attitudes toward women and their “rightful place” in such iconic works as Pride & Prejudice (a film version which also featured Mulligan), Thomas Hardy’s original novel posited a woman who was definitely ahead of her time, unafraid to storm the bulwarks of various male dominated enterprises like managing a farm. While this adaptation doesn’t much care for whatever in Bathsheba’s background has made her the way she is, simply offering the character as something of a fait accompli, her determination and impetuous nature drives the narrative unabashedly forward through several traumas in both the agrarian and emotional arenas.
Far From the Madding Crowd is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. Shot on film in some gorgeous locations throughout England, this transfer boasts really beautiful depth and texture, with a nicely resolving fine grain field and a generously organic appearance. While not aggressively overstated, it's obvious that quite a bit of the film has been graded toward the yellow side of things, a choice which leaves flesh tones looking slightly jaundiced quite a bit of the time and which tends to mask fine detail in midrange shots. When not graded, the palette is very natural looking, shying away from incredible "pop" (with the exception of elements like Troy's bright red uniform) to offer a more subdued and naturalistic account of the English countryside. Contrast is consistent, helping to bridge some widely disparate lighting conditions. Shadow detail is occasionally a little anemic in some of the darkest sequences, but is never overly problematic. There are no issues with image instability or compression anomalies.
Far From the Madding Crowd features a subtly immersive lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track, one which favors good, spacious placement of some wide open feeling ambient environmental effects. Key set pieces like the fire at Bathsheba's farm offer the opportunity for excellent discrete channelization as well as some vivid movement courtesy of panning effects. The film's florid but enjoyable score by Craig Armstrong also resides comfortably in the surrounds and is quite forcefully presented at times. Dialogue is cleanly offered and is always well prioritized. Fidelity is top notch and dynamic range rather wide on this problem free track.
- Bathsheba Everdene (1080p; 3:17)
- The Suitors (1080p; 3:56)
- Adapting 'Far from the Madding Crowd' (1080p; 4:32)
- The Look of 'Far from the Madding Crowd' (1080p; 5:08)
- Gabriel Oak (1080p; 2:22)
- William Boldwood (1080p; 2:34)
- Sergeant Troy (1080p; 2:26)
- The Locations of 'Far from the Madding Crowd' (1080p; 5:03)
- Thomas Vinterberg (1080p; 4:07)
The 1967 version of Far from the Madding Crowd has always been something of a favorite of mine, even though I'm not immune to the criticisms often leveled at its length and generally languid presentation. I was immediately struck by how faithful to the spirit if not (every) letter of Hardy's novel this version was, and also grateful that aside from a few modern updates like "jiggly cam" moments adding supposed verisimilitude to sequences like the barn fire, this Far from the Madding Crowd was content to simply tell the story without a lot of needless bells and whistles. Performances are superb and the film is certainly scenic. With excellent technical merits and some enjoyable supplements, Far from the Madding Crowd comes Highly recommended.
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1991
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2017
Warner Archive Collection
1936
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1958
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2006
1934
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Limited Edition to 3000
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1954
Warner Archive Collection
1967
1987
Ultimate Collector's Edition
2004
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