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Fahrenheit 451 (1966)

Oskar Werner , Julie Christie , Francois Truffaut  |  Unrated |  DVD
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (177 customer reviews)

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Product Details

  • Actors: Oskar Werner, Julie Christie, Cyril Cusack, Anton Diffring, Jeremy Spenser
  • Directors: Francois Truffaut
  • Writers: Francois Truffaut, Jean-Louis Richard
  • Producers: Lewis M. Allen
  • Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
  • Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
  • Subtitles: Spanish, French
  • Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Rated: Unrated
  • Studio: Universal Studios
  • DVD Release Date: April 1, 2003
  • Run Time: 113 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (177 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B000087F6L
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,797 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
  • Learn more about "Fahrenheit 451" on IMDb

Special Features

  • The Novel: A Discussion with Author Ray Bradbury
  • Making of Fahrenheit 451
  • Feature Commentary with Julie Christie
  • The Music of Fahrenheit 451
  • The Original title Sequence of Feature
  • Photo Poster Gallery

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The classic science fiction novel by Ray Bradbury was a curious choice for one of the leading directors of the French New Wave, François Truffaut. But from the opening credits onward (spoken, not written on screen), Truffaut takes Bradbury's fascinating premise and makes it his own. The futuristic society depicted in Fahrenheit 451 is a culture without books. Firemen still race around in red trucks and wear helmets, but their job is to start fires: they ferret out forbidden stashes of books, douse them with gasoline, and make public bonfires. Oskar Werner, the star of Truffaut's Jules and Jim, plays a fireman named Montag, whose exposure to David Copperfield wakens an instinct toward reading and individual thought. (That's why books are banned--they give people too many ideas.) In an intriguing casting flourish, Julie Christie plays two roles: Montag's bored, drugged-up wife and the woman who helps kindle the spark of rebellion. The great Bernard Herrmann wrote the hard-driving music; Nicolas Roeg provided the cinematography. Fahrenheit 451 received a cool critical reception and has never quite been accepted by Truffaut fans or sci-fi buffs. Its deliberately listless manner has always been a problem, although that is part of its point; the lack of reading has made people dry and empty. If the movie is a bit stiff (Truffaut did not speak English well and never tried another project in English), it nevertheless is full of intriguing touches, and the ending is lyrical and haunting. --Robert Horton

Product Description

A fireman of the future burns books until he meets a book lover and becomes an outlaw. Directed by Francois Truffaut.

Customer Reviews

I highly recommend reading the book, particularly if you've seen the movie version. Donald Ward  |  28 reviewers made a similar statement
For written matter gives people ideas and this society decides it is better to live without ideas. carol irvin  |  27 reviewers made a similar statement
One of the good signs of a movie adaptation is if it follows the "spirit" of the film. Sean B. Robinson  |  17 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
102 of 110 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars How to Burn Down Your Life February 21, 2001
Format:VHS Tape
Truffaut's film and the novel from which it is adapted have both been misunderstood for too long. To start with, you have to understand that Bradbury's novels, plays, and story are almost always allegorical - so you have to look for meanings on more than one level. Truffaut's film of Fahrenheit 451 captures all of the allegorical levels of the novel. To explain: One of the many reasons human beings read and write books is because we have a deep need to know if our inner experiences are shared by others - this need can only be answered within the context of an intimate relationship, either with another human being or with a book, which allows us to reveal or to be revealed as we are. The more the State controls the use of language, the more we are controlled. In Bradbury's novel the State effectively limits intimacy by forbidding books; and since the only reference to reality is dictated by the State, what can Montag or his wife know of love? How intimate can their relationship be? Fahrenheit 451 is a story about a man who has conformed completely to external reality; or has he? Can anyone really sell their soul to the State? Truffaut's film beautifully articulates the story, atmosphere, and themes of Bradbury's novel, as Montag unconsciously - as if sleepwalking - begins to stack the kindling, dry wood, and fuel of his dehumanized existence for the moment when his creative energy can no longer be contained and his life bursts into flames. Notice, also, how Bernard Herrman's score evokes these images of somnambulism, fire building, and spontaneous combustion. The rest, of course, is a story of rebirth, of the phoenix rising from the ashes - the victory of creative passion over State control. To summarize, 451 synergizes the story of a man's mid-life crisis with the crisis of repression of human values represented by McCarthyism. Note well: you have to give yourself over to this film in order to really appreciate it - the film requires a meditative state of mind and empathic response. Montag finds that he can no longer simply function as a cog in a machine - he needs to be loved for himself. Clearly, the literal or analytically minded will not "get" this film; neither will the romantically inclined. It's a film about wholeness, about not allowing yourself to be fragmented, or having parts of yourself chopped off by external forces. You have to bring your total self to it. It's a film about actually living through your worst life crisises, learning from them, and determining your own way of life, instead of doping and drugging yourself with memory killers devised by the State. In short, watch the film and form your own opinion - you dont need the concensus or false reassurance of a film critic or other idiot in order to live your own life.
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62 of 67 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars BURN, BABY, BURN... January 16, 2005
Format:VHS Tape
Fahrenheit 451 is the temperature at which book paper will burn. It is the basis for the premise of this film, which is based upon the Ray Bradbury's classic sci-fi novel of the same name. The film takes the viewer to a stark future in which firemen start fires rather than put them out. Their main mission appears to be to root out books, wherever they may be found, and burn them. Those who harbor books in their home are breaking the law and are subject to arrest by the state. The written word is simply forbidden.

Oskar Werner plays the role of Guy Montag, a fireman who is married to a beautiful air-head named Linda, who spends her days popping pills, while glued to a wall screen TV. Played with appropriate bubble-brained inertia by the talented Julie Christie, this is just one of the dual roles she plays in this film. The other role is that of Clarisse, a would be school teacher and seeming misfit in that society, as she actually likes to talk about ideas, the very reason that books are forbidden. It seems that books are looked upon as giving people ideas, which is viewed by the state as a mechanism for making people unhappy with their lot.

When Clarisse singles out Montag for conversation, he is intrigued by the fact that she is capable of independent thought. It is not long before he, too, like those whose books he has burned, is also, to his wife's dismay, hoarding books. She feels that Montag is simply sucking the fun out of her life. Clarisse and Montag form an alliance of sorts, as his world comes tumbling down. Betrayed by his conformist wife Linda, Montag joins the ranks of fugitive book lovers, hunted by the very firemen with whom he served. These fugitives are not known by their names, but rather, by the title of the book to which they have committed to memory, in hopes that one day the world will once again be ready to accept that which they have committed to memory.

The film has a stark, futuristic quality about it. Symbolism is rampant throughout the film. The homes of those who hoard books are often homes that are cozy and reminiscent of homes of our book loving society today, while those of people who are with the program are stark and cold. The all black uniforms worn by the firemen are reminiscent of those worn by the storm troopers of Nazi Germany. The actions of the firemen, as they search for those who would hoard books, as well as the search for the books themselves, are also reminiscent of the search by the Nazis for those who would harbor those who were deemed undesirable under the Nazi regime, as well as the search for undesirables themselves. Oskar Werner's German accents underscores this imagery.

This is Francois Truffaut's first and only foray into the direction of an English language film. He himself was co-writer of the screenplay, which is perhaps why the imagery seems to supercedes the dialogue. There are many stylistic flourishes throughout the film. Ray Bradbury's, "The Martian Chronicles", is one of the books seen to be burning. It is also one of the books that a fugitive has committed to memory. Newspapers in the film consist of pictures only. Even the opening credits of the film are in keeping with the premise of the film that the written word is forbidden. As such, the opening credits are spoken. Moreover, Bernard Herrmann's edgy score certainly adds to the bleak, futuristic feel of the film. This is a film that those who enjoyed the novel upon which the film is based should see.
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53 of 59 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I first saw this film when it was released a few decades ago and loved it. I just watched it again last night and still loved it. As a HUGE book lover, I was absolutely mesmerized by this tale of a society that not only has censored all books, but also has firemen who hunt down culprits who harbor books and then burn them at 451 degrees, the heat needed to burn paper. It is French director Truffaut's only English language film, which does not hurt it in the least. This is an incredibly dull society of people who don't do much other than sit in front of tv-like screens watching approved programing put on by the state. Some of them also go to work on public transit although they do nothing that requires reading. There are no road signs, no newspapers, no menus, not a shred of visible written matter anywhere in this society. Children in schoolrooms do solely mass oral memorization. For written matter gives people ideas and this society decides it is better to live without ideas. Why one wants to live without ideas remains an unasked question in this culture. Oskar Werner plays the fireman who gets more and more intrigued by these books he's burning. Julie Christie plays two roles: a rebel who sides with the book harborers and Werner's wife, who is a couch potato living in front of the tv-screen most of the day. I was amazed to see that Werner's clothes and hair looked right up to the minute despite this film's being several decades old. You would think he was a young actor in 2001. The resolution of this film is absolutely wonderful and thus I won't say a word about it so as to spoil it for you.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars Its a classic, but not a great classic
I've heard many good things about this movie, but the movie is just an alright classic. The movie is a unique experience, where virtually all text is removed, even from the opening... Read more
Published 8 days ago by Michael Valenzuela
4.0 out of 5 stars True, even now.
Having taught this book in my Remedial English class, I find it quite resonant even today. It is a classic of literature and human behavior, especially with regards to control.
Published 13 days ago by Gabriela Pruneda
5.0 out of 5 stars Must See
Everyone should watch this movie. If I could give it more stars I would. This is totally relevant for today.
Published 19 days ago by Samantha
5.0 out of 5 stars Farenheit 451
I love this movie anyway - though it is very scary to think this type of thing could actually occur. Read more
Published 19 days ago by Connie J. Wehmeyer
3.0 out of 5 stars Fahrenheit 451
The story line, while interesting was slower than I'd recalled, having seen the movie, originally, the year it came out. Read more
Published 25 days ago by pgc3
5.0 out of 5 stars Bought this for school
I bought this for school so I could get through the book faster - I use a media player and turn the play back speed up twice as fast so I can get through it faster. Read more
Published 1 month ago by R. Henke
5.0 out of 5 stars a classic dytopian tale
title says it all paper burns at this temp ,,,imagine a world without books where everyone just watches TV and believes and does as they are told oh wait sounds kind of like today... Read more
Published 1 month ago by dl hooker
5.0 out of 5 stars reat movie
I read the book by Bradbury when I was just a kid. I started thinking about it when my wife asked if I knew the story. We bought the movie and watched it together. Read more
Published 1 month ago by D. Bryce
5.0 out of 5 stars Fine
The movie's cover was old and very worn. However, the show worked well in our VHS machine, and we had no problems viewing it from start to finish. Read more
Published 1 month ago by larvalbug
3.0 out of 5 stars Read the Book First! Glad We Watched It but Needs a Remake.
Last month I read the book to myself and listened to the audiobook with my fifteen year old son for our homeschool. As always, we watched the movie afterward. Read more
Published 1 month ago by christinemm - The Thinking Mother
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