Far From the Maddening Women

Just finished watching the 1967 version of Far From the Maddening Crowd, and it was definitely worth doing. Julie Christie, Terence Stamp, Peter Finch, and Alan Bates all did good jobs, and the movie, which was close to three hours long (169 minutes) had no problem holding my attention. 

For one thing, the characters Bathsheba Everdene (Julie Christie) and Frank Troy (Terence Stamp) really pissed me off consistently. Frank just because he was an asshole, and Bathsheba because she was such a consummate bitch. I have to say, too, that Bathsheba's bitchiness was totally familiar to me from my own dealings with women. She just delighted in toying with men and then smashing them to pieces. And the men fall for it every time. She absolutely (and deliberately) ruins William Boldwood (Peter Finch) 's life for no reason whatsoever (other than that she can). And the "happy ending" for Gabriel Oak (Alan Bates) doesn't seem sustainable given what has preceded it. Gabriel should have stuck with his sheep.

Speaking of which, early on in the movie there's that terrible horrible mad dog and sheep moment, at the conclusion of which Gabriel says, "Thank God I am not married!" Granted this is a shortened version of Thomas Hardy's "Thank God I am not married: what would she have done in the poverty now coming upon me!", but the movie's truncated version is better because (1) it's funnier and (2) it implies the submission that men often display in their relationships with women. I've certainly been there. I look back at some of the relationships I've been in and I can only wonder why I put up with so much shit from a fellow human being. If that's what love does to me, then I am more than happy to say farewell and get as far away from it as possible. The love I have for and get from my children is much fuller, healthier, and steadier than any romantic love I've encountered. And I don't have to compromise my values or my pride with them. Hell, the love I get from my cats is of higher quality than what I've gotten from my last five women. Seriously.

Anyway, this movie was so good that it made me want to (1) read the book and (2) watch another version of the movie. I'll probably do the second one first, since I am up to my tits in books that I want to read already, but you never know: when these fixations take hold, sometimes you just have to empty your arms and follow the bouncing ball.

Oh, and did I forget to mention, forget to mention Nicholas Roeg? Yes, I did. He was responsible for the cinematography on this movie, and he did such a lovely job. There are some scenes that are so beautifully composed that they could be paintings. (I'm thinking particularly of the foggy cottage scene after Bathsheba leaves home.) And there are some scenes that are just so perfectly captured, like the drunken cart driver's ride to the churchyard. There's also some hand held camera work which is just perfect for the mood of the scene. Well done, Nick!