Fahrenheit 451

Overview

"Legendary French filmmaker François Truffaut made his English-language debut with this adaptation of Ray Bradbury's celebrated novel, which has been given a solid presentation on DVD. Fahrenheit 451 has been transferred to disc in letterboxed format at the widescreen aspect ratio of 1.85:1, which has also been enhanced for anamorphic playback on 16 x 9 monitors. The audio has been mastered in Dolby Digital Mono; the dialogue is in English, with optional subtitles in Spanish and French. Bonus materials include a commentary track featuring actress Julie Christie, an interview with Ray Bradbury, a short documentary on the making of the film, the picture's original opening sequence, a gallery of promotional artwork, and the movie's original trailer."

Product Details

Release Date:	04/01/2003
UPC:	0025192124020
Original Release:	1966
Rating:	NR
Source:	STUDIO DISTRIBUTION SERVS LLC
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo]
Language:	English
Time:	1:53:00
Sales rank:	16,153

Special Features

Closed Caption;The Novel: A discussion with author Ray Bradbury; Making of Fahrenheit 451; Feature commentary with Julie Christie; The music of Farenheit 451; The original title sequence of feature; Photo poster gallery; Theatrical trailer

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Oskar Werner	Guy Montag
Julie Christie	Linda Montag
Cyril Cusack	Le capitaine
Anton Diffring	Fabian
Ann Bell	Doris
Caroline Hunt	Helen
Anna Palk	Jackie
Jeremy Spenser	Actor
Bee Duffell	Book Woman
Gillian Lewis	TV Announcer
Roma Milne	Neighbor
Alex Scott	Henry Brulard
Denis Gilmore	Martian Chronicles
Michael Balfour	Machiavelli's Prince
Judith Drynan	Plato's Dialogues
David Glover	Pickwick Papers
Hermiston	Actor
Yvonne Blake	Jewish Question
John Rae	Weir of Hermiston
Gillian Aldam	Judoka Woman
Arthur Cox	Male Nurse,Pride,Prejudice
Eric Mason	Male Nurse
Noel Davis	TV Announcer
Donald Pickering	TV Announcer
Michael Mundell	Stoneman
Chris William	Black
Edward Kaye	Judoka Man
Mark Lester	Small Boy
Kevin Elder	Small Boy
Joan Francis	Bar Telephonist
Tom Watson	Sgt. Instructor
Earl Younger	Nephew of `The Weir of Hermiston'
Bernard Herrmann	Composer

Technical Credits

François Truffaut

Jean-Louis Richard

François Truffaut	Screenwriter,Director
Jean-Louis Richard	Screenwriter
Lewis Allen	Producer
Charles Staffel	Special Effects

Editorial Reviews

François Truffaut's Fahrenheit 451 brings Ray Bradbury's big-brother world into crisp focus, employing a thought-provoking production design full of muted technicolor and almost entirely devoid of written language -- even the opening credits are spoken. The quashing of intellectualism in the interest of lulling the masses into contented enslavement makes wonderfully portentous subject matter for Truffaut's confident first strides into English filmmaking. The coiled fire-breathing dragon that serves as the fire department's icon comments both on the routine dominance of the ruling regime and its blindness toward its own oppressiveness; no self-aware, PR-conscious thought police would represent itself through such monstrous imagery. All of the images in Truffaut's film take on this chilling deadness, with glimpses of the lovingly worn contraband books providing the only link to a lost era of deep thinking and human sensitivity. The dual role played by Julie Christie is a fascinating way to handle Oskar Werner's struggle between his patterned duties and his yearning for a new life; his past and future are slightly altered versions of each other, similar on the surface yet radically different in subtextual meaning. Provocatively, Truffaut's film even doubles as a self-critical screed against the cinema, so empty and insipid are the moving images the citizens are permitted to consume, and so fondly substantial are the volumes they are systematically denied. If any film can seduce its viewers into picking up Jean-Paul Sartre, this one can.