The mistress of Thornhill
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The mistress of Thornhill |
| Original title | Far from the Madding Crowd |
| Country of production | Great Britain |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1967 |
| length | 155 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | John Schlesinger |
| script | Frederic Raphael |
| production | Joseph Janni |
| music | Richard Rodney Bennett |
| camera | Nicolas Roeg |
| cut | Malcolm Cooke |
| occupation | |
| |
The Mistress of Thornhill (original title: Far from the Madding Crowd ) is a British drama film directed by John Schlesinger from 1967. The screenplay is based on the novel On the Green Edge of the World by Thomas Hardy . Julie Christie plays Bathsheba Everdene, a passionate young woman who plays a vital role in the lives and love of three different men. In Germany, the film was released in cinemas on August 2, 1968.
action
England, Victorian era : the idiosyncratic Bathsheba Everdene inherits her uncle's farm in Weatherbury. Her former neighbor Gabriel Oak, who lost his own flock of sheep due to a mistake by his dog, applies to her for a job. Gabriel had proposed to her at the time, but Bathsheba had refused. Since he is very capable, he is employed. However, there are always disagreements between him and Bathsheba, so that she dismisses him after a while. When some of her animals get sick, only Gabriel can help, so she has to forgive him so that he comes back.
Since Bathsheba sent her neighbor William Boldwood a Valentine on a whim, the farmer, who has fallen in love with the headstrong woman, sincerely woos her. She asked for time to think about his marriage proposal. But then she meets the dashing officer Frank Troy and falls in love with him. Bathsheba doesn't know that Frank canceled the wedding with his pregnant maid, Fanny Robin, just because she accidentally went to the wrong church. He felt offended and ridiculed in front of his comrades that he waited in vain for them at the altar. Although Bathsheba hears many negative things about Frank, she gives in to her infatuation and they both marry.
The marriage is not a happy one. Already on the wedding day he tempts the employees to give the brandy plenty of it. When a storm draws in, Gabriel is only there to save the farm from worse damage. In the following years, Frank gambled away a large part of his wife's fortune. It also causes quarrels among the farm workers. When Fanny dies in childbed, Frank admits to Bathsheba that he never really loved her and that Fanny is closer to him than she could ever be to him. For him, Fanny is his true wife. Frank still makes sure that his dead lover receives a beautiful burial place with stone, then he leaves his wife and disappears into the sea after he has completely taken off his clothes on the shore.
Bathsheba allows William, who loves her with all his might, to urge him to promise that she will marry him in six years at the latest - if her husband has not returned by then. When he gives a feast in her honor, he asks Bathsheba to wear his ring only today. He is about to raise his glass to the woman he loves when the door opens and Frank enters the room. He wants Bathsheba to come with him, William draws his gun and shoots Frank without warning. Bathsheba collapses on top of him and William looks blankly in their direction. Bathsheba reunites Frank with Fanny Robin in death.
A long time passed when Gabriel informed Bathsheba of his plan to emigrate to America. Now Bathsheba finally realizes that she always needed Gabriel's strength and selfless willingness to help. She rides to him, whereupon he says that there can only be one reason for him to stay, that from now on he can always wake up by her side. She falls happily into his arms.
background
The film was shot in the southwestern English counties of Dorset and Wiltshire . British folk violinist Dave Swarbrick has a guest appearance as a musician . Three years after making this film, Nicolas Roeg began a new career as a director.
In 1915 the novel was made into a film. The silent film starred Florence Turner as Bathsheba and Henry Edwards as Gabriel, directed by Laurence Trimble . In 2015, another film adaptation of the original followed with On the Green Edge of the World .
Reviews
The lexicon of international films describes the film as "staged with great effort and technical care, appealing thanks to the excellent leading actress and the beauty of the landscape, but overall a rather emotional entertainment that is too much designed according to a template."
Variety complained that the script was "too close to Hardy's original", "so that director Schlesinger could only occasionally make his own film". Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times criticized the stereotypical characterization of the protagonists. In addition, the real motives of the female main character are evaded in order to produce a homogeneous and powerful mainstream product.
The TimeOut film guide highlighted Roeg's moving camera work. Julie Christie, on the other hand, was seen as a bad cast. It is also about "apparent propaganda". Although "the story contains enough dramatic aspects", it is "reduced to common stereotypes and the good-and-bad mechanism".
Awards
The film won two NBR Awards , for Best Picture and for Peter Finch as Best Actor .
The drama also received an Oscar nomination in the category of best film music and three nominations for the Golden Globe in the categories of best film (drama) , best leading actor (drama) and best supporting actress . There were also two nominations for the BAFTA Award in the categories Best Camera (Color) and Best Costumes (Color) .
Web links
- The Madding Crowd in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- The Madding Crowd at Rotten Tomatoes (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ The Lady of Thornhill. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ The Lords of Thornhill . In: Variety , 1967.
- ↑ Roger Ebert : The mistress of Thornhill . In: Chicago Sun-Times , January 23, 1968.
- ↑ Die Herrin von Thornhill ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. at timeout.com
