Fahrenheit 451

Richmond Hill

A rather cartoonish interpretation which thankfully eschews the heavier pitfalls of pro-free thought and intellectualism but spends too much of its time in distracted - often distracting - gimmickry and experimentation of material form. It fitfully works and has some effective sequences and modes, but whether Truffaut was simpatico with the story remains unclear.

ASHES IN THE HOURGLASS

It's not awful but it was just really uninvolving. My biggest problem is that Truffaut's love for Hitchcock, specifically Vertigo, is all over this film, to the point of making me want to watch that instead. From the theme of memory, the similar music by Bernard Hermann, the casting of an actress in two roles, the dream sequence, all these things remind me too much of Hitchcock's masterpiece. It lacks an identity.

Duncan Gray

Truffaut isn't the man for futuristic dystopias—see Alphaville instead—but from an auteur theory perspective, it's fascinating to see his unmistakable stamp applied to the material. With Hermann on music and Nic Roeg doing the photography, there's plenty of sensory joy. But as an allegory about beleaguered intellectuals, it's a bit self-righteous. Even auteur theorists need better screenplays sometimes.

anarresti

Truffaut turned (what is now) the 1953 dystopian classic Fahrenheit 451 and made (what is now) a dystopian film classic.The book was written during the McCarthy era and, in a prophetic way, would be censored or banned on a few occasions in the USA. The film had its own atmosphere but the same awkward sense of oppression and strangeness. And the title itself would inspire Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11.

Pierluigi Puccini

Truffaut attemps to make a Hitchcock film. the result is average, far from his best works. Julie Christie is beautiful (as always) and gives a surprisingly good double role. Oskar Werner does a fine job as the self absorbed fireman. overall an interesting dystopian fantasy.

Ethan

Truffaut brings Ray Bradbury's literary classic to vibrant life in this brilliant screen adaptation that perfectly captures the nightmarish atmosphere of the source material.

LETTERBOXD.COM/XESCIE

"I've wanted to redo Fahrenheit 451 ever since it came out in 1966, because Truffaut left out so much from the novel. I sat bolt upright when I was told that Warner Brothers wanted to make the new version with Mel Gibson" — Ray Bradbury, Playboy May 1996

LauraPalmer

Rewatched and re-loved. "Burn them to ashes and then burn the ashes..."