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United Kingdom · 1967
Rated PG · 2h 46m
Director John Schlesinger
Starring Julie Christie, Terence Stamp, Alan Bates, Peter Finch
Genre Drama, Romance
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Smart and educated, Miss Bathsheba Everdene enchants one man after the other: a sheep farmer, a well-to-do bachelor, and a broken-hearted young sergeant. She denies her feelings, rejects the safety a marriage would bring, and maintains independence in order to keep managing the farm she has saved from ruin.
Julie Christie, Peter Finch, Terence Stamp and Alan Bates are variedly handsome and have their many effective moments, but there is little they can ultimately and lastingly do to overcome the basic banality of their characters and, to a certain degree, their lines.
The New York Times by Bosley Crowther
The environment is more impressive than the slow, mawkish drama it contains, and the peasants are more assertive and colorful than the main characters. Scenes of sheepherding, farm gatherings, harvest suppers and assemblies at markets and fairs are more energetic and entertaining than the bloodless confrontations of the principals.
Chicago Sun-Times by Roger Ebert
The leading men are successful. Alan Bates, in a change of pace, is the loyal shepherd. Terence Stamp is a suitably vile Sgt. Troy, and Peter Finch makes Boldwood strong and honorable in his love for Bathsheba. Miss Christie, however, is too sweet and superficial, and so is the film.