Fahrenheit 451 (12A)

From the Echo, first published Friday 17th Oct 2003.

SHOWING as part of Purbeck Film festival, this sterling film adaptation of Ray Bradbury's novel is a fascinatingly arcane vision of a dystopian future.

The chilling story is set in the future when the country is ruled by a fascistic regime that has outlawed reading. Any books that are found are burned by the fire brigade - paper burns at 451 degrees Fahrenheit, hence the title.

Fireman Guy Montag (Werner Herzog) starts to question his role in this madness and having befriended youthful book-hoarder Clarisse (Julie Christie) begins reading some of the banned texts. Before long he is found out and must decide whether to return to his job or run away and face the full force of the law.

Trivia: Mel Gibson was to star in and direct a remake of Fahrenheit 451, but has since dropped out. The project now has Shawshank Redemption director Frank Darabont's name attached.

See it at Allsebrook, Bmth University (Tues); Lighthouse (Wed)

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