This film has a very "odd" feel to it when you watch it--thanks in part to the unusual and minimalistic sets and special effects as well as the use of an all-European cast. When I first read the novel by Ray Bradbury, I hadn't envisioned Montag and his crew as English-speaking German actors and while this seems a tad strange, it does work. But, this along with Oskar Werner's strangely subdued performance make this a unique film. However, the oddest casting of all was Julie Christie as BOTH Montag's vacuous wife AND his eventual mistress who helps him run away from his job as a fireman.
Now in this film, the job of a fireman is VERY different from today's. Instead of putting out fires, the firemen in the movie are agents of the government whose job it is to enforce a total ban on all books by burning them! The logic, we are told, is that books "give people all kinds of silly ideas and lead to arguments and wars". And, the people being mostly idiotic sheep like Montag's wife, they blindly accept this. However, after a while, Montag begins to wonder and think for himself....a VERY dangerous thing indeed!! What happens next and the very bizarre final scenes in the film are really best left for you to discover yourself. I really liked the movie and book, though, because they have so much to say about society and freedom--something that helps this sci-fi story to transcend the medium and provide a wonderful metaphor for modern life.
Now in this film, the job of a fireman is VERY different from today's. Instead of putting out fires, the firemen in the movie are agents of the government whose job it is to enforce a total ban on all books by burning them! The logic, we are told, is that books "give people all kinds of silly ideas and lead to arguments and wars". And, the people being mostly idiotic sheep like Montag's wife, they blindly accept this. However, after a while, Montag begins to wonder and think for himself....a VERY dangerous thing indeed!! What happens next and the very bizarre final scenes in the film are really best left for you to discover yourself. I really liked the movie and book, though, because they have so much to say about society and freedom--something that helps this sci-fi story to transcend the medium and provide a wonderful metaphor for modern life.