I just viewed the Blu-Ray version of "Fahrenheit 451" last night, and by coincidence, I just finished with the audiobook version read by Bradbury himself a few weeks ago. My initial impression is that Truffaut did his best to do what Bradbury most certainly accomplished; to instill a love and enduring respect for the written word, and by natural extension, ideas and thoughts that you, the reader, may not be too comfortable with, but realize must stand for thought to remain free.
That being said, substantial cuts had to be made. Fabre, the old craven professor and Montag's "silent partner" from the book is gone, as is the sinister and ruthless Mechanical Hound. Clarisse, killed off early in the novel, lives right up until the end, and the apocalyptic war which is the climax of the novel is dispensed with. The most glaring shortfall, perhaps, is in the manhunt for Montag; a pulse-pounding, suspenseful fifth of the novel, it is here shrunk down to approximately three minutes of screen time, if that. Even more regrettable, Truffaut resorts to some cheesy green-screen effects of flying policeman to try to cough up a tiny bit of that excitement.
But give Truffaut his due. He had the good sense to hire Herrmann for the soundtrack, which, IMHO, is probably one of the Maestro's best; he had just gotten fired from Hitchcock for his dissonant and rejected score for "Torn Curtain," and no doubt Herrmann wanted to prove to the world he still had the goods. Sumptuous and international in flavor, Herrmann delivers brilliance which really helps the visuals come alive.
Truffaut's visual sense, OTOH, is economical, but effective, particularly in the scene where Clarisse's aunt defiantly dies with her precious pile of books when the firemen come calling. His presentation of the ubiquitous and mind-controlling tele-screen is scaled down from Bradbury's description, but eerily prescient, looking just like the flat screen TVs we are now using in 2016.
In the Blu-Ray version, saturated colors leap off the screen in the outdoor sequences, and are muted for interiors. The extra definition is especially appreciated for the book burning scenes; you can read the text right off the page, and you may even spy a MAD paperback with Alfred E. Neumann's infamous face if you keep a sharp eye out.
Bottom line: the book is much better and a more powerful experience, but watching Truffaut's version of "Fahrenheit 451" today, you may feel a wee bit uncomfortable that Bradbury's warning has not been sufficiently heeded. When is the last time YOU have read a book cover to cover, particularly of an author's ideas you don't particularly agree with?
That being said, substantial cuts had to be made. Fabre, the old craven professor and Montag's "silent partner" from the book is gone, as is the sinister and ruthless Mechanical Hound. Clarisse, killed off early in the novel, lives right up until the end, and the apocalyptic war which is the climax of the novel is dispensed with. The most glaring shortfall, perhaps, is in the manhunt for Montag; a pulse-pounding, suspenseful fifth of the novel, it is here shrunk down to approximately three minutes of screen time, if that. Even more regrettable, Truffaut resorts to some cheesy green-screen effects of flying policeman to try to cough up a tiny bit of that excitement.
But give Truffaut his due. He had the good sense to hire Herrmann for the soundtrack, which, IMHO, is probably one of the Maestro's best; he had just gotten fired from Hitchcock for his dissonant and rejected score for "Torn Curtain," and no doubt Herrmann wanted to prove to the world he still had the goods. Sumptuous and international in flavor, Herrmann delivers brilliance which really helps the visuals come alive.
Truffaut's visual sense, OTOH, is economical, but effective, particularly in the scene where Clarisse's aunt defiantly dies with her precious pile of books when the firemen come calling. His presentation of the ubiquitous and mind-controlling tele-screen is scaled down from Bradbury's description, but eerily prescient, looking just like the flat screen TVs we are now using in 2016.
In the Blu-Ray version, saturated colors leap off the screen in the outdoor sequences, and are muted for interiors. The extra definition is especially appreciated for the book burning scenes; you can read the text right off the page, and you may even spy a MAD paperback with Alfred E. Neumann's infamous face if you keep a sharp eye out.
Bottom line: the book is much better and a more powerful experience, but watching Truffaut's version of "Fahrenheit 451" today, you may feel a wee bit uncomfortable that Bradbury's warning has not been sufficiently heeded. When is the last time YOU have read a book cover to cover, particularly of an author's ideas you don't particularly agree with?