Fahrenheit 451 (1966)

Fahrenheit 451: Directed by François Truffaut. With Julie Christie, Oskar Werner, Cyril Cusack, Anton Diffring. In an oppressive future, a fireman whose duty is to destroy all books begins to question his task.

“From Ray Bradburyu0026#39;s novel about totalitarian society that has banned books and printed words in order to eliminate independent thought; Oskar Werner plays professional book-burner who becomes enraptured with stories. Possibly a bit too thin at this length, but a fascinating peek at a cold future (which the times have just about caught up to). Didnu0026#39;t get a warm reception from critics in its day, yet the performances by Werner and Julie Christie (in a dual role as both Werneru0026#39;s wife and a rebel acquaintance) are top notch. I was never a fan of director François Truffautu0026#39;s too-precious stories of childhood, but this film, curiously his only English-language picture, is extremely well-directed; the sequence with the woman and her books afire is one amazing set-piece, with tight editing, incredible and precise art direction, and the camera in all the right places. Truffaut lets you feel the agony of book paper curling up black in a mass of orange flames, and the proud defiance of the woman as she herself strikes the match. Unforgettable. *** from ****”