Based on the Ray Bradbury classic, Fahrenheit 451 imparts the tale of “fireman” Guy Montag (Oskar Werner). Set in a future fascist state, “firemen” don’t put out fires; they start them by burning books deemed illegal or too influential by the government. Montag begins reading some of the books he is supposed to be incinerating which sets off a chain reaction that could destroy his life.

His wife Linda (Julie Christie) wastes away in front of her wall sized television while Montag is at work. The film was made in the late 60’s, and it may have been strange and unimaginable to see someone panic if they missed a moment of television but it makes a statement in today’s world of TIVO and even TV on our cell phones! We just can’t seem to escape the hype of media. Linda is in a constant struggle to reach outward happiness but is completely miserable within. She medicates herself with pills and a constant barrage of television.

The world around him is bland and sterile in contrast to the free thinkers Montag eventually becomes involved with. They live in a makeshift campsite outside the city where each individual is a “book” – a person who has the memorized a written work that becomes part of him/her. Their time is spent reciting to one another in an effort to keep the work alive.

While the film strays from the book quite a bit, the overall message is loud and clear – self censorship can have disastrous results on culture. Unfortunately the film is surprisingly accurate in it’s portrayal of modern society. The media dumb everything down to the lowest common denominator and politically correct organizations tell us how to think, react and yes, even what we can read and say. As of now, we are only a few short steps away from the nightmare of Fahrenheit 451.


Director: Francois Truffaunt

Writers: Ray Bradbury (original story)
Jean Louis Richard
David Rudkin
Helen Scott

MPAA Rating: NR but some adult situations

NOTE: Going back as far as 2003 (perhaps even as far back as 1996), Mel Gibson has been attached to a remake of this film. He was interested in directing but wanted to find younger actors to play the parts of Guy and company. This film definitely needs a redo and with today’s technology would be absolutely brilliant on the big screen.