Show notes As always there are spoilers ahead! You can follow the podcast on social media on Threads, Instagram and Bluesky. If you would like to be a patron of the podcast and feel like nobility funding the podcasting arts, I would like to encourage such sentiments! You can join Patreon and for £3 or $3 a month you can get ad free version of the show. https://www.patreon.com/everyscififilm If you are interested in the plot of the film you can read an overview on the wikipedia page here. In 1953 writer Ray Bradbury released ...
Show notes
As always there are spoilers ahead!
You can follow the podcast on social media on Threads, Instagram and Bluesky.
If you would like to be a patron of the podcast and feel like nobility funding the podcasting arts, I would like to encourage such sentiments! You can join Patreon and for £3 or $3 a month you can get ad free version of the show. https://www.patreon.com/everyscififilm
If you are interested in the plot of the film you can read an overview on the wikipedia page here.
In 1953 writer Ray Bradbury released his magnum opus Fahrenheit 451. It quickly became a widely acclaimed cautionary tale about the dangers of censorship, authoritarianism and the effects of mass media on human ideas and connection.
One of the most prominent science fiction books it is easy to understand why François Truffaut, one of the French New Wave's most prominent directors, became utterly focused on making the story into a film.
The process had its challenges with producers, funding and a casting changes causing delays. The film was finally wrapped up and released in 1966 to both positive and negative reviews. It is an interesting watch if not a gripping one and my two expert guests unravel the ins and outs of how it came to be.
Ian Scott is a Professor of American Film and History at The University of Manchester. He has written extensively about politics and film in Hollywood including the book American Politics in Hollywood Film.
Phil Nichols is a visiting lecturer at the University of Wolverhampton and a researcher with a special interest in Ray Bradbury. He is Senior Consultant to the Ray Bradbury Centre at Indiana University and editor of The New Ray Bradbury Review. He is also the man behind the Bradbury 100 podcast and the Science Fiction 101 podcas
Chapters
00:00 Introduction
01:32 Fahrenheit 451: a sci-fi heavyweight
04:36 Truffaut and the book
11:03 Suburban scifi in the mid century
13:33 Politics of the story
15:07 Truffaut's perspective
20:01 Julie Christie's double role
26:50 Searching for Montag
34:29 Burning with her books
39:12 Bernard Herrmann's score
40:40 The 2018 remake
49:56 Bradbury's stage play
51:37 Recommendations
Recommendations:
Never Let Me Go (2010)
The Wild Child (1970)
NEXT EPISODE!
Next episode we will be discussing Fantastic Voyage from 1966! The film is annoyingly a little tricky to find online but can be rented easily on mainstream platforms in some countries. You can check the Just Watch website to see where it is available in your region.
