Freedom Circle logo
Freedom Circle

Where Can You Find Freedom Today?

1966 movie based on the Ray Bradbury novel depicting a society where books have been outlawed
Fahrenheit 451

Fahrenheit 451 is a 1966 British dystopian drama film directed by François Truffaut and starring Oskar Werner, Julie Christie and Cyril Cusack. Based on the 1953 novel of the same name by Ray Bradbury, the film takes place in a controlled society in an oppressive future in which the government sends out firemen to destroy all literature to prevent revolution and thinking. This was Truffaut's first color film as well as his only English-language film. At the 1966 Venice Film Festival, Fahrenheit 451 was nominated for the Golden Lion.

Cast and Crew

Julie ChristieClarisse, Linda Montag
Ray BradburyNovel

Video Products

Fahrenheit 451, 11 Mar 1998
Fahrenheit 451, 1 Apr 2003
Special features, including "The Novel: A Discussion with Author Ray Bradbury"

Articles

Freedom's Flicks: The 20 best libertarian movies of all time, Libertarian Party News, Nov 1999
Reports on The Orange County Register editors' choices for "20 Best Libertarian Movies of All Time"; includes short descriptions for each movie as well as "best libertarian moments" for the top ten
6. Fahrenheit 451 (1966). It's based on the Ray Bradbury book about how freedom lovers learn books by heart to subvert a futuristic totalitarian government that attempts to control people's thoughts by banning and burning books. Best libertarian moment: At the end, people are walking around in the rebel encampment in the woods, defying the book burners by each memorizing a book.
Imagine a Boot Stamping on Your Face, by John W. Whitehead, 7 Jul 2017
Discusses what the author considers a police state in the United States in 2017 and provides short reviews of 15 films that "may be the best representation of what we now face as a society"
Fahrenheit 451 (1966). Adapted from Ray Bradbury's novel and directed by Francois Truffaut, this film depicts a futuristic society in which books are banned, and firemen ironically are called on to burn contraband books—451 Fahrenheit being the temperature at which books burn. Montag is a fireman who develops a conscience and begins to question his book burning. This film is an adept metaphor for our obsessively politically correct society where virtually everyone now pre-censors speech. Here, a brainwashed people addicted to television and drugs do little to resist governmental oppressors.
Libertarian Movies & Films: The Top 25
List of 25 films considered "best of the best", includes general description, link to longer review page, content topics and review quotes
In a future time when books are banned, a secret underground preserves the world’s literature. ... '"We've all got to be alike. The only way to be happy is for everyone to be made equal. So, we must burn the books." Thus is explained the government's antibook rationale. That is: exposure to the ideas found in books makes people different; differences create social friction; therefore books must be destroyed ... In the end, one is left with the disturbing impression that such a society could actually be brought about.' –MissLiberty.com

Reviews

Fahrenheit 451 (1966)
    by Jon Osborne, Miss Liberty's Guide to Film and Video, 2001
This is a wonderful Ray Bradbury story, and its antiauthoritarian content will make it of very strong interest to libertarians. Truffaut's telling of this story is Hitchcockian at times, and seems all the more supported, as it is, by an excellent Bernard Hermann musical score.

The introductory paragraph uses material from the Wikipedia article "Fahrenheit 451 (1966 film)" as of 26 Aug 2018, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.