film

Truffaut's only English-language film is a semi-faithful adaptation of the dystopian novel of the same name by the sci fi great Ray Bradbury, set in a near-future society in which books are banned and "firemen" burn them. Oskar Werner plays Guy Montag, a fireman who begins to question his role in this nightmarish society, in which free thought and individuality are seen as the enemy. Julie Christie steals the show, however, playing both Montag's emotionally vacant wife and Clarissa, a curious and quietly subversive schoolteacher, who leads Montag into his personal awakening.

The film's sterile, colourless world and eerie soundtrack by Bernard Herrmann help create a work that is atmospherically memorable and full of strong themes that still resonate nearly 60 years after its release.