Top 200 Most Anticipated Films for 2014: #119. Thomas Vinterberg’s Far From the Madding Crowd

Far From the Madding Crowd

Director: Thomas Vinterberg
Writer: David Nicholls
Producer(s): Andrew Macdonald, Allon Reich
U.S. Distributor: Fox Searchlight Pictures
Cast: Carey Mulligan, Juno Temple, Michael Sheen, Matthias Schoenaerts

The literature of Thomas Hardy seems to be receiving a sort of cinematic revival, mostly thanks to Michael Winterbottom, who recently re-tooled Tess of the D’ubervilles with 2011’s Trishna (he also directed a version of Jude, 1995, and his 2000 film The Claim was based on The Mayor of Casterbridge). Now we’ll have Danish auteur Thomas Vinterberg revisiting Hardy’s Far From the Madding Crowd, which was famously adapted in 1967 by John Schlesinger, featuring Julie Christie, Alan Bates, Peter Finch, and Terence Stamp. So, there are some huge shoes to fill. We’re curious to see what Vinterberg does with the material, especially with Mulligan (who seems to be attracted to literary adaptations) filling in for Christie.

Gist: A beautiful young woman maintains relationships with three very different men.

Release Date: Vinterberg’s last film, The Hunt (2012), premiered in the Cannes Main Competition and snagged Best Actor (and the best notices in quite some time for Vinterberg). We’re thinking this may show up there, too.

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