Ep #28 - Rachael Guma's '60s Pick: Fahrenheit 451
Fahrenheit 451 (1966)
Cinema60 welcomes Rachael Guma, experimental filmmaker, teacher and founding member of A Clockface Orange liquid light performance group. Bart and Jenna invited Rachael on to talk about Fahrenheit 451, one of her favorite films from the 1960s. Based on the famous Ray Bradbury novel of the same name, the film is set in a dystopian future where firemen root out and set fire to any and all books–a government mandate to supposedly keep the people safe. Throw in a dash of French New Wave sensibilities, some brilliantly framed cinematography by Nicolas Roeg, and Julie Christie in a double role as both the law-abiding housewife of a fireman and the book-loving revolutionary, and you’ve got yourself a bonafide ‘60s oddity.
In this episode, Rachael expounds on how this film has been important and influential to her–both in her everyday life and professional pursuits. She also blows the minds of Bart and Jenna with a solid theory on the film’s use of circles and squares as a visual language. Meanwhile our hosts, both of whom hadn’t rewatched the film in over a decade plus, are pleasantly surprised to see that the film is funnier and smarter than they initially gave it credit for.
The following film is discussed:
• Fahrenheit 451 (1966)
Directed by François Truffaut
Starring Oskar Werner, Julie Christie, Cyril Cusack
These additional films are mentioned:
•Mon Oncle (1958)
Directed by Jacques Tati
Starring Jacques Tati, Jean-Pierre Zola, Adrienne Servantie
•The 400 Blows (1959)
Les quatre cents coups
Directed by François Truffaut
Starring Jean-Pierre Léaud, Albert Rémy, Claire Maurier
•Breathless (1960)
À bout de souffle
Directed by Jean-Luc Godard
Starring Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean Seberg, Daniel Boulanger
•The Masque of the Red Death (1964)
Directed by Roger Corman
Starring Vincent Price, Hazel Court, Jane Asher
•Red Desert (1964)
Il deserto rosso
Directed by Michelangelo Antonioni
Starring Monica Vitti, Richard Harris, Carlo Chionetti
•Alphaville (1965)
Directed by Jean-Luc Godard
Starring Eddie Constantine, Anna Karina, Akim Tamiroff
•Blow-Up (1966)
Directed by Michelangelo Antonioni
Starring David Hemmings, Vanessa Redgrave, Sarah Miles
•The Nun (1966)
La religieuse
Directed by Jacques Rivette
Starring Anna Karina, Liselotte Pulver, Micheline Presle
•Coogan's Bluff (1968)
Directed by Don Siegel
Starring Clint Eastwood, Lee J. Cobb, Susan Clark
•Performance (1970)
Directed by Nicolas Roeg & Donald Cammell
Starring James Fox, Mick Jagger, Anita Pallenberg
•Walkabout (1971)
Directed by Nicolas Roeg
Starring Jenny Agutter, David Gulpilil, Luc Roeg
•A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Directed by Stanley Kubrick
Starring Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Magee, Michael Batesr
•Day for Night (1973)
La nuit américaine
Directed by François Truffaut
Starring Jacqueline Bisset, Jean-Pierre Léaud, François Truffaut
•Don't Look Now (1973)
Directed by Nicolas Roeg
Starring Julie Christie, Donald Sutherland, Hilary Mason
•The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)
Directed by Nicolas Roeg
Starring David Bowie, Rip Torn, Candy Clark
•The Witches (1990)
Directed by Nicolas Roeg
Starring Anjelica Huston, Mai Zetterling, Jasen Fisher
•Idiocracy (2006)
Directed by Mike Judge
Starring Luke Wilson, Maya Rudolph, Dax Shepard
•The Lobster (2015)
Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos
Starring Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz, Léa Seydoux
