Girls, This Proves I Need To Read My Thomas Hardy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                     There are five core books in the Thomas Hardy canon--"Tess Of The D'Ubervilles," "The Mayor Of Casterbridge," "Jude, The Obscure," "The Return Of The Native," and, lastly, "Far From The Madding Crowd."

                                       Somewhere, in one of my recent readings--I believe it was "We That Are Young," by Preti Taneja--is mentioned a sequence in "Far From The Madding Crowd," where sheep dogs direct their charges to their deaths off a cliff.

                                        This struck me as the height of incredulity.  It could not be.  Years ago, when I was 13, before having even touched a Hardy novel, I rushed to see the film version of "Far From The Madding Crowd," wherein the ravishing, long haired Julie Christie, whom all us burgeoning gay glam boys wished we looked like, played a character with the equally ravishing name of Bathsheba Everdene.  I also wanted to see it for the scenic Nicolas Roeg photography.  Even then, darlings, even then!

                                         So, I poked around, and here is the very sequence from the 1967 film.  I had completely blocked it out, maybe because of my love for animals, or maybe because I was whacked out from the short subject I viewed, prior to the showing of the film--some semi-documentary with the recurring image of a film crew hauling a taxidermed lion on a dolly, with the ersatz song, "King Of The Jungle," recurring on the soundtrack.

                                          No wonder this film went over my head.  Except for Julie Christie, who I wanted to look like, and the farm fire, the film's big set piece.

                                           But the photo shown proves the book I read was right, and I  need to read more Hardy.  I have read 'Tess', "The Mayor Of Casterbridge," and "The Return Of The Native"--my favorite!  I still have to read "Jude, The Obscure," and "Far From The Madding Crowd!"

                                             How much time do I need, darlings!  Even Dracula slept!

Here is the jacket cover from the film's original soundtrack album.  It pretty much replicates the movie poster!  Just look at Julie!  No wonder we all wanted to look like her!

I mean, wouldn't you?????????????