<P> The film was shot largely on location in Dorset and Wiltshire . </P> <P> The film is memorable for the subtly erotic scene between Sgt . Troy and Bathsheba in which he flaunts his expert skills as a swordsman in a private fencing display in a prehistoric earthwork (actually Maiden Castle). An enthralled Bathsheba stands immobile before him . </P> <P> Roger Ebert found the scenes of the rural area and rural life to be "splendid". His strongest criticism is that the film missed the point of the small society of rural life: </P> <P> Thomas Hardy's novel told of a 19th century rural England in which class distinctions and unyielding social codes surrounded his characters . They were far from the madding crowd whether they liked it or not, and got tangled in each other's problems because there was nowhere else to turn . It's not simply that Bathsheba (Julie Christie) was courted by the three men in her life, but that she was courted by ALL three men in her life . </P>

Film far from the madding crowd julie christie