This adaptation of Ray Bradbury's deeply troubling novel has to go down as one of François Truffaut's lesser efforts. The only film Truffaut directed in English, it promises much but is sadly flawed. Syd Cain's futuristic sets cleverly convey the menace and desperation of a society in which books are banned and burned, Cyril Cusack's fire chief is hugely resistible as he unquestioningly performs his duty and Julie Christie superbly judges the contrasts in her dual role. But Oskar Werner - who starred in Truffaut's Jules et Jim - seems to have lost the plot, and, as he's its driving force, this is a major stumbling block. It's worth watching, but not the masterpiece it should have been.

In the future, the government maintains control of public opinion by outlawing literature and maintaining a group of enforcers, known as “firemen,” to perform the necessary book burnings. Fireman Montag begins to question the morality of his vocation…