Far from the Madding Crowd is a 1967 British epic period drama film directed by John Schlesinger and starring Julie Christie, Alan Bates, Terence Stamp and Peter Fin. The screenplay was by Frederic Raphael adapted from Thomas Hardy's 1874 book of the same name. It was Schlesinger's fourth film. It marked a stylistic shift away from his earlier works exploring contemporary urban mores. The cinematography was by Nicolas Roeg and the soundtrack was by Richard Rodney Bennett, who also used traditional folk songs in various scenes throughout the film.

John Richard Schlesinger was an English film and stage director, and actor. He emerged in the early 1960s as a leading light of the British New Wave, before embarking on a successful career in Hollywood, often directing films dealing frankly in provocative subject matter, combined with his status as one of the rare openly gay directors working in mainstream films.