Review by Lady Midnight
Beautiful scenes of rural England in a bygone era make it easy to imagine life as it might have been lived (complete with lovely renditions of English folk songs). Less easy is the feeling of impending doom that pervades the film, from the unfair, seemingly random misfortune of a shepherd losing his whole flock because of the actions of a crazed sheep dog. Also typical of Hardy's stories, human frivolity and wrong-headedness cause much unnecessary hardship.