Directed by:
Michael RadfordScreenplay:
Michael RadfordCinematography:
Roger DeakinsCast:
John Hurt, Richard Burton, Suzanna Hamilton, Cyril Cusack, Gregor Fisher, Anthony Benson, Roger Lloyd Pack, Rolf Saxon, Annie Lennox, Phyllis Logan (more)VOD (3)
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This masterly adaptation of George Orwell’s chilling parable about totalitarian oppression gives harrowing cinematic expression to the book’s bleak prophetic vision. In a rubble-strewn surveillance state where an endless overseas war props up the repressive regime of the all-seeing Big Brother, and all dissent is promptly squashed, a profoundly alienated citizen, Winston Smith (thrillingly played by John Hurt), risks everything for an illicit affair with the rebellious Julia (Suzanna Hamilton) in a defiant assertion of humanity in the face of soul-crushing conformity. Through vividly grim production design and expressionistically desaturated cinematography by Roger Deakins, Michael Radford’s 1984 conjures a dystopian vision of postwar Britain as fascistic nightmare—a world all too recognizable as our own. (Criterion)
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Reviews (7)
This film’s biggest problem is the existence of the great book it adapts. Therefore, avoiding comparisons is impossible and they make the film feel like some sort of summary that we are supposed watch as illustration while reading the book. But I actually don’t think it could be possible to do it much better.
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The human mind is incredibly malleable... Filmed by a fan of the book, it’s clear to see. I won’t give it all five stars because of the slow take-off and sleepy tempo. Richard Burton (in his last ever role) and a fairly young John Hurt give excellent performances and it’s no problem to believe their every thought. To tell the truth, I watched 1984 just as preparation for an exam, but in the end I was pleasantly surprised by the atmosphere of nothingness and despair. Who controls the past, controls the future. Who controls the present, controls the past.
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Orwell was absolutely incredible in the way he could describe a dictatorship. And it doesn't matter which dictatorship it is. 1984 is a beautiful demonstration of how power can destroy people, also because they allow themselves to be destroyed. If an individual rises to fight back, they are scattered. And if they all rise up... it’s hard to say.
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"Who controls the past controls the future: He who controls the present controls the past." +++ "Under the spreading chestnut tree, I sold you, you sold me." +++ "It's not so much staying alive, it's staying human that's important. What counts is that we don't betray each other." +++ I read the cult novel "1984" at a time when I still couldn't fully understand everything and it had a strong impact on me even then. This film adaptation, successful in every respect, is a chillingly dark vision of a totalitarian regime (comparable to the book). The filmmakers managed to capture the atmosphere of the constant surveillance of Big Brother, from which there is no escape. It's definitely one of the most depressing films I've ever seen. The ideas contained in it are unfortunately not utopian even at present, one only has to look around. It almost seems that for unnamed Asian countries, Orwell's book may have been the inspiration for making people docile, fearful sheep. (85%)
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An incredibly depressing film that captures the spirit of the book. Ubiquitous poverty and squalor uniformity in thought and dress, a grim environment, scratched walls and a screen in every room with Big Brother watching everything. A suffocating totalitarian atmosphere, full of fear and surveillance, and in it a man, brilliantly played by John Hurt, yearning for love, purity, and freedom. His equal partner is Richard Burton in the role of the High Partisan, although he doesn't have much space. Suzanne Hamilton just nods along, but she brings an element of feminine beauty that at least somewhat offsets a lot of the bleakness. What surprised me is that the music is by Eurythmics. The final scene with the electroshock and the starving rats is not easy to get out of your head. If you're not in the right mood, by all means don't watch this, put it off for another day.
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Gallery (80)
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