1984

Rating:
Summary: the most closely followed screen adaption ever
Review: in this chilling film,the government monitors all of everybodies actions via computers.winston and his woman must keep thier love a secret or theyll be in violation of federal law.any lawbreakers are tortured so bad theyll confess to anything just to get it to stop.hes also keeping a diary which is another no no since the computer cannot actively follow what he is writing.the kids will probably be bored.i dont know who directed it,but the book is by george orwell who is better known for animal farm.its my second favorite book right behind a clockwork orange.its really low budget.i think this is a movie for intellectuals,but everybody should see it.theres an older movie version from 56 also.it is 100% consistent with the book.ive never seen one so closely adapted.even how i pictured it in my head was accurate and thats astronomical!the message is let the machine roll on.you are but one tiny piece.its awesome.

Rating:
Summary: Where's the sound track??
Review: This film premiered late in 1984 with a lot of hype about Eurythmics soundtrack. The story goes that when Eurythmics attended the London preview which featured the now DVD version of the soundtrack, they thought it was a joke. Sadly, this was in fact the director's vision of what might otherwise have been a really powerful realization of Orwell's famous novel. After a legal suit, Eurythmics won out and director Michael Radford was forced to honor his own advance publicity and include Eurythmics soundtrack for the public release of the film. Because he had never intended to use the soundtrack at all, the original cut of the film (available on VHS) is hauntingly silent, devoid of music except for the very odd and occassional moment where Eurhtymics soundtrack makes an appearence. This is the film I remembered, a retro-futuristic examination of Orwell's work. Eurythmics' music was powerful and unsettling and really stands on its own as a studio recording (for those who are fans of 80s techno-pop)- keeping in mind that the lp release of the sound track was sooped up for the dance-floor. All in all, Radford's original/DVD vision of this story was hoakey and uninspired. Had he stuck with the material Eurythmics brought to the film, he might have had a real daring film on his hands. As it stands, well...it's hoakey, and uninspired.

Rating:
Summary: *sigh* Get the VHS!
Review: I agree with the review of this DVD concerning the lack of the Eurythmics soundtrack. Absolute blasphemy! Radford has not only made a huge miscalculation in judgment -- he's showing his true colors. His hatred of the Eurythmics soundtrack was only the beginning. He has completely taken Dave Stewart and Annie Lennox out of the film! He has somehow digitally removed them!