1984

Rating:
Summary: If you want a vision of the future, Winston.....
Review: I saw this film when it was first released and was blown away by how great it was, having known the novel since I was a young boy in the 1970s and never completely grasping it until I saw this film, and having grown up a bit by then, it hit home HARD.
John Hurt makes the perfect Winston Smith, Richard Burton the perfect O'Brien. Someone earlier in these pages makes mention that some find this film too dark, too depressing. I think we all should be forced to watch this film at some point in our lives BECAUSE it's so dark and depressing. First of all, 1984 the novel was George Orwell not predicting THE future but predicting one POSSIBLE future. If you can't grasp this you might as well not bother with the novel or this film version. Given 9/11 and recent events in our own United States (indeed "EastAsia" as well) if you don't get the message of this film, God help you is all I have to say. You'll find no happy endings here if that's what you're searching for. 1984 is about loss of freedom, loss of the individual, the intellectual, and the total annihilation of human culture, ultimately. It's about what COULD happen, not what WILL happen for certain. I can never understand why people
can't get the message in a film like 1984 (or the novel), and realize it's George Orwell warning us of possibilities, NOT
of current or future realities. Thus, the newly minted Patriot Act in the USA COULD become The Ministry of Truth if we let it become so. The people who are too dim to understand this book or the film would be the first to succumb to Big Brother.
It's not just surveillance that's the issue for Orwell, it's
the government destroying all individual thought until only
servile robots remain. If that's the future you want, complain that this film is too dark, depressing and disturbing: at least you still have time, hopefully, for the message here to sink in your dim brain and maybe, just maybe, you WON'T end up like Winston Smith or Julia. People can turn away at this film or book, can turn away from realizing the Holocaust happened, that the Khmer Rouge happened in Cambodia, etc., but if you turn away from these cruel facts you will NEVER get the message, and you are therefore in grave danger of ending up living the reality 1984 portrays.

Rating:
Summary: Awesome movie, but ruined by the removal of the Eurythmics
Review: I was so excited about getting this movie on DVD that I sold my VHS version (in retrospect a terrible mistake) as soon as I heard it was going to be released on DVD. The movie is a wonderful movie and timely as ever. The video transfer to the DVD medium looks very good. However, and this infuriates me, the soundtrack of the Eurythmics which complemented the orchestral soundtrack and the visuals of the movie is completely missing!!
If you are going to put out a DVD, do it right and don't butcher it!! The DVD is ruined in my opinion. For those of you who have this on VHS and plan on getting the DVD version, you should hang onto your VHS copy if you enjoy the TRUE soundtrack.

Rating:
Summary: DVD has different soundtrack
Review: This is one of my favorities, I was fourteen in 1984 and read the book and was shocked and amazed at Orwell's vison. When the film came out on VHS the next year I was blown away by the powerful visuals. Also I really liked the Eurythmics score. Over the years this film became one of the most watched in my collection.

About 7 years ago at Cinequest in San Jose I finnaly got a chance to see it on the big screen, as well as introduction and Q&A by the director. The print was good, and the discussion excellent but there was one thing missing: the Eurythmics soundtrack! When I asked Mr. Radford about this he stated that this copy was his own personal print and they (Eurythmics) were late in submitting the score. Watching the DVD I noticed the score was missing on the DVD as well. A Tad dissapointed but this film is still fantastic if different (more a sense of quiet disperation) so get it but save that old VHS copy (was it ever released in LD?).

Rating:
Summary: Great video but missing major sections of score.
Review: Well its finally on DVD! Let me start with the good.
The new anamorphic widescreen transfer is very very nice looking. A direct comparison to the full screen VHS shows much more width and slightly less height in this new transfer. Detail, sharpness and color are all miles better than any other home video edition. Now the bad, when comparing the VHS and DVD I noticed something very disturbing. There are certain scenes where portions of the score are completely missing. Early in the film during the scene where John Hurt is removing a book from behind a brick in the wall there is absolutely no score that was present in the original VHS. This occurs again during the flash back to the dirty old lady that he has sex with and again when he has sex with the girl in the forest. It happens many more times throughout the film, so I will not list all the instances here. These scenes are clearly weakened by the missing music and its too bad they couldn't have done it right.

Rating:
Summary: This is a 5 star film, so what's the one star for?
Review: If a man, who happens to be a film-maker, reads a novel that he wants to make a film out of, IT'S HIS VISION. Put yourself in his place for a minute. You make a movie based upon a novel you love. You love what you've done because IT'S YOUR VISION. I don't believe that anyone can judge a movie by the novel it's based upon. This is someone's vision. It could've been yours, or even mine. But because it's the director's vision of what the story is, IT STANDS ON IT'S OWN, AND CANNOT BE A COMPARISON TO A GREAT BOOK.

Both the film and the book are great. Why? Because they stand independantly to be judged APART FROM EACH OTHER.

Readers: Like the book? Good.
Movie-goers: Like the film? Great.
DON'T COMPARE EACH OTHER.
They stand independantly.

Rating:
Summary: A perfect example of HOW to go from book to film.
Review: A movie based on George Orwell's '1984'? No, the movie IS 1984! From the air of defeat in the bombed out streets and buildings most people would call 'ruins' to the characters played by such great actors as John Hurt and Richard Burton, Michael Radford REALLY brings the work of literature to the big screen. Filmed during the same time period as the events in the novel it is a story about freedoms, fears and love.
Still, the book IS better.

Rating:
Summary: Finally!!
Review: I have seen this film on VHS and it is perfect in every way. Not only is Hurt stellar in his portrayal of Winston Smith, but Richard Burton gives his final hurrah as the Minister of Love in George Orwell's classic. The Eurythmics add to the mix with the great title track of "sex crime" which is one of their best singles.

When the VHS stopped being distributed, I was devastated. You could not find this flick except at rental stores. I tried several times to find sellers of the VHS on the web with no success. Now that this forgotten movie has come out on DVD, I am in heaven. The cinematography, the acting, the whole feel of the movie are a spot on match for Orwell's dark novel of a dysfunctional future.

Complaining that this movie is too dark and depressing misses the point. "1984" is not a happy novel. I remember seeing an animated production of "Animal Farm" made in 1950's that ruined that novel's intent by putting in a "happy" end. Film is more than mere "entertainment" when it is done correctly film can illuminate the human condition or give us pause for thought. While the bard wrote numerous comedies, (the popcorn movies of his time) he also wrote some of the greatest tragedies of western literature. A more recent example was the film "Gattaca" its' bittersweet ending made it a standout film. It did not try to "entertain" but it was still great cinema.

This movie is almost the exact opposite of the typical Hollywood movie, especially the over-hyped action-fests that are par for the course these days. While "MI 2" and its' ilk are good popcorn movies a steady diet of popcorn will leave you malnourished. This film will fill your MDR of thoughtfulness and gravis for at least the next six months. Even if this movie is nothing more than a transfer of the VHS to DVD I would still recommend it. I'm buying this DVD sight unseen, which is something I rarely do. Few movies deserve to get the DVD treatment. That dreck like "Battlefield Earth" or "Barbwire" got shipped out on DVD while "1984" laid in cinematic limbo is proof positive that Hollywood has its' priorities screwed up.

Rating:
Summary: The Last Man
Review: I have followed the career of John Hurt (one reviewer erroneously credited the lead performance in this film to William Hurt) since his brilliant performance as Quentin Crisp in THE NAKED CIVIL SERVANT. His turn as Winston Smith in NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR ranks as one of his two all-time best film roles. As Winston Smith, he fully communicates both the necessity and the futility of maintaining a struggle against a dehumanizing government that spends all of its resources to monitor its subjects in every aspect of their lives. Truly brilliant work.

Richard Burton, in his last screen role, is perfectly cast as O'Brien, a high-ranking Inner Party member. It is chilling to watch this unaffected performance, which, in my opinion, ranks as one of his all-time best, as well.

Now for the story. Written in 1948 (last two digits of the year transposed for the title) and published the following year, NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR has a disturbingly realistic resonance to it. There are obvious parallels between INGSOC (the ruling party) and both the German Nazi Party and the Soviet Communists, both of which were fresh in the minds of Europeans in the late 1940s. Also, the fact that all of the action takes place in the aftermath of atomic war (again, a seemingly very real possibility at the time the book was written) lends a sense of negative prophecy to the whole affair. In this post-war society, the individual has no value. In fact, anything that might contribute to one's individuality is criminalized and investigated by the Gestapo-like Thought Police. This includes private reflection and interpersonal relationships. And that sets the stage for the rest of the story to unfold.

Early on, Winston meets a beautiful young woman named Julia. Try as he might, he cannot resist her. After all, he is only human--a fact which will ultimately be his undoing. Julia, on the other hand, revels in her sexuality and feelings of love. As time passes, they develop a relationship that seems to be based not only on sex, but genuine love and affection. It is disturbingly touching when Winston, while holding Julia, asks if there were ever a time when what they were doing seemed ordinary.

Of course, they are eventually caught and arrested. Winston is taken to the Ministry of Love to be interrogated and tortured by O'Brien. Richard Burton's portrayal is profoundly unsettling because he plays it without even a hint of irony or emotion of any kind. In fact, the only evidence of compassion in his character comes when he pats Winston on the shoulder and tells him not to give up hope because ". . .in the end, we shall shoot you."

There is no Hollywood happy ending in this film. No reason for hope, even. The final words of dialog (spoken as thought in a voice-over) are truly heartbreaking.

As others have mentioned, the set decoration and photography are brilliant and lend to the realism of the film. And the soundtrack by Eurythmics does not seem at all out of place. In fact, the song "Julia", played over the end credits is especially beautiful.

I recommend this film very highly. It is relentlessly depressing, to be sure. But it is also quite rewarding on many levels. Give this one a chance.

Rating:
Summary: A most relevant and foretelling movie.........
Review: I am adding my own two cents to this review not to offer a critical analysis of the movie itself, (All of the previous reviewers have covered it well.) but to further question why a movie that was so hyped when it came out in '84 has seemed to have all but disappeared.
I was, like others in this review, both surprised and appalled to find that this landmark piece was not readilly available. For anyone who has every read the book, one must question this for it would seem that this movie was itself put in to a "memory hole"! With the recent attacks on our freedom in the USA from our own big brother, (Bush, Ashcroft, Rumsfeld, & co.)you would think that this movie would be in great demand.
I recommend this movie,( and the book for that matter!) to any person who is concerned about recent developments in our society and about the constant erosion of our most basic freedoms.

Rating:
Summary: A dystopian nightmare perfectly realized.
Review: Orwell's 1984 is a masterpiece of dystopian literature. A truly frightening look at a world that very well could have been and may still be yet to come. Michael Radford's movie is a nearly perfect adaptation, so much so that if you haven't read the book, it would probably help in understanding the complex nature of this movie. If you have read the book, you are in for a treat as the movie literally brings to life a perfect window view of the world described by Orwell.

The movie, along with the book, is a bleak look at a world dominated by the ultimate extreme of totalitarian regimes. Every aspect of people's daily life is controlled and monitored by the ever present INGSOC (English Socialist Party) and its masthead, Big Brother. The story is set in a decimated but recognizable London and revolves around the central character of Winston Smith. The basic premise is the will of one man to maintain his humanity against the overwhelming force of an inhuman system. I will avoid saying more about the story except to warn that if you are looking for light entertainment, this movie is not for you.

In short, this movie is brilliant in it own right, with riveting performances by both Richard Burton and William Hurt. The sets, cinematography and direction bring to life a fictional world in such perfect detail that I have no doubt that Orwell himself would have been astonished. Not since BladeRunner has a world been so convincingly portrayed in a movie. This movies imagery will haunt you and its story will stun you. 1984 is mesmerizing, terribly disturbing and utterly believable.