1984

Rating:
Summary: "Big Brother" is watching you everywhere!
Review: "1984" (Nineteen Eighty-Four) was a book, now infamous, published in 1949. Some people thought it was about Russia, but it is actually a work of fiction of what George Orwell thought the future could become, not specificly the year 1984, but any year afterwards.
What really sends shivers through your spine, just like 2001: A SPACE ODESSEY was a "prediction" that many technical devices and space technology and use of computers portrayed in the film have come true. "1984" also has some "predictions" that have materalized before our eyes. Giant-monster screens, high-definition television, plasma tv sets for the wall. Even the phrase "Big Brother is watching!" is commonly used.
Winston Smith's (John Hurt) daily routine is getting up by an alarm, exercise, go to work, listen to "Big Brother", go home and more "Big Brother". Inside your home, you must be in sight of the big screen. Big Brother's face is constantly there, but no one as ever met him or seen him anywhere. You must listen to what Big Brother is saying at all times even when you are outside his voice is heard. If you are not in sight of your screen, you will be told to get back in sight. There are no drama or comedy programs. Just real life. You can exercise live and you can see an arrest made live. No music programs. At work, Winston has a little t.v. on his desk because Big Brother must be seen and heard. Winston's job is to re-write and proofread past and present history. Articles are condensed in one sentence if possible. "Doublespeak" is used. Words and other information is altered. Even two words can be condensed. When Winston is finished, the original, historical and valuable piece of information is destroyed forever. Similar to LOGAN'S RUN, everyone must gather into a giant room, there is a big screen of Big Brother there. People usually scream at the screen with "his face". Others are quite serious and quiet. You must live by Big Brother's orders or else. Winston wants to get out. To see if an outside exists. He has once heard of a land without Big Brother.
Richard Burton plays "O'Brien". This was Burton's last film role and he died during production, ironically in 1984. Bob Flag is the face of "Big Brother". After viewing this film, you might realize how close we might be to Orwell's story. Was it Russia, Germany, or is it the Middle East? This book was published in 1949.
As long as there is a President of the United States, a Queen or King of England, and His Holiness the Pope, this "1984" story will never fully happen.
I highly recommend any edition of the book, "1984" by George Orwell for excellent reading.
A film version of "1984" was also made by the British in 1956.

Rating:
Summary: Doubleplus Outstanding!!!
Review: "April 4th, 1984 ... I think"

I picked 'Nineteen Eighty-Four' as one of the books for a high school reading assignment in my junior year. I didn't actually read it then (1975), but read it just after high school. By the time I'd finished it was near the top of my list of favorite books ' and remains so. When '1984' came out in 1984 I, naturally, rented the video and fell in love with the film. It was one of the better-done film adaptations of a book that I'd seen. I was really taken with the martial music of Dominic Muldowney so I rushed out and bought ' 'The Soundtrack' ' by the Eurythmics. Well, no martial music, no nothing; just Eurythmics. When the Muldowney soundtrack became available a few years ago I purchased it and tried to envision the film with Mr. Radford's original choice attached. I even wrote the director to ask if it was going to be different than the '84 release (I never heard back from him).

So what's all this about soundtracks and the Eurythmics and Muldowney you ask? When my copy of this DVD came in March 2003 I was more than pleasantly surprised with a number of things. First, the picture quality is plusgood. Secondly, and even though they are credited, there is not a hint of the Eurythmics on this DVD! That's doubleplus-phenomenal! The film has a different 'feel' to it, almost a nostalgic feel, that the original didn't have and that I credit to the soundtrack changes. I know there are some that think the film should have been tampered with, but having followed the history of this film and the conflict Mr. Radford encountered with Virgin, I'm very pleased that it's been released in this format. I would have liked to have seen the Eurythmics soundtrack added as an option, but it was not.

As someone said earlier; this is not the book. It is a well-written, well-adapted, film that captures (for me) the essence of Orwell's work. I highly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best book adaptations ever
Review: "Nineteen Eighty-Four" (the actual on-screen title) is a rare example of a film adaptation of a book that faithfully transfers the visions and theme of the book's author, right down to even filming on the dates that the author specified (April-June 1984). George Orwell's frightening, hellish novel of a future where freedom has vanished, even from the minds of human beings, has been turned into an equally frightening film version. Its tale of a government that seeks to utterly crush the human spirit through propaganda, language, and fear, turning human beings into programmed machines, has never been more frightening than today. It is a book and movie for all times, as long as governments lie, tyrannies exist, and people surrender their freedoms in the name of fears, both real and imagined.

The casting couldn't be more perfect. John Hurt, looking worn and stretched past his years, is the ideal actor to play "little rebel" Winston Smith, who dares to think against the mysterious Big Brother and to fall in love. In his last film role, Richard Burton is like a glaring Greek Statue, stern and unflappable and scary. It's an unnerving and great performance. As for Suzanna Hamilton, Winston's love Julia, I was shocked when I first saw the movie: she matched exactly the image of Julia I had in my head when I read the book.

Director Michael Radford (who also directed "Il Postino") imagines the world of George Orwell exactly as the author would have if he had directed the film: as a wrecked vision of late-40s Britain if it had lost World War II. The set design is stunning, combing some high technology (video screens and computers) with rusty mid-forties technology (pneumatic tubes, rotary phones). Everywhere is decay and deprivation. Nothing really works, everything is bland and ugly in that awful, gray-stone block style that dominated Soviet and Chinese government architecture of the 1940s and 1950s. No doubt about it, the director understood where Orwell was coming from, and the models he was using.

Just like the book, "Nineteen Eighty-Four" is a film that will utterly devastate you, get under your skin, and change the way you look at the world. It is a masterpiece.

(A note on the disc: Although they receive credit, the music by the Eurythmics has been completely removed, as per the wishes of the director. Since this is a no-frills DVD without much in the way of extras, there is no alternate music track to let people hear the original theatrical soundtrack. However, the film is much much better without the Eurythmics; they don't fit the style and feel of the film or the wonderful original music. Also, the washed-out photographic style of the original released has been changed to a more natural look; but this has been true of every version since the theatrical release. None of this should prevent you from getting hold of this wonderful movie.)

Rating:
Summary: "Big Brother" is watching you everywhere!
Review: "1984" (Nineteen Eighty-Four) was a book, now infamous, published in 1949. Some people thought it was about Russia, but it is actually a work of fiction of what George Orwell thought the future could become, not specificly the year 1984, but any year afterwards.
What really sends shivers through your spine, just like 2001: A SPACE ODESSEY was a "prediction" that many technical devices and space technology and use of computers portrayed in the film have come true. "1984" also has some "predictions" that have materalized before our eyes. Giant-monster screens, high-definition television, plasma tv sets for the wall. Even the phrase "Big Brother is watching!" is commonly used.
Winston Smith's (John Hurt) daily routine is getting up by an alarm, exercise, go to work, listen to "Big Brother", go home and more "Big Brother". Inside your home, you must be in sight of the big screen. Big Brother's face is constantly there, but no one as ever met him or seen him anywhere. You must listen to what Big Brother is saying at all times even when you are outside his voice is heard. If you are not in sight of your screen, you will be told to get back in sight. There are no drama or comedy programs. Just real life. You can exercise live and you can see an arrest made live. No music programs. At work, Winston has a little t.v. on his desk because Big Brother must be seen and heard. Winston's job is to re-write and proofread past and present history. Articles are condensed in one sentence if possible. "Doublespeak" is used. Words and other information is altered. Even two words can be condensed. When Winston is finished, the original, historical and valuable piece of information is destroyed forever. Similar to LOGAN'S RUN, everyone must gather into a giant room, there is a big screen of Big Brother there. People usually scream at the screen with "his face". Others are quite serious and quiet. You must live by Big Brother's orders or else. Winston wants to get out. To see if an outside exists. He has once heard of a land without Big Brother.
Richard Burton plays "O'Brien". This was Burton's last film role and he died during production, ironically in 1984. Bob Flag is the face of "Big Brother". After viewing this film, you might realize how close we might be to Orwell's story. Was it Russia, Germany, or is it the Middle East? This book was published in 1949.
As long as there is a President of the United States, a Queen or King of England, and His Holiness the Pope, this "1984" story will never fully happen.
I highly recommend any edition of the book, "1984" by George Orwell for excellent reading.
A film version of "1984" was also made by the British in 1956.

Rating:
Summary: Depressingly depressing and none-too-faithful to Orwell
Review: '1984', being an English film, has clearly had trouble in translating to unsympathetic American viewers. Radford's adaptation of Orwell was so deliberately faithful that the end product should have been George Orwell on screen. Not so. Naturally, to undertake such an opus is itself Herculean so Radford deserves Kudos in that respect. There are plenty of treasures here: Burton's performance as symbiotically represented with Hurt's and the sheer attention to the most minute, nitty-gritty grotty detail being the principal ones. The overall 'feel' of the film is as Orwell would have intended: a wake up call to take a more direct approach in case anybody missed the point in 'Animal Farm.' And Orwell's point here hits home thanks to Radford. The main trouble with the film is that it is too depressing to stomach in some areas. It's sad to have to deduct a star for that fact but it's true - '1984' is really not good entertainment at all. Apart from a poignant soundtrack and the camera's worship of the colour grey, there is really nothing left in this picture to enjoy when watching at home. Very hard going in areas and the aesthetics of the set structure are very quickly counteracted by the lurid hues of shifting monochromes and immersion in small spaces. Basically what the viewer is left with is a definite understanding of Orwell's anti-Communist standpoint as being presented to match HIS idiosyncrasies, but there's really nothing to enjoy or to come away from afterward. Still, a good job done on a compelling work of literature (you might even be able to get away with watching it without having read the book), only it's too intellectual to be anything more than a Brecht mind-play - a self-absorbing representation of a dated phobia. I bought it but I'd recommend only a rental for the plebs at large.

Rating:
Summary: Do not watch this movie with a loaded gun nearby
Review: ...I believe it is essential to read the novel then watch the movie. If you have seen the movie without reading the novel you should read it and then go back and watch the movie. I agree that it is almost impossible to translate a novel into celluloid but I believe the pathos this movie exudes is breathtaking. It is stark, melancholic and disturbingly close to Orwell's vision. Radford drew from the core of the literary creation and gave his movie pungent and decadent life. Orwell would have approved of the movie but not of the world's current state of affairs, which he had himself predicted...

Rating:
Summary: Missed opportunity
Review: 1984 film 1984 has long been in need of remastering and re-release, but sadly MGM only did it half right. For one, the compositions are too tightly letterboxed wacking some nice visual info off the top of some shots. The biggie is that they chose to dump all of the Eurythmics contributions to the music score in favor of Dominic Muldowney's compositions. Both scores are nice, but the film has lost a great deal of the distinction that the Eurythmics tracks lent to it. Muldowney's score is servicable, and was well utilized in the patriotic anthems of Oceania, but the Eurythmics portions lent a haunting beauty to many scenes, and are woefuly missed. MGM could have released both scores on alternate tracks, but they cheaped out. Too bad.

Rating:
Summary: Profound Accomplishment!
Review: 1984 has always been one of my favorite books, and this is one of the most successful book adaptations I have ever seen. I also want to say that I don't miss the Eurythmics contributions to the score at all. This comes from a fan of the group and a proud owner of their original soundtrack recording. My recommendation: buy this DVD and the Eurythmics soundtrack and enjoy them seperately. The new score is a better fit, although I would have gladly paid a little more money to have both versions of the film. As far as special features are concerned, forget it -- this is a bare-bones release. Normally, I might dock a star for that, but I'm so grateful to be able to watch this wonderful movie on DVD, I just don't care.

Rating:
Summary: Too True
Review: 1984 is an exceptionally successful adaptation of a well known novel, which is perhaps the best way of understanding its qualities. Brilliantly designed, directed, shot and edited, the film brings Orwell's nightmare vision of a decaying Oceania to tangible life. It is difficult to decide which to praise more, the film's technical achievements, the concisely condensed script that economically dramatizes most of Orwell's themes, or the superb performances. John Hurt manages the difficult task of taking Everyman Winston Smith beyond a literary abstraction into a fully rounded human being. Outstanding as his achievement is, however, the real kudos should go to Richard Burton's utterly soulless O'Brien, the embodiment of velvety, degenerate power hunger. Burton's last performance, it is also probably his best on film.

1984 certainly is not a movie for everyone, however. Its relentlessly downbeat tone, understated horror and slow, quiet pace are likely to turn off most viewers. The film's extreme success in conveying a sense of dank and disintegration are likely to make you want to take a shower afterwards. The torture scenes are harrowingly affective, and forget the possibility of being spared any of it. (Readers of Orwell's novel can at least get some satisfaction from reading the postscript about Newspeak, written in a reassuring past tense that establishes some distance between the story's events and the present. The film offers no such relief.)

The American theatrical release of 1984 included a score by the Eurythmics. This edition uses the original orchestral score of strings and English horn, which is considerably more understated and moody. While the orchestral score is almost *too* perfect for the film's hushed mood, the Eurythimcs track has always struck me as a little inappropriate. (Viewers interested in seeing the film with the Eurythmics score should track down a copy of the laserdisc issued a few years back.) Forced to choose, I'd opt for the orchestral score, if for no other reason than it was what was originally intended. Both scores bring different pluses and minuses, however.

If you haven't read Orwell's novel in a while, you might want to watch this film, then go back to the book to see just how much of its mood, texture and thematic sophistication the film makers have captured. 1984 is literary cinema at its best.

Rating:
Summary: Read the book for god sakes.
Review: 1984 is my favorite book of all time, but I would burn this tape if I didn't have to touch it to put it in a fire. This movie is an absolutely terrible adaptation of a great book.