1984

Director: Michael Radford Michael Radford

Overview

Directed by British filmmaker Michael Radford, Nineteen Eighty-Four is the second film adaptation of the George Orwell novel. The film is set during April of 1984 in post-atomic war London, the capital city of the repressive totalitarian state of Oceania. Winston Smith (John Hurt) is a government bureaucrat whose job is rewriting history and erasing people from existence. While his co-worker Parsons (Gregor Fisher) seems content to follow the state's laws, Winston starts to write in a secret diary despite the fact the "Big Brother" is watching everyone at all times by way of monitors. He silently suffers and tries to comprehend his oppression, which forbids individual human behaviors such as free thinking and sex. He meets Julia (Suzanna Hamilton), who works for the Ministry of Truth, and they engage in a stoic love affair. They are soon found out, and Winston is interrogated and tortured by his former friend O'Brien (Richard Burton in his final film appearance).

Product Details

Release Date:	07/09/2015
UPC:	0644827235827
Original Release:	1984
Source:	Reel Vault
Language:	English
Sales rank:	13,295

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

John Hurt	Winston Smith
Richard Burton	O'Brien
Suzanna Hamilton	Julia
Cyril Cusack	Charrington
Gregor Fisher	Parsons
James Walker	Syme
Andrew Wilde	Tillotson
David Trevena	Tillotson's Friend
David Cann	Martin
Anthony Benson	Jones
Peter Frye	Rutherford
Roger Lloyd Pack	Waiter
Rupert Baderman	Winston as a Boy
Corinna Seddon	Winston's Mother
Martha Parsey	Winston's Sister
Merelina Kendall	Mrs. Parsons
P.J. Nicholas	William Parsons
Lynne Radford	Susan Parsons
Pip Donaghy	Inner Party Speaker
Shirley Stelfox	Whore
Janet Key	Instructress
Hugh Walters	Artsem Lecturer
Robert Putt	Shouting Prole
Christine Hargreaves	Soup Lady
Garry Cooper	Guard
Matthew Scurfield	Guard
John Golightly	Patrolman
Rolf Saxon	Patrolman
Ole Oldendorp	Eurasian Soldier
Eddie Stacey	Executioner
Norman Bacon	Man on Station
John Foss	Youth Leader
Carey Wilson	Party Member
Mitzi McKenzie	Party Member
Phyllis Logan	Telescreen Announcer
Pam Gems	Washerwoman
Joscik Barbarossa	Aaronson
John Boswall	Goldstein
Bob Flag	Big Brother
John Hughes	Man in White Coat
Dominic Muldowney	Composer
Dave Stewart	Composer
Annie Lennox	Composer

Technical Credits

Michael Radford

Jonathan Gems

Michael Radford	Director,Screenwriter
Simon Perry	Producer
Marvin J. Rosenblum	Executive Producer
Rebecca Howard	Casting
Jonathan Gems	Screenwriter
Bruce White	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

Filmed during the actual dates in 1984 as described in the book, Michael Radford's adaptation is the preeminent film version of George Orwell's infamous novel. The stark gray settings effectively set the mood of a totalitarian state. John Hurt is a beaten-down Winston, whose weathered face shows every result of his tortured existence, especially during the final devastating scenes with the Thought Police. Suzanna Hamilton does what she can as Julia, bringing some human warmth to the otherwise grim and desolate surroundings. In the last performance before his death, Richard Burton conveys Inner Party member O'Brien with a strange fatherly compassion that makes his sadistic role all the more disturbing. In contrast to some other flashy and visually inventive future dystopia movies, 1984 focuses on the plight of humans with an austere landscape, washed-out colors, and severe close-ups signifying the omnipresence of Big Brother. In general, 1984 faithfully follows the book in story, character, and tone, which makes for an authentic if thoroughly depressing and slow-paced movie.

All Movie Guide - Andrea LeVasseur