1984 (1956)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Michael Anderson

Writers:

George Orwell (novel)
Ralph Gilbert Bettison (writer) ...

Release Date:

September 1956 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Will Ecstasy Be a Crime ...In the Terrifying World of the Future?

Plot:

George Orwell's novel of a totalitarian future society in which a man whose daily work is rewriting history tries to rebel by falling in love.

Plot Keywords:

Big Brother | Futuristic | London England | Brainwashing | 1984

Cast

Edmond O'Brien	...	Winston Smith
Michael Redgrave	...	Gen. O'Connor
Jan Sterling	...	Julia
David Kossoff	...	Charrington the Junk Shop Owner
Mervyn Johns	...	Jones
Donald Pleasence	...	R. Parsons
Carol Wolveridge	...	Selina Parsons
Ernest Clark	...	Outer Party Announcer
Patrick Allen	...	Inner Party Official
Ronan O'Casey	...	Rutherford
Michael Ripper	...	Outer Party Orator
Ewen Solon	...	Outer Party Orator
Kenneth Griffith	...	Prisoner
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Anthony Jacobs	...	Telescreen (voice)

Runtime:

USA:90 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

West Germany:12 (f) | Finland:K-16

Company:

Holiday Film Productions Ltd.

Trivia:

During filming, Jan Sterling was pregnant with her son Adams Douglas, so she was given a certificate by the crew proclaiming him to be an honorary member of the cast.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Real Room 101 (2003) (TV)

Terrific, but the earlier Peter Cushing version.....

......is even better (wanna see St. Pete's classic? Feel free to contact [e-mail] for a copy). One might be tempted to call this a remake, and I suppose it is, but it was the first theatrical rendition, enabling audiences to watch Big Brother (watching them) on a bigger screen than was possible via the BBC/Peter Cushing version (1954) of two years earlier. I agree with previous commentator "bux's" observance that, while Edmond O'Brien and Jan Sterling may not have been Orwell's first casting choices for Winston and Julia for the reason stated, the sterling performances generated by the leads and their supporting cast more than compensate. As a huge fan of the late, great Hammer Films luminary Michael Ripper, I was especially pleased to see him helping to take up the rear as an Outer Party Orator, exemplifying the tender loving care with which producer N. Peter Rathvon saw fit to cast even the smaller roles.