Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984)

In a totalitarian future society, a man, whose daily work is re-writing history, tries to rebel by falling in love.

Director:

Michael Radford

Writers:

George Orwell (novel), Michael Radford

Stars:

John Hurt, Richard Burton, Suzanna Hamilton

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 5 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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 Smith as a Boy
Corinna Seddon	...	Winston's Mother
Martha Parsey	...	Winston's Sister

Storyline

In the year 1984, rocket bombs and rats prey on the inhabitants of the crumbling metropolis of London. Far away on the Malabar Front, a seemingly interminable war rages against Eastasia. The Ministry of Truth broadcasts ceaselessly to the population via its inescapable network of telescreens. These devices, which pervade all aspects of peoples' lives, are also capable of monitoring their every word and action. They form part of an elaborate surveillance system used by the Ministry of Love, and its dreaded agents the Thought Police, to serve their singular goal: the elimination of 'thoughtcrime'. Winston Smith is a Party worker - part of the vast social caste known as the Outer Party, the rank and file of the sprawling apparatus of government. Winston works in the Records Department of the Ministry of Truth - the section charged with modifying historical news archives for consistency. When by chance Winston uncovers incontrovertible proof that the Party is lying, he embarks on a ...

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Plot Keywords:

female nudity | dystopia | pneumatic tube | totalitarianism | helicopter | 

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Taglines:

Big Brother is Watching...

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Genres:

Drama | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

MGM

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 March 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

1984

Filming Locations:

RAF Hullavington, Chippenham, Wiltshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

£3,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$8,400,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Umbrella-Rosenblum Films Production, Virgin Benelux, Virgin Schallplatten

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Oceanian soldiers in the film are wearing Soviet Red Army helmets, painted black.

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Goofs

When Winston and Julia are together in the room upstairs for the second time, Julia asks Winston what time the clock on the wall says. He responds that it is 21 hours, or 9pm. When Julia leaves and Winston picks up the glass ball off the table, the clock behind it shows 2:30.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Big Brother: [voice-over] This is our land. A land of peace and of plenty. A land of harmony and hope. This is our land. Oceania. These are our people. The workers, the strivers, the builders. These are our people. The builders of our world, struggling, fighting, bleeding, dying. On the streets of our cities and on the far-flung battlefields. Fighting against the mutilation of our hopes and dreams. Who are they?

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Crazy Credits

After the end credits finish and the screen goes black, the monotonous end-title music keeps droning on for nine more minutes.

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Connections

Referenced in Comedy Connections: Rab C. Nesbitt (2008)

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Soundtracks

Oceania,'Tis For Thee
Music by Dominic Muldowney
Lyrics by Jonathan Gems
Sung by the London Voices, directed by Terry Edwards
Soprano soloist: Sally Mates
Contralto soloist: Linda Hirst
Conducted by Dominic Muldowney

User Reviews

Who Controls the Past Controls the Future, Who Controls the Present Controls the Past

In 1984, Oceania is an omnipresent state ruled by the Big Brother with a totalitarian society and in permanent war, presently against Eurasia, with intention of keeping the proletariat without education and without possibility of capital accumulation. People from the upper classes follow the "Ingsoc" philosophy and are under permanent surveillance of Big Brother through the "telescreen" – a monitor that is television and also spies the life of each individual. However, the proletariat is free of the control of the state. The Party has just released the 10th edition of the Newspeak Dictionary, with the intention of reducing the words to make people limited to express any feeling against the Party.

In the "Minitrue" (Ministry of Truth in Newspeak), the bureaucrat Winston Smith (John Hurt) rewrites history to permit the party to control the future and is quite indifferent to his society. Winston is approached by the party member O'Brien (Richard Burton) that gives a copy of the new released dictionary to him. When Winston meets the brother Julia (Suzanna Hamilton), they commit "sexcrime" and fall in love for each other. But they are captured by the fearful Thought Police and Winston is interrogated and brainwashed by O'Brien that explains the logic of the party to keep the power. But in the end, the human spirit of Winston prevails.

When I was a teenager, George Orwell's "Nineteen Eighty-Four" and "Animal Farm" and Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World" were my favorite novels. George Orwell wrote this novel in 1948, inverting the last two digits in the title, and the novel was released on 8 June 1949. The story takes place between April and June 1984. I read the book in Portuguese, where the new words of the Newspeak were perfectly translated.

The film "1984" is a magnificent transposition of the novel to the cinema, with a remarkable screenplay by Michael Radford and top-notches performances of John Hurt and Richard Burton in his last work. The awesome direction of Michael Radford gives a perfect idea of this novel about a dystopian society and the political theories of this society subdue by the powerful, feared and omnipresent Big Brother and is so careful that "1984" was filmed between April and June 1984 in London, in the same period and location George Orwell wrote in his novel. I saw this depressing film in the movie theater for the first time in 1984, and since then, I have seen at least three times on VHS (last time on 24 April 2003) and now I have just watched on DVD. My vote is ten.

Title (Brazil): "1984"