1984

Scary how some of what he predicted is coming true in Donald Trump’s America, Vladimir Putin’s Russia and Kim Jong il’s North Korea.

I was born in the year of 1984 I was the second baby to be born and I am so proud to be a girl if I wasn’t born as a girl I would be a boy according to my mommy

Seriously, can creatives stop coming up with ideas that influence mindless luddite politicians. Without these ideas they have no way to manipulate and control common folk.....do even mention taxes....

Let me be clear on two points before I review; - I love the book. 1984 (read this year) was an instant classic for me. - I hate it when people say ‘The film isn’t as good as the book’. They’re not meant to be the same. The film isn’t as good as the book. But it’s not that the film isn’t a fair or accurate representation, the acting isn’t poor and the casting isn’t wrong. There just isn’t enough back story. Unusually, the storytellers of this picture have chosen to assume you have read Orwell’s 1948 classic, but if you haven’t, this story won’t mean much to you as all of the key bits of storyline that you’re privy to in print sadly haven’t been explained on film. If you want to put a face to Winston and you’ve turned the pages of the book already, this film will suffice, if you haven’t read the book yet, step away from the Rent/Buy button and go and download the novel on iBooks, read, digest, understand, then come back and view this movie. If you don’t, you’ll be left ill informed and wondering who everybody is and why they are the way they are. It’s a shame.

This film captures the power and horror of Orwell’s stunningly insightful novel. John Hurt shows that he’s a legendary actor with his decent from terrified resistance to dehumanised victim of the system. The Eurythmics music is slightly jarring and I would love to see the orchestral version which was briefly released but now sadly out of print. The Eurythmics LP of the same name is excellent in its own right - but not as a soundtrack.

I recall reading this book in 1984 at school for my O level (as they were called back then) It captivated me. It awoke a political awareness in me and that has never died. The film is remarkably close to the book in it's atmosphere, pace and style. It is claustrophobic and intense. Burton is magnificent as O'Brien and Hurt's portrayal of Smith is unbeatable. THere's much in this story which resonates even today- mores that we now live in a multi media age with internet surveillance and government subterfuge - Wikileaks anyone? There was a big stink around the time this film came out as Both the original soundtrack artist and the Eurythmics were shafted by their record label regarding the film. As I understand it. The accompanying album is never recognised by Eurythmics in their discography. A shame as it has some very good tracks on it which, I think, suit the film perfectly: Julia, and Doubleplusgood being just two of my favourites. I would though be interested to hear the original score which was set aside.

This is a great documentary of today’s world.

Amazing book, but this film is double plus poor. Bary worth a rent . the music is so bad....Like really really bad

Not a film, an instruction manual

I have just finished reading the book so decided it was time I got around to finally seeing the movie. I have to say I am impressed. This is the closest book to movie adaptation I have seen. The look and tone of the film is exactly as I imagined when reading the book and the direction controlled and intelligent. The cast is top drawer and all deliver award worthy performances. You can imagine no other actor than Hurt as Smith, and he does not disappoint with a nuanced and sympathetic performance. Richard Burton is impressive, however he is too edgy to ever have been mistaken as a kindred spirit by Smith. This is not a criticism of Burtons performance, although I would have cast someone like Joss Ackland, who can portray benign and evil personified equally convincingly. Suzanna Hamilton is perfectly cast as a girl who could tempt you to risk all to be with her and her performance touches the heart. The soundtrack has faint hints of Eurythmics but this is not intrusive so I imagine this is the toned down version. I am sorry the Director Michael Radford had problems regarding this as this is truly a classic British movie and he should be be recognised for the masterpiece he has created. Read the book first then watch this film. You will not be dissapointed.