[3] 1984 (1984)

1984 (1984)

John hurt and Richard Burton star in this iconic movie which oddly doesn’t seem to have obtained the cult status one would have expected it to; but there you go.

John Hurts performance is painfully good as the Minsitry of propgranda clerk Winston Smith; but even he is outdone by a quite simply masterful Burton who ultimatley steals the show; the ending being a particularly good showcase for both actors. There are some parts of the book missing here but overall it's a terrific achievement despite the somewhat suspect production values. However the casting and scripting are so good that none of that matters.

What’s most remarkable about the movie is the sense of dreary depression that seeps through the daily lives of Oceania’s inhabitants; interrupted only by the incessant and enforced ritualisation of their despotic leadership.

Hurt plays Winston Smith, a clerk whose job it is to methodically rewrite the pages of history to make them favorable for the government. Smith however harbors ideas of life away from the ministries; pictures, a diary and notions of love. Under constant surveillance from the now fabled “Big Brother’ Hurts’ ravaged corpse looks almost too realistic. Indeed director Michael Radford pulls no punches here and demands a lot from his cast. Radford captures perfectly the fear and vulnerability of Hurt as he is drawn into a wayward affair with the rebellious Julia. The scene where he surprises her with coffee being a perfect example; the awe on Julia’s face and the liberation that Smiths character momentarily senses is agonizing to watch because of the inevitability of their fate.

Orwell’s dystopia couldn’t have landed in better hands. There are very little liberties taken here and the ending in particular is painstakingly recreated. Perhaps with better special effects the movie might have reached a larger audience, as it is it seems that 1984 has already been somewhat forgotten which is a very great shame indeed as Orwell’s prophetic material is more relevant today than ever.

BTW Thanks to Tower Records for this one
I hadn't even heard of this movie it until I saw in the ‘recommended’ section at tower records.



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