Nineteen Eighty-Four (DVD)

Nineteen Eighty-Four is the feature film made from the George Orwell novel of the same name. It was released in the year 1984 and stars John Hurt playing Winston whose job it is to rewrite history for the government. Winston is opposed to the regime and its oppression and begins a relationship with Julia (Suzanna Hamilton) that is strictly forbidden by 'Big Brother'. Found out he must undergo torture and interrogation for his sins and anti-establishment ways by his former ally O'Brien (Richard Burton). This film is a very gloomy recreation of an already gloomy book. This is not light entertainment and makes for very depressing and slow moving viewing, which is ...  Read the complete review

George Orwell's 1984 has long been one of my favourite novels, but it's only within the last few years that I got hold of a copy of the film made in the eponymous year. Starring John Hurt as the troubled idealist Winston Smith and with Richard Burton and Suzanna Hamilton in the supporting roles of O'Brien and Julia, the film manages to retain the menace and desperation of the book without getting bogged down in its ideology. Having said that, there is no mistaking Orwell's political point either. This is definitely a cautionary tale of the highest order, and the film does do that justice to an extent, making the world of 1984 every bit as ...  Read the complete review

Michael Radford, better known for the sweet-tempered (and to me, insufferably heart-tugging) "Il Postino", made his early mark with this fine movie. He and his production designer do an excellent job in bringing the grungy half-life of Orwell's novel to the screen. John Hurt is, as usual, superb, although from his very first appearance he looks so baffled and hurt (appropriate name for this actor) that I'd have tagged him as a thought-criminal straight away. Suzanna Hamilton is extremely good as Julia, not just fitting my idea of what Julia would look like but wonderfully vulnerable and real. (Glad to see that she's gone on to do fine work ...  Read the complete review