1984 | 
 enlarge | Director: Michael Radford
Actors: John Hurt, Richard Burton, Cyril Cusack, Roger Lloyd-pack
Studio: MGM Entertainment
Category: DVD
List Price: £15.99
Buy New: £4.25
You Save: £11.74 (73%)
New (8) Used (5) from £3.99
Rating:  20 reviews
Sales Rank: 407
Format: Pal
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region: 2
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 106 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.4 x 0.6
EAN: 5050070020250
ASIN: B00015N56U
Theatrical Release Date: 1984
Release Date: September 20, 2004
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: * BRAND NEW * SEALED * READY TO SEND TODAY * Fast and friendly professional service from mainland UK. Buy with confidence.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 15 more reviews...
 Good film of a great book August 29, 2008
lexo1941 (Dublin, Ireland)
Given that '1984' is one of those books that's just too well-written to survive dramatic adaptation with all its depths and ironies intact, Michael Radford did a pretty good job of making a movie out of it back in the year that the book was actually set. He used as locations the same then-derelict London docklands that Kubrick would use for "Full Metal Jacket", giving the film an authentically bombed-out look. The largely English cast is excellent. Suzanna Hamilton, in her first film role, is as good a Julia as can be imagined; plucky, sharp and sexy to begin with, and in her final post-torture appearance, a sullen, dead-eyed shadow. Richard Burton is superb as O'Brien, giving the quietest and least flashy performance of his erratic film career. The supporting players are all great, but the gold palm goes to John Hurt, who manages to make Winston a more sympathetic character than he is in the book. Orwell had a good point to make about Winston, namely that he was the kind of guy who would have ended up selling out Julia; but the heartbroken look on Hurt's face in the last moments of the film lets you know that this Winston truly understands the extent to which he has betrayed his better self. The ending of the movie is both more ambiguous and more heartbreaking than the end of the book.
Among the incidental pleasures: Dominic Muldowney's music is both authentically totalitarian-kitsch, and weirdly moving; the national anthem 'Oceania, 'Tis for Thee', played at strategic moments throughout, is, on a verbal level, a fascist hymn, but musically speaking it's a lament for the humanity that the characters have lost. Even the Eurhythmics' incidental electronica seems to work, for some reason. Not a very fun film, but a good one.
 Bobbins July 7, 2008
Bolton (Bolton)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Rubbish. Boring.
Watched this straight after reading the book. The book is a masterpiece of British literature. The film sent me to sleep.
 Dial This April 5, 2008
J. Douglas (United Kingdom)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
If you're in the UK, and you have a telephone landline, dial: 1984
You should get an INSTANT reply 'Specialist Services' ?
???
Anyway - this is a deep portrayal of the not so distant fate of humanity's hope, severely condensed into a theatre-bite-sized exposure.
A great film either way.
Vision of an upcoming future ? November 7, 2007
Prayers for rain (Midi Pyrénées)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
V for Vendetta had strongly moved me, and the end is ecstatic and full of hope, but 1984 horrified and traumatized me. 1984 is the anti-V for Vendetta, the V which ends badly, where people don't wake up, where humanity is forever crushed, where History is denied. This movie was a shock for me (I haven't read the novel yet). I strongly recommand it. It's unforgettable, terrifiying and very efficient. I must add that the actors are fantastic. Richard Burton is excellent as an essential psychopath, a true monster who has nothing human whatsoever. 1984 touches the darkest abyss, and maybe that's whyt it's stronger than V for Vendetta, coz it really shows the horror of an existence in a 100% fascist regime where the most basic rights are denied. IMO, everybody should see it NOW (along with V for Vendetta, to keep some kind of balance and hope).
Here are a few slogans from the book/movie, which might remind you of the present neo-con propaganda :
War is Peace
Freedom is Slavery
Ignorance is Strength
... and perhaps the most distressing prophecy of the entire novel:
"If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face--for ever."
Terrible... and terribly prophetic (??)
Excellent Acting, Masterly Direction & an Accurate Storyline September 15, 2007
Foolonthehill (Sussex, UK)
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
The casting for this film is absolutely spot on and refreshingly, the story as depicted on the screen is pretty much faithfull to Orwell's book.
I thoroughly recommend the film to anyone who has an interest in social history and/or social psychology.
Although Orwell set his book in an authoritarian world of people-directed government (no doubt because of his experiences immediately before, during and after the WW2 period) much of what he wrote and which is depicted in the film for citizens of the 20th Century holds good for many employees the 21st Century (Mission Statements, Corporate Culture, Buzz Words, Management-Speak, etc). Merely substitute 'Big Brother' government for 'Big Brother' corporations - and then watch the film.
Scarey stuff...
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