Nineteen Eighty-Four

This is the infamous live BBC production of the George Orwell classic, made almost contemporaneously with the novel. It's the production that famously catapulted Peter Cushing to stardom, inspiring Hammer producers to cast him in their CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN and setting the stage for his lifelong career in horror. Back to 1984, and this is an earthy, compelling, and utterly downbeat production that successfully captures the terrifying bleakness of the Orwellian future. The production values are akin to those of early DR WHO, but it's great to see faces like those of Donald Pleasence, Wilfrid Brambell and Andre Morell putting in strong support, making this unmissable viewing.

1984 is a love story between an man and a woman in a society that does not allow love between two people to exist before love for the party and its mythical leader, big brother.

1. The goal of this government is not ending imbalances or class struggles even if it said so. The class struggle and imbalances are changed to inner party members, outer party members and the proliteriate. Those last two arent even sure or permitted to question the existence of the leader "big brother." The last two have no access to realnsugar, real tea, alcohol that isn't mostly water and aren't even sure of the real source of their protein, it likely could be their fellow citizens but how would they know.

No one has any hope of changing their status in this nightmare world which the summary makes it sound like wouldn't be so bad because it "eliminates imbalances"

2. Winston Smith doesn't rebel against the very government that took him in as an orphan. It is the only government he knows. He was forced as a child into it without choice after his mother dies. Ultimately his greatest crime is not to over throw the government or have illicit sex, he FALLS IN LOVE with a woman. Thisnsociety calls love the greatest form of hate just like it calls freedom a form of slavery and calls war a form of peace.

Are we really so desperate to end class struggles, heal imbalances and do away with surplus goods (Winston's apartment is nothing more than a jail cell. Clothes supplied by government. Furnishings by government, etc) and imbalances to start rationalizing the type of government as depicted in George Orwell's nightmare vision? A government that freely lies to you and tortures any positive feeling you have for a human being out of you because they declare such emotion as misplaced since it isn't directed toward the state?

As for this adaptation, Peter Cushing plays his most vulnerable character. I've seen him play a blackmailed banker in a hammer film but this went further. Surprised any of this BBC live TV adaptation survived considering tv was simply live transmission in the early 50s. Any saved copy we see today was because a film camera was pointed at a TV showing the transmission of it. Naturally the visual and sound quality is not very good but the quality of the performances are excellent considering the scenes are all one take like a stage play. This is the hallmark of British television until the early 90s. The shows look stagey but the quality of the scripts and performances are usually top notch. The opposite is true in modern entertainment which is why these older shows are seeing a resurgence in popularity.

Unlike other adaptations, the casting isn't very concerned with a market so no internationally famous actors are cast like Edmond O'Brien in the 1956 film adaptation playing opppsite Sir Michael Redgrave for much of the film.

Peter Cushing would reach international fame a few years later in those Hammer films.

Brilliant adaptation of Orwell's classic novel, director Rudolph Cartier does a great job and Peter Cushing is excellent in his challenging role as Winston. Was surprised to see how well it holds up. In my view this film is vastly superior to the 1956 and 1984 versions (which were miscast and too censored for my taste). I recommend all Orwell fans to watch this film; it is a faithful adaptation of one of the best dystopia novels out there.

This live BBC TV version of 1984 has the true feel of the flip side of a utopia. The black and white would normally be a deterrent for modern viewers, but it really offers more atmosphere of a bleak reality. Its sets are otherworldly---meaning an eerily strange similarity to life as we know it, but not exactly from the reality of 1954 when it was broadcast.

Live events have an immediacy to them that canned events cannot ever have. Those 1984 actors' emotional appeals are that much more intense. Their pleas for secrecy---or later, for leniency---are really so believable. It is the well directed actors who drive this classic. You simply can't watch this without believing that Peter Cushing was one of the greatest actors of his generation. Yes, he became famous for Star Wars, but he was so much more.

Even if you've watched 1984 with John Hurt, this is well worth your time. It turns out that some big budget Hollywood movies were actually better as BBC TV broadcasts in black and white.

What an incredible find to see this BBC drama restored for all sci-fi fans to revel in. Incredible that it was made so soon after the novel was written. The image of Big Brother is ubiquitous, and was barely altered in the more famous John Hurt version.

As bleak and dystopian as you could wish for, with a plethora of fine British actors on display, Cushing, of course, as Winston Smith, but watch out for terrific turns from Donald Pleasance and Wilfred (steptoe) Bramble. It comes complete with looming intervals and oppresive music too. A must see for our times, with ideas such as doublespeak and thought crime never more relevent.

Don't let the grainy black and white of a bygone age put you off. This lost gem is worth every minute of your time. I long for a time the BBC made live dramas again!