Nineteen Eighty-Four

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 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.

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!

I am very pleased to have discovered this rare item, though I prefer the two other versions of the George Orwell's book. This is a TV directing from the fifties and clumsy as you can guess. But it remains more than worth seeing, so daring and especially with a young Peter Cushing, and also Don Pleasance, who also played in the Michael Anderson's film, shot the same year. Painful ending, but great.

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.