Kirk1973

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!

For shame these guys have tried to scam film rating sites and make it the self professed best film ever made, because there is some talent and half decent film-making in there. I sort of enjoyed it; it was inventive and moved along nicely. The message was a touch trite and there were way too many cliches and things borrowed from better films to make it a film I would honestly recommend. The best I can say for it is that it looked great and was pretty professionally put together, including some of the acting. However, this is a 5 or 6 out of ten film all day long. I hope they get the cash for another project and this time let it be judged fairly, like every other film out there. Saying that, it kinda worked, cos I might not have watched this for any other reason than the false rating.

There is nothing very groundbreaking about the style or narrative arc of this wee gem; there have been more realistic and more intense boxing scenes over the years, more emotional ones too, but where Bleed For This wins is in the casting and the superb performances from Miles Teller, Aaron Eckhart and Ciaran Hinds, all doing incredible character work, with hair second only to anything in American Hustle.

Directed with a fondness for the late 80s and a good eye for detail, we come to care about this story purely because Miles Teller makes us care - real, energetic and unsentimental, he takes us on the journey with him every step and every punch. That it is all very predictable and mostly lacking in tension in the ring doesn't stop it being a powerful film, just because the relationships are so well drawn.

No Warrior. No Rocky, even. But a decent small story remarkable in its truth.