movie review 1984

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Parents' guide to.

• Common Sense Says
• Parents Say 7 Reviews
• Kids Say 3 Reviews

Common Sense Media Review

Book-based tale has brutal political torture, violence, sex.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that the source material for 1984 is the bleak 1949 novel of the same name by George Orwell. When it was written, it spoke of a future where individualism, love, familial loyalty, and a sense of history will have been systematically wiped out and replaced with fear, oppression, and…

Why Age 16+?

A man is beaten and bloodied, tortured on a stretching rack, and given what seem

The government of Oceania is embarked on a program to try to eliminate the orgas

"Bugger" and "bastard."

Adults drink alcohol and smoke cigarettes.

Any Positive Content?

It's important that governments not control the press or the news because th

Winston rewrites news stories as per government orders to expunge people, ideas,

Violence & Scariness

A man is beaten and bloodied, tortured on a stretching rack, and given what seems to be a high-voltage electrical shock. He is immobilized and fitted with a cage that will release hungry rats on his face. He screams in pain and fear throughout.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

The government of Oceania is embarked on a program to try to eliminate the orgasm. Sex seems to be the one urge it cannot completely control and the connections sex can forge between people can create loyalties that jeopardize allegiance to the state. Winston meets his girlfriend Julia for illegal sexual meetings. They lie together in bed together. Full-frontal female nudity and male nudity from the back are seen. A man visits a prostitute. She raises her skirt and her public hair is seen briefly.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Positive Messages

It's important that governments not control the press or the news because the free flow of information can help citizens prevent governments from taking too much power.

Positive Role Models

Winston rewrites news stories as per government orders to expunge people, ideas, or facts that put the government in a critical light. He is watched day and night and, like his fellow citizens, knows that thinking anti-government thoughts can get him shot. When he falls in love, it's a small but courageous rebellion against the totalitarian state.

Parents need to know that the source material for 1984 is the bleak 1949 novel of the same name by George Orwell . When it was written, it spoke of a future where individualism, love, familial loyalty, and a sense of history will have been systematically wiped out and replaced with fear, oppression, and authoritarianism. While the ideas here, including "thought crime" and the need for the eradication of orgasm, will be comprehensible to teens, the violence, torture, and full-frontal female nudity may make it questionable for younger teens. Adults drink alcohol and smoke cigarettes. Language includes "bugger" and "bastard." A man is beaten and bloodied, tortured on a stretching rack, and given what seems to be a high voltage electrical shock. He is immobilized and fitted with a cage that will release hungry rats on his face. He screams in pain and fear throughout. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Parent and Kid Reviews

• Parents say (7)
• Kids say (3)

Based on 7 parent reviews

Time for America to wake up

Gratuitous nudity and sex, what's the story.

At the mercy of a totalitarian government, day after day in 1984, a quiet man named Winston ( John Hurt ) grimly performs his state job and goes home to a dreary concrete room where he longingly writes about freedom in a secret diary. A charismatic leader called Big Brother watches everyone everywhere from surveillance screens. The constant threat of government violence has frightened people into accepting their blighted lives with gratitude. The madness is everywhere. The party declares: "War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength." Citizens are discouraged from making social connections, yet law requires they call each other "brother" and "sister." The Ministry of Truth is designed to spread lies. Victory against an enemy is promised in continuous and intrusive public announcements, but there might not even be a war. One day Winston commits an act of treason against his country by making love with and pledging his devotion to a woman named Julia (Suzanna Hamilton). The couple is captured, and torture and mind control are administered by one of the ruling party's elites, the enigmatic O'Brien ( Richard Burton in the last role before his death).

Orwell's novel was feared to be prophetic to some degree when it was published in 1949, as it echoed the brutish intolerance of the Nazi reign and also reflected the dehumanization under Stalin's Soviet communist regime of violence and torture. "Nineteen Eighty-Four" takes that oppression to a terrifying, almost absurd extreme but it makes the point that the government's abolition of individual freedoms, its production of "alternative facts" through propaganda, its implementation of blurry language called Newspeak and its efforts to root out "unwords" and "unpersons" eventually lead to complete repression. Viewers may wonder if citizens had rejected those techniques early on, would they managed to hold on to their "freedom to say two plus two equals four," as Winston writes in his diary, even when the state tells you it's five.

Is It Any Good?

Director Michael Radford 's well-constructed film makes a dramatic and compelling case for people in free countries to stand up to all restrictions of personal freedoms before it's too late. Once sex and privacy are outlawed, 1984 suggests, there is nothing a militarized government can't do to control its citizens. While the movie is unrelenting, intelligent performances raise it to a level where the difficult story being told can be appreciated beyond its bleakness. John Hurt gives the beaten-down Winston a somber, even witless, face while still conveying his deep, suppressed longing for freedom and connection. Burton, using his smarmiest vocal intonations, makes even O'Brien's friendly gestures seem ominous and worrisome.

In that way the movie faithfully embodies the book's tone, one of warning and dread. It suggests that human flaws -- greed, egoism -- make totalitarian power attractive. Other human flaws -- the desire for comfort and protection -- allow the powerful to achieve oppression. Winston's work as a history revisionist suggests that oppressive governments exploit ignorance in the quest to keep people down. And where ignorance doesn't exist, oppressive governments must create it by spreading "alternative facts" to support state positions. O'Brien tells Winston that Winston does "not exist." Once freedom lovers are persuaded to question their own existence, all hope is lost.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about how the ideas in 1984 have made the book a high school and university staple. The story of a government that controls its people's family, sex, and work life, in part by questioning what is truth and what is reality, remains popular today. Why do you think sales of the book have spiked in the early 21st century?

The Big Brother government uses force and threats to keep people from falling in love and from experiencing pleasure in order to discourage them from forming loyalties that might get in the way of allegiance to the government. Can you think of any individual rights that Americans enjoy now that a Big Brother-type government would abolish if it took over?

The government in the movie rewrites newspapers and history, replacing facts with lies that show the government in a more positive light. How do you think that practice and the use of brainwashing techniques and torture would discourage people from rebelling against their grim realities?

What do you think the word "Orwellian" means? Why do you think some people have applied it to the term "alternative facts"?

Movie Details

• In theaters : March 22, 1985
• On DVD or streaming : December 25, 2012
• Cast : John Hurt , Suzanna Hamilton , Richard Burton
• Director : Michael Radford
• Studio : Imports
• Genre : Drama
• Character Strengths : Courage , Integrity , Perseverance
• Run time : 113 minutes
• MPAA rating : R
• Last updated : April 23, 2024

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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1984 Reviews

Frequently and incorrectly labeled as “sci-fi,” “1984” is pure New World Order dystopia, a situation that sadly is finding renewed interest among many of the globe’s current two-legged, all-compliant sheep.

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5 | Jun 18, 2024

The film is faultlessly acted by the entire cast and the settings are perfectly photographed in the kind of lighting that prevails on Waterloo or any of the main-line railway stations in London.

Full Review | May 7, 2024

‘…the word Orwellian is now misused to mean any future that doesn’t reflect the speaker’s own wishes, but that’s not the highly specific message of the book or film, and in terms of predicting the feel of the future Orwell and Radford got it dead right.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Jan 21, 2024

While Radford never fully captures the devastating ordeal of mental and physical torture of Orwell’s novel, it is an admirable effort and a fine film in its own right...

Full Review | Apr 14, 2023

Even though it paints a stark, bleak picture without any hope of redemption, it has an inevitability about it, a relentless driving force that carries you forward whether you want to go or not.

Full Review | Feb 10, 2023

The moviemaking suggests a slow descent into a quiet, awful nightmare.

Full Review | Original Score: B+ | Aug 31, 2022

Orwell dealt in ironies, in frightening possibilities which have turned out to be not so far-fetched. But not much of that is conveyed in 1984. Just atmosphere, atmosphere, atmosphere.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Aug 5, 2022

Many viewers might become agitated at its placidity, especially considering the cheerlessness of the subject matter.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/10 | Sep 6, 2020

[A] well-intentioned (if overly stylised) adaptation...

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jul 23, 2020

Watching 1984 is a powerful, even terrifying experience, but so is being locked up in a dark closet.

Full Review | Feb 28, 2020

Radford's visualization of Orwell's vision in 1984 is all the more powerful and disconcerting today for how frighteningly prescient it was

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Aug 6, 2019

The visuals capture the oppressive atmosphere of the novel even if the script can't quite convey the sheer horror (and chilling wordplay) whipped up by Orwell.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Jul 27, 2019

Radford's adaptation of 1984 is admirable in that it perfectly captures the look and feel of the novel's oppressive dystopian setting, but unfortunately it's less successful when it comes to presenting the narrative of its rebellious central figure.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jul 22, 2019

Radford and Deakins brilliantly juxtapose these vistas of industrial decay with pastoral shots of the verdant English countryside to which the characters escape, first in person, then in their minds.

Full Review | Original Score: 8/10 | Dec 28, 2018

Can it live up to the masterpiece from which it was adapted? In short, the answer is no. But it makes a damn good crack at it.

Full Review | Original Score: 7/10 | Jul 26, 2018

Nodding to the movie's bleak mood, Burton bleakens himself; robbed of the pleasures of the grand, show-offy way he could use his voice, the mischievous twinkle of his eye, you feel cheated.

Full Review | Jan 2, 2018

Book-based tale has brutal political torture, violence, sex.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 28, 2017

It's the linguistic cargo - the story of "Newspeak," the outlining of the censor's calling - that makes this tale still fearful.

Full Review | Feb 10, 2017

Solid version of the famous sci-fi novel. Big Brother again rules.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 17, 2008

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Nov 14, 2007

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Where to watch

Nineteen eighty-four.

Directed by Michael Radford

George Orwell's terrifying vision comes to the screen.

George Orwell's novel of a totalitarian future society in which a man whose daily work is rewriting history tries to rebel by falling in love.

John Hurt Richard Burton Suzanna Hamilton Cyril Cusack Gregor Fisher James Walker Andrew Wilde David Cann Peter Frye Roger Lloyd Pack David Trevena Anthony Benson Phyllis Logan Garry Cooper Rupert Baderman Corinna Seddon Martha Parsey Merelina Kendall P.J. Nicholas Lynne Radford Pip Donaghy Shirley Stelfox Janet Key Hugh Walters John Hughes Robert Putt Christine Hargreaves Matthew Scurfield John Golightly Show All… Rolf Saxon Ole Oldendorp Eddie Stacey Norman Bacon John Foss Carey Wilson Mitzi McKenzie Pam Gems Joscik Barbarossa John Boswall Bob Flag Keith Gale Annie Lennox Lucien Morgan Michael Munn Jason Savage Fred Wood

Director Director

Michael Radford

Producers Producers

Al Clark Robert Devereux Simon Perry John Davis

Writer Writer

Original writer original writer.

George Orwell

Casting Casting

Rebecca Howard

Editor Editor

Tom Priestley

Cinematography Cinematography

Roger Deakins

Assistant Director Asst. Director

David Keating

Executive Producers Exec. Producers

Gina Rosenblum Marvin J. Rosenblum

Camera Operators Camera Operators

Roger Deakins Dick Pope Andrew Speller

Production Design Production Design

Allan Cameron

Art Direction Art Direction

Martyn Hebert Grant Hicks Mark Raggett

Stunts Stunts

Terry Cade Eddie Stacey Bill Weston Terry Walsh

Composer Composer

Dominic Muldowney

Sound Sound

Bryan Tilling

Costume Design Costume Design

Emma Porteous

Makeup Makeup

Mary Hillman Anna Dryhurst Debbie Scragg

Hairstyling Hairstyling

Stephanie Kaye

Atlantic Releasing Corporation Umbrella-Rosenblum Film Production Virgin Benelux Virgin Schallplatten Virgin Films 20th Century Fox

Germany Netherlands UK

Releases by Date

10 oct 1984, 09 nov 1984, 14 nov 1984, 15 nov 1984, 17 nov 1984, 30 nov 1984, 14 dec 1984, 07 nov 1985, 24 jan 2002, 07 apr 2014, 23 mar 2015, releases by country.

• Theatrical 14
• Digital 15+
• Theatrical 12 Visa CNC 59509
• Theatrical 16
• Theatrical 15
• Theatrical VM14

Netherlands

• Theatrical 12
• Physical 12 Blu ray
• Premiere 15
• Physical 15 DVD
• Theatrical R

113 mins   More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

Review by Sean Fennessey ★★★½ 10

This is remarkably staged and photographed but some images probably shouldn’t leave our minds. Tarkovsky influence all over, simple practical hardware store lighting design, backlit shadow effects signaling dread and anxiety through every doorway, grime on every window pane. It all feels like a rehash of greater work—Melville, Costa-Gavras, etc.—filtered through a British tradition of vaguely aggrieved obeisance. A rare “big crowds” Roger Deakins project, but also one consonant with public desolation. The book has become such an overworked cheat to indicate inevitable totalitarian doom and the surveillance state that it’s easy to forget one of its key messages is that love will not save you and fucking cannot make you free. Quite a zag from the typical American sap.…

Review by James Dudfield ★★★½ 12

I just discovered John Hurt starred in five of the most depressing films ever made:

1. 1984 2. The Elephant Man 3. Midnight Express 4. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull 5. Melancholia

Review by Melvin Benson ★ 12

Great book.

Bad movie. ______________________ Cinematic Doctrine: Podcast Episode * Podcast Instagram Threads ______________________ The same problems I had with Andy Muschietti's It Chapter Two I also have with Nineteen Eighty-Four . It loses everything about the source material and acts more like a scrapbook of recognizable scenes. And, like a scrapbook, unless you have background knowledge of every photo, stamp, and other memorabilia, it's nothing more than useless junk.

A shame, too. I feel as though Goerge Orwell's 1984 has a bit of a bad wrap (You know, like hot dogs) because it's so commonly (and appropriately) considered predictive literature while also being used to denounce practices people don't like. But, the book is so much more than "Google tracks you…

Review by DirkH ★★★½ 6

There are many novels that are considered classics because of their content and the themes they explore. Orwell's novel is no exception, but is also something else. It is a novel that over the past 70 years has created a concept and an exposition of ideas that have instilled themselves in our cultures and language. This is of course captured best in the iconic phrase 'Big Brother is watching you'.

Orwell wrote the novel while suffering though the final stages of tuberculosis, so it is only natural that his outlook on the world was rather grim. Written in 1948, Orwell wanted to address the dangers of what can happen to a country on the brink of or in the aftermath…

Review by daydreamcon 1

You cannot use the double gulp cup for the fucking slurpee

Review by Gabriel Presley ★★★½

This is me when they took Wallace and Gromit off Netflix

Review by olivia 🏳️‍⚧️ 🍉 ★★★ 1

oh my god, it's literally nineteen eighty-four

Review by K ★★ 2

After re-reading the novel a few weeks ago I decided to watch the film to compare it, see what made it in to the film and see how well they translate the ideas and questions Orwell explored and presented in his book. The only things they got right within this film is the aesthetic and the casting of Winston.

Everything about the film is so surface level and bland I began to wonder if the novel could be successfully adapted to screen. The film is more or less a page by page adaption but lacks everything Orwell constructs. In the film the concept of The Party isn’t explored, Winston and Julia have no character development and their relationship comes across…

Review by Jorge Pinarello ★★★ 3

Soy fanático de Gran Hermano desde que se estrenó el primer capítulo allá por el año 2001. Casi todo el país era fanático de Gran Hermano pero nadie se animaba a admitirlo porque se decía que era un programa para idiotizar a la gente. Y la verdad que sí, pero era muy necesario en esa época (y en todas las épocas) tener algo para desconectar la cabeza un rato y dejar de pensar un poco en todos los quilombos que hay. Porque repito… era Argentina… año 2001.    Aunque el verdadero problema con Gran Hermano era que le sacaba lugar a otros programas de televisión, específicamente a la ficción. Posiblemente hayan escuchado el grito “¡¡Aguante la ficción, carajo!!” Ese fue…

Review by shookone ★★★½

i remember how we had to watch the film in school (the book is common teaching material in English classes over here) and - as it is with all things force fed to you - no one really liked it. the industrial, bleached out images, drained of any color stuck in my mind as (anti) quality trait.

rewatching it now, roughly 30 years later, the film gets a better rep. of course the original material is the groundbreaking base but building the kafkaesque atmosphere while Roger Deakins is shooting this as the most dreadful Tarkowskij homage is a tasty treat. John Hurt's sad dog face is a perfect fit, as is the oddly counterintuitive but strangely fitting score by Eurythmics.

I acquired a liking for this but honestly now I desire an adaptation by Bela Tarr.

Review by Tentin Quarantino ☭ ★★½ 16

People erroneously believe that 1984 criticizes socialism, and this film makes it evident as to why that confusion persists into present day.

INGSOC is literally a shortening of English Socialism. The big mustachioed face evokes the image of Joseph Stalin (or perhaps Leon Trotsky and/or Vladimir Lenin). The logo of a white hand shaking a black hand on a red field is a direct copy of the Democratic Socialists of America's logo . Everyone lives in grey "commieblocks". Christopher Nolan is perhaps the only living creature on planet Earth that would call the socialist inference subtle.

But it's not true.

If anything, this film (and its story, largely inspired/copied from Russian author Yevgeny Zamyatin's classic, We ) is a direct criticism -…

Review by Wesley R. Ball ★★★★½ 6

No one: High school English Lit teachers: This is a perfect summation of life in Trump's America. How foolish we have become in letting government power run rampant and unchecked, allowing such cautionary fiction such as George Orwell's seminal classic to become such shocking reality.

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THE SCREEN: JOHN HURT IN '1984,' ADAPTATION OF ORWELL NOVEL

By Vincent Canby

• Jan. 18, 1985

THE time is a mythical 1984 and the place London, the capital of that part of Oceania known as Airstrip One. Winston Smith (John Hurt) is 39, but he has the skinny, wizened look of a perpetually chilled, undernourished child, whose face is that of an old man. He lives alone in a drab one- room flat furnished with a cot, a table and a chair, all dominated by a giant television screen, which monitors him even as he is monitoring it.

When he goes to work, dressed in the dark blue overalls that are the standard uniform for Oceania's women as well as men, he walks through rubble-filled streets, past huge posters filled with the enigmatic likeness of Oceania's beloved leader, Big Brother, who is always watching.

Winston's life is not much different from that of any other citizen of this particular London. As a member of what is called the Outer Party, he works for the Government - run by the members of the Inner Party - in the Ministry of Truth, which, in the Newspeak vocabulary of Oceania, means lies. The ministry is devoted to the adjustment of history to conform to the party's latest policies.

When someone falls out of Government favor and is ''vaporized,'' Winston must go through the newspapers and official records and erase the person's name, creating an unperson. When Oceania makes peace with Eurasia and joins Eurasia in a war against Eastasia, Winston must bring the war chronicles up to date, unwriting history, which itself is a full-time job since Oceania is alternately at war with one or the other. The party knows that the present controls the future by controlling the past.

One day, in that part of London inhabited by the Proles, the dregs of society held to be beneath contempt by the party, Winston buys an old- fashioned diary whose blank pages bewitch him. In a corner of his room that cannot be monitored by the television screen, he begins to write. All his fury and frustrations come out. This is the beginning of Winston Smith's rebellion, which eventually leads to his downfall and then to his salvation in the custody of the Thought Police.

Before that, however, he becomes involved in a brief, ecstatic love affair with Julia (Suzanna Hamilton), a reckless, similarly disenchanted young woman, who also works at the Ministry of Truth, and is befriended by O'Brien (Richard Burton), an urbane member of the Inner Party, someone who may know the truth about the existence of a political underground.

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• Cast & crew
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Metacritic reviews

• 88 Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert The 1954 film version of Orwell's novel turned it into a cautionary, simplistic science-fiction tale. This version penetrates much more deeply into the novel's heart of darkness.
• 75 Miami Herald Bill Cosford Miami Herald Bill Cosford Radford's 1984 is a time of relentless oppression in every corner of life, and his images -- corroded, soiled, darkly corrupted -- speak of Orwell as eloquently as the characters. [15 Mar 1985, p.D6]
• 70 The New York Times Vincent Canby The New York Times Vincent Canby This 1984 is not an easy film to watch, but it exerts a fascination that demands attention even as you want to turn away from it. That the Orwell tale still works so well - and this version works far better than the 1956 film adaptation - also makes it apparent that the novel was always more cautionary in its intentions than prophetic.
• 60 Empire Ian Nathan Empire Ian Nathan A solidly made, sternly acted, and faithful realisation of the distopian novel.
• 60 TV Guide Magazine TV Guide Magazine The performances in the film are excellent, and its look is entirely appropriate and mesmerizing--but only for a while. The film's basic flaw is that it's just too painful, too depressing, and too slow to watch.
• 60 Time Out Time Out The look of the film certainly achieves the right rubble-strewn, monochrome period feel with precision and genuinely cinematic scope. Perhaps the greatest hurdle cleared, however, is the problem of incident. Radford's achievement is to have incorporated the impossible preaching and crazed ideas into the fabric with hardly any loose threads. The locations look very like modern Britain; and Burton at last found the one serious role for which he searched all his life.
• 60 Variety Variety In this unremitting downer, writer-director Michael Radford introduces no touches of comedy or facile sensationalism to soften a harsh depiction of life under a totalitarian system as imagined by George Orwell in 1948.
• 50 Washington Post Paul Attanasio Washington Post Paul Attanasio The movie stands simply as an artful adaptation, and not an altogether engaging one. The repeated scenes of the rallying mob, chanting and howling at Big Brother on the screen, soon grow tiresome; like everything about 1984, they seem redundant.
• See all 8 reviews on Metacritic.com
• See all external reviews for 1984

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Michael Radford

This masterly adaptation of George Orwell’s chilling parable about totalitarian oppression gives harrowing cinematic expression to the book’s prophetic dystopia. In a rubble-strewn surveillance state where an endless overseas war props up the repressive regime of the all-seeing Big Brother, and all dissent is promptly squashed, a profoundly alienated citizen, Winston Smith (thrillingly played by John Hurt), risks everything for an illicit affair with the rebellious Julia (Suzanna Hamilton), defiantly asserting his humanity in the face of soul-crushing conformity. Through vividly grim production design and expressionistically desaturated cinematography by Roger Deakins, Michael Radford’s 1984 conjures a bleak vision of postwar Britain as fascistic nightmare—a world all too recognizable as our own.

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• United Kingdom
• 110 minutes

Director-Approved Special Edition Features

• New 4K digital restoration, supervised by cinematographer Roger Deakins, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
• Two scores: one by Eurythmics and one by composer Dominic Muldowney
• New interviews with director Michael Radford and Deakins
• New interview with David Ryan, author of George Orwell on Screen
• Behind-the-scenes footage
• English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• PLUS: An essay by writer and performer A. L. Kennedy

New cover by Fred Davis

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Related films.

How Roger Deakins Conjured the Dystopian Darkness of 1984

The Oscar-winning cinematographer recalls the “silver-tint” process that helped him create a palette strikingly close to black and white.

1984: Coming Soon to a Country Near You

Brought to harrowing life in this film adaptation, George Orwell’s dystopian vision continues to ring true today. But so does his belief in the power of love and hope to overthrow the darkness.

By A. L. Kennedy

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Libertarian Movies, Films & Documentaries

Orwell’s 1984 in Three Films (1954, 1956 & 1984) | Movie Review

Tagged: Anti-socialism , Government as torturer , Propaganda

WINNER: TOP 25 LIBERTARIAN FILMS The now-classic John Hurt film version of George Orwell’s 1984 is probably the definitive cinematic interpretation, but the 1956 and 1954 tellings continue to attract fans. All three films are of strong interest to libertarians for their enduring anti-totalitarian message.

Review of 1984 (1984)

A very effective adaptation of the George Orwell novel, which depicts a future totalitarian society — bleak in every aspect, thoroughly controlled, and impossible to escape. [Dir: Michael Radford/ John Hurt, Richard Burton, Suzanna Hamilton/ 115 min/ Drama, SciFi-Fantasy/ Anti-Socialism, Propaganda, Government as Torturer]

This Orwellian view of a possible future draws heavily on modern experience with totalitarian socialism: People in this world are slaves to the state . They live in fear and poverty . Art and media are used to control them . History is rewritten to create an appearance of progress . People are forced to make public confessions of crimes they never committed . Families are destroyed to insure complete loyalty only to the state . And the state is in constant war with neighbors to unify the people through an “us against them” mentality. It’s a distillation of all the horrors of National Socialism, Soviet and Chinese communism, and the various variants thereof.

The story was meant as a warning to the remaining free countries, whose academic eggheads in particular seemed curiously open to socialist ideas.

It opens with a propaganda broadcast in which Goldstein, an enemy of the state, is being denounced. A crowd watches the broadcast and begins shouting feverish anti-Goldstein condemnations. The propaganda has clearly had its effect. However, in that crowd is a man who sees through at least some of it. He meets a young woman who, in her own cynical way, also sees through the propaganda. The two arrange a series of trysts in which they gradually get to know, trust, and love each other. But in this world, love for anything but the state is forbidden, and despite the most minute precautions, one day they are caught. Such are the horrors of torture and mind control that in the end the state succeeds in destroying even their love.

In the background to all this is the full panorama of Orwell’s projected totalitarian world: the control of the individual through control of the language (“newspeak”); endless broadcasts of faked production statistics intended to give the impression of material progress despite obvious widespread poverty; purges and denunciations of supposed traitors; televised executions; 24-hour surveillance via in-home monitors; and so on.

It would be hard to imagine a better dramatization of Orwell’s novel than this film. It does a good job of communicating the novel’s substance and spirit, and it has some compelling performances. In particular, the expressive John Hurt is riveting in the leading role. However, this is such a powerful portrayal that many viewers will find the ultimate defeat of the individual in the hands of the mega-state depressing, and some scenes of torture are graphic. It’s not the most uplifting film, but it’s certainly a very important one.

External Reviews of 1984 (1984)

“What Orwell feared, when he wrote his novel in 1948, was that Hitlerism, Stalinism, centralism, and conformity would catch hold and turn the world into a totalitarian prison camp. It is hard, looking around the globe, to say that he was altogether wrong.” –Roger Ebert

How to See It

Review of 1984 (1956).

A telling of the George Orwell novel, which depicts a future totalitarian society—bleak in every aspect, thoroughly controlled, and impossible to escape. [Dir: Michael Anderson/ Edmond O’Brien, Michael Redgrave, Jan Sterling/ 90 min/ Drama, SciFi-Fantasy/ Anti-Socialism, Propaganda, Government as Torturer]

IMDB Wikipedia Google

Review of 1984 (1954)

A BBC telling of the George Orwell novel, which depicts a future totalitarian society—bleak in every aspect, thoroughly controlled, and impossible to escape. [Dir: Rudolph Cartier/ Peter Cushing, André Morell, Yvonne Mitchell/ 120 min/ Drama, SciFi-Fantasy/ Anti-Socialism, Propaganda, Government as Torturer]

External Reviews of 1984 (1954)

“According to the BBC, the production was uncommonly expensive for its time with 22 sets and a live orchestra playing the specially commissioned score…the production also had phenomenal ratings and a second live telecast was shown a few days later.” –Film Threat

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[…] and it’s one of the enforcers who turns against the ban; likewise, there are touches of 1984 and Metropolis in the grey totalitarian setting here. OK, so this may not be the most original film […]

[…] like 1984, this film portrays a bleak totalitarian future. That future includes elements from the recent Nazi […]

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This site is a collection of films and documentaries of particular interest to libertarians (and those interested in libertarianism). It began as a book, Miss Liberty’s Guide to Film: Movies for the Libertarian Millennium, where many of the recommended films were first reviewed. The current collection has grown to now more than double the number in that original list, and it’s growing still.

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1984 Reviews

• 67   Metascore
• 1 hr 53 mins
• Drama, Suspense, Science Fiction
• Watchlist Where to Watch

An adaptation of George Orwell's futuristic, dystopian tale set in a post-atomic war London (now capital of the futuristic, totalitarian state of Oceania) about a man who re-writes history under the watchful gaze of "Big Brother", whose presence prohibits individualistic expression. When he meets a woman named Julia, they begin an illicit love affair that results in dire consequences. Richard Burton plays O'Brien in his final film role.

In this admirable attempt at bringing George Orwell's classic novel to the screen, director Michael Radford is perhaps too faithful to his source material. This is the well-known story of Winston Smith (John Hurt), a citizen of Oceania whose job it is to rewrite history for Big Brother, the autocratic symbol of a repressive regime that has forbidden such things as freedom of thought and expression--including sex. Winston becomes involved in an illict love affair with Julia (Suzanna Hamilton), a young woman who works in the Ministry of Truth. Unfortunately for Winston, a high-ranking member of the government, O'Brien (Richard Burton), who has looked upon him as a protege, discovers the rebellion. Orwell wrote his novel in 1948, and his vision of the future is unrelentingly bleak. Radford chooses to present a view of the future as it might have looked to Orwell in 1948. This is not a future made up of colorful blinking lights and high-tech manufacturing; it is a gray, dull, stark, depressing world possessed of little visual stimulation. The performances in the film are excellent, and its look is entirely appropriate and mesmerizing--but only for a while. The film's basic flaw is that it's just too painful, too depressing, and too slow to watch.

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4K Ultra HD Review – Body Double (1984)

September 24, 2024 by Brad Cook

Body Double , 1984.

Directed by Brian De Palma. Starring Craig Wasson, Gregg Henry, and Melanie Griffith.

Brian De Palma’s thriller Body Double is 40 years old, and Sony is celebrating the milestone with a new SteelBook of the film that contains 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray Discs, along with a code for a digital copy. No new extras were commissioned for this edition, but the studio did dig up some old interviews to include here, along with a solid making-of that’s been kicking around since the DVD days.

I’ve always found Brian De Palma’s 1984 thriller Body Double to be a curiosity of a movie, one that has always felt to me like two stories in one. That feeling was only confirmed when I watched it again for this review.

That’s not to say that it’s a bad movie. It just feels a bit disjointed, even though its two halves are equally compelling. Craig Wasson stars as aspiring actor Jake Scully, whose seemingly random encounter with fellow wannabe Sam Brouchard leads to him taking over Sam’s house-sitting duties in the Hollywood Hills while he’s away.

Before he leaves, Sam lets Jake know about a woman in a nearby home who performs a seductive topless dance in her bedroom each night. Jake becomes obsessed with her (yeah, that hasn’t aged well), but when he sees her being harmed one night by an unknown man, he decides to find her and try to help.

He catches up with her in an outdoor shopping mall and saves her from a Native American who seems to be following her with ill intent. Her pursuer manages to snatch her purse, however, and swipe the key card that allows entry into her home.

When Jake and the mystery woman finally come face to face, they start making out (yeah, another bit that hasn’t aged well) before she pulls away. That evening, he watches her enter her home and sees that the Native American is waiting for her with a big nasty handheld drill.

Jake fails to save her, but he’s soon pulled into another world when he realizes that a porn actress named Holly Body (Melanie Griffith) is known for a seductive dance that’s very similar to the one that he had been watching through the window. So, of course, Jake decides to find her, and somehow ends up getting cast in a porno movie with her. He enters her world and soon learns the twisted truth behind everything he has experienced.

For me, Body Double always takes a weird left turn when Jake does a porno. Is that really the only way for him to make contact with Holly? Sure, he’s a sex-obsessed creeper, but that information doesn’t make me like him, especially when I had tepid feelings toward him from the beginning of the movie.

As a result, this Hitchcockian homage to Rear Window and other similar thrillers doesn’t quite come together as well as, say, Dressed to Kill or Blow Out , but if you’re a fan, I’m sure you’ll want to grab this new SteelBook as soon as you can.

Sony has issued this edition for the film’s 40th anniversary, and you get the movie on Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD platters, along with a code for a digital copy. I’m not sure if Body Double was remastered for this release, but it looks great, especially for a film of its vintage. It has the right amount of grain to feel like an 80s era movie, as it should.

Sony didn’t commission any new bonus features for this release, unfortunately, and my understanding is that there are some older making-of stuff missing here (this is my first time with the movie on disc), but the studio did unearth some old interviews to include with the other content ported over from a previous edition.

The holdover content consists of four featurettes — The Seduction , The Setup , The Mystery , and The Controversy — that run just under 52 minutes total. It was part of a DVD release in 2006, so it’s window-boxed and it’s standard definition, but it’s a good look at the movie from De Palma’s original idea to its release and the controversy that accompanied it in 1984.

The new content consists of 10 minutes worth of interviews with De Palma and stars Craig Wasson and Melanie Griffith, as well as a music video for the song “Relax” by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, which plays a major part in the film.

The interviews are standard-def too, and the way they’re set up, with text introductions that explain the question that was asked, they seem to be part of a package that was sent out to the media back in 1984 to promote the film. As such, they’re very cursory, but fans will probably want to check them out anyway.

A stills gallery and the theatrical trailer round out the platter.

Flickering Myth Rating  – Film: ★★★ / Movie: ★★★

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10 reasons why 1984 was the greatest year in film.

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Every Actor Who Played Jason Voorhees In Friday the 13th Movies, Ranked

Every confirmed star wars black series action figure releasing in 2025, halle berry confirms john wick spinoff status amid franchise expansion.

Over the past six or so decades, there have been many stand-out years in cinema that have boasted a number of classics and masterpieces. But the year that really captures the spirit of Hollywood, with big blockbusters, weighty dramas, sprawling epics, timeless comedies, and everything in between is 1984.

RELATED: 10 Most Culturally Influential Movies Of The 1980s

1984 saw the launch of a number of franchises still going strong today, with Ghostbusters , The Terminator , and The Karate Kid all debuting that year. Eddie Murphy announced his arrival as an A-list superstar with Beverly Hills Cop . Horror had a strong showing, with the arrival of A Nightmare on Elm Street and other classics of the genre. And legendary writer/director John Hughes helmed his first feature film, Sixteen Candles . Here are all the reasons why 1994 was the greatest year in film.

Ghostbusters and Gremlins Premiered On The Same Day

It’s really hard to believe that two absolute classics were released on the exact same day, and yet it is true. Ghostbusters and Gremlins both premiered on June 8, 1984. They would go on to incredible box office results and would endure throughout the next 35 years via sequels, animated shows, cable airings, and home video releases.

Ghostbusters finished its initial theatrical run with $229 million domestically and $295 million when re-releases and international box office are added in. Gremlins did pretty well itself, making $153 million during its two runs. Both franchises continue to thrive, with the second sequel (and overall fourth entry) in the Ghostbusters series, Ghostbusters: Afterlife , arriving this year and an animated prequel series, Gremlins: Secret of the Mogwai , landing on HBO Max in 2021.

The Terminator Franchise Arrives

Made on a minuscule budget of a mere $6 million, James Cameron’s true film debut came with his tech-noir sci-fi action/horror hybrid The Terminator . Released to theaters on October 26, 1984, Cameron’s film went on to an astounding $78 million worldwide.

The film, which Cameron conceived while in the grips of a fever dream while filming Piranha II in Rome, starred Arnold Schwarzenegger in the title role, launching him to superstardom. It spawned five sequels to date, with the most recent being last year’s Terminator: Dark Fate , as well as the 2008-2009 Fox TV series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles .

John Hughes Makes His Directorial Debut

Prior to landing in the director’s chair, John Hughes had made his name with the successful comedies National Lampoon’s Vacation and Mr. Mom . It was his directorial efforts, however, that solidified his status as a filmmaking icon. His first effort came with 1984’s Sixteen Candles , starring Molly Ringwald and Anthony Michael Hall (it also featured John and Joan Cusack very early in their film careers).

RELATED: Who Ya Gonna Call? 10 Behind-The-Scenes Facts About Ghostbusters

The teen comedy about a girl whose family has forgotten her sixteenth birthday remains a beloved classic, despite some problematic issues of race and homophobia (it was a different era, but they definitely stick out in today’s cultural environment). Hughes would go on to direct multiple classics, including Weird Science , The Breakfast Club , Ferris Bueller’s Day Off , and Planes, Trains, and Automobiles .  

The Karate Kid Crane Kicks The Box Office

Popular once again due to the success of the YouTube Premium series Cobra Kai , The Karate Kid began life as a project Columbia Pictures were interested in as a vehicle for director John G. Avildsen, the Academy Award-winning director of Rocky . Basing the film partly on his own life, writer Robert Mark Kamen created a timeless tale of an underdog, fish-out-of-water who learns a variety of life lessons along the way.

Starring Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita (who was nominated for an Oscar for his performance), the feel-good story was a hit among critics and audiences, grossing an impressive $91 million at the box office (about $225 million adjusted for inflation). Along with the Cobra Kai series, the film spawned three sequels and a 2010 remake.

Comedy Is King

Along with high profile comedies Ghostbusters and Beverly Hills Cop , 1984 also saw a number of comedies still embraced by audiences to this day. Classics such as Revenge of the Nerds , Splash , and Police Academy were released in ‘84 as well as cult hits Bachelor Party and Johnny Dangerously .

Many of these comedy gems would launch franchises of their own, with Police Academy and Revenge of the Nerds chief among them. Of course, the rise of premium cable television outlets HBO, Cinemax, and Showtime and their cycle of films certainly aided in the spread of these comedic gems into the American pop culture.

Horror’s Heyday

The horror renaissance that was in full swing in 1984 can be traced back to the early 1970s, with films like The Exorcist , The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Black Christmas and moving forward through 1978’s Halloween and Friday the 13th in 1980. 1984 saw another high point in the history of horror with Wes Craven’s masterpiece A Nightmare on Elm Street releasing that year.

RELATED: All The Nightmare On Elm Street Movies, Ranked

Other notable horror films released in 1984 include the controversial classic Christmas slasher Silent Night, Deadly Night (released the same day as Nightmare ), the Troma Films cult hit The Toxic Avenger, the Stephen King adaptation Children of the Corn , and the Friday film that saw Jason Voorhees meet his demise (well, for a while), Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter .

Prince Goes To The Movies

Musicians making the transition to film was certainly nothing new come 1984. The Beatles, Elvis Presley, Pink Floyd, and even KISS had made the move to films during their prime (although the less said about KISS Meets The Phantom of the Park , the better). However, most of those films never made a major mark in pop culture the way that Purple Rain did. Conceived by Prince during his 1999 tour, the semiautobiographical film stars Prince as The Kid, an exaggerated version of himself.

Casting many non-actors in key roles, the film told the story of The Kid’s rise through the Minnesota music scene while dealing with issues both personal and professional. Featuring original music by Prince, both the film and the soundtrack were massive successes, with the film earning ten times its budget at the box office and the album selling over 25 million copies.

Eddie Murphy Rules

After beginning his career on Saturday Night Live in 1980, Eddie Murphy began to build a strong movie resume with the comedies 48 Hours and Trading Places . In 1984, however, he finally got the chance to lead a film on his own with Beverly Hills Cop . Originally conceived as a pure action film, first for Mickey Rourke and then later Sylvester Stallone, the script was rewritten when Stallone pulled out just weeks before shooting was to begin due to budget issues.

Enter Eddie Murphy. The film’s massive success (it was the highest-grossing film of 1984 with over $234 million in box office receipts) launched Murphy to international superstardom and permanent A-list status.

"Avenge Me!"

At the height of Cold War hysteria came a movie about Soviet and Cuban forces invading a small town in Colorado (the movie was actually filmed in the town of Las Vegas, New Mexico), part of a larger, and unseen, start to World War III. A young band of teenagers from the town, who name themselves "Wolverines," form a resistance against the Soviet forces.

RELATED: 20 Wild Details Behind The Making Of The Karate Kid

Directed by John Milius, fresh from his directorial turn on  Conan the Barbarian ,  Red Dawn , with a cast that included Patrick Swayze, Charlie Sheen, and Lea Thompson, was only a modest box office success. However, its influence on film and television lasts to this day.

The Story That Never Ends

Children’s fare in 1984 was rather thin, with Jim Henson’s The Muppets Take Manhattan (directed by Henson mainstay Frank Oz) being one of two that really stood out. The other? A fantasy tale based on a German novel directed by Das Boot director Wolfgang Petersen.

And yet somehow, that film, The NeverEnding Story , has become a beloved classic among children of that era. Made on a rather large (for the time) budget of $27 million, the movie would make nearly four times that budget at the box office. Telling the fantastical story of a young boy named Bastian who literally gets pulled into the heroic story of young Atreyu, The NeverEnding Story resonated and continues to resonate, with fans of all ages. Just don’t bring up Atreyu’s horse Artax.

NEXT: The 10 Best 80s Fantasy Films (According To IMDb)

• Friday the 13th

• Blu-ray edition reviewed by Chris Galloway
• July 25 2019

See more details, packaging, or compare

This masterly adaptation of George Orwell’s chilling parable about totalitarian oppression gives harrowing cinematic expression to the book’s bleak prophetic vision. In a rubble-strewn surveillance state where an endless overseas war props up the repressive regime of the all-seeing Big Brother, and all dissent is promptly squashed, a profoundly alienated citizen, Winston Smith (thrillingly played by John Hurt), risks everything for an illicit affair with the rebellious Julia (Suzanna Hamilton) in a defiant assertion of humanity in the face of soul-crushing conformity. Through vividly grim production design and expressionistically desaturated cinematography by Roger Deakins, Michael Radford’s 1984 conjures a dystopian vision of postwar Britain as fascistic nightmare—a world all too recognizable as our own.

Picture 9/10

Extras 7/10

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11 Must-See Movies of 1984, a Year of Boundary-Pushing Blockbusters

These 11 must-see movies of 1984 will take you back to the blockbuster era of 40 years ago.

Ghostbusters

Ghostbusters topped the box office in 1984, but it's not on our list of must-see movies of 1984 just because of its popularity. The supernatural comedy is iconic regardless of genre or decade. Bill Murray pops, of course, but he’s just the beginning of the quality cast. We could, and should, shout out Harold Ramis, Sigourney Weaver, Rick Moranis. Honestly? The entire cast of Ghostbusters is worthy of praise, from Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd to Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver, and Rick Moranis.

While the special effects have not aged perfectly, that’s an unreasonable thing to expect from a 1984 movie. There have been sequels, reboots, and legacy sequels, but the original Ghostbusters beats them all.

Beverly Hills Cop

A lot of people are rewatching this one lately thanks to the brand-new Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F , in which the apparently ageless Eddie Murphy returns, four decades later, as Detroit cop (and frequent visitor to the West Coast) Axel Foley.

1984 was the final year in which Eddie Murphy served as a cast member on Saturday Night Live , and it was the same year that he starred in Beverly Hills Cop ., his first big hit that didn't pair him with a more established star, like Trading Places and 48 Hrs did. Amazingly, Murphy was only 23 when Beverly Hills Cop came out.

Deftly directed by action-comedy guru Martin Brest, Murphy’s first foray as Axel Foley is a delight. It’s a classic fish-out-of-water story, but the action is not skimped on.

The Terminator

If you have only ever seen Judgment Day , the massive blockbuster sequel to The Terminator directed by James Cameron, you should check out Cameron's original. It’s a very different movie: nasty horror film that is violent, not afraid of nudity, and lo-fi. The Terminator is where the grindhouse meets the multiplex.

It is also, of course, one of the films that helped propel Arnold Schwarzenegger to superstardom. In this film, Schwarzenegger’s size and non-emotive acting are benefits. He’s a horror movie slasher in cybernetic form.

The 1984 Oscar race was, frankly, not especially impressive. It’s the best argument against 1984 as an all-time year when it comes to American movies. From a must-see films perspective, though, the Academy Award should be acknowledged. Thus, we have selected Best Picture winner Amadeus .

Fortunately, the Milos Foreman film is a solid winner, in the top half of Best Picture movies. It’s an unconventional biopic of famed composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and also Antonio Salieri. We’re considering it a dual biopic given that F. Murray Abraham won Best Actor for playing not Mozart, but Salieri.

This is Spinal Tap

The mockumentary was not invented by This is Spinal Tap , but many still consider it the best example of the genre. It also happened to feature Christopher Guest, who went on to became the master of mockumentary with films like Best In Show. (Guest did not direct this one, as that honor went to Rob Reiner.)

This is Spinal Tap focuses on Spinal Tap, a rock trio that has seen better days. It’s endlessly inventive, as a movie has to be when it is helping to define a style of filmmaking. Many musicians rave about the accuracy of the trials and tribulations Spinal Tap goes through.

Yes, this movie, and we feel an obligation to say this, goes to 11.

Romancing the Stone

Robert Zemeckis had a problem. He was a promising wunderkind in the world of film, and an acolyte of Spielberg, but Zemeckis’ first two movies were flops (even though those films, I Wanna Hold Your Hand and Used Cars , are now considered good films.)

Spielberg told his young friend that he needed a hit, and it had to be a work-for-hire gig. Show you can direct a successful film, Bobby, was the message.

Thus, Zemeckis grabbed the script for the adventure-laden romantic-comedy Romancing the Stone . Michael Douglas plays a rogue, because of course he does. He joins forces with Kathleen Turner, a writer of romantic novels who needs a little spice in her life. It was a hit, and Zemeckis got a chance to direct his passion project: A little film called Back to the Future .

A Nightmare on Elm Street

The tentpoles of the American slasher flick? Halloween and Friday the 13th are two of them, two franchises that were born in the 1970s. The third tentpole is A Nightmare on Elm Street , which kicked off a franchise of its own in 1984.

Freddy Krueger is right up there with Michael Myers and Jason Vorhees when it comes to horror baddies. He’s a different type of character, quippy where the other two are, well, silent. Oh, and he murders you in your dreams. That allowed A Nightmare on Elm Street to become a trippier, different sort of slasher flick.

Look for a young Johnny Depp as well, in his debut film role, and a fabulous performance by lead Heather Langenkamp (above).

Purple Rain

Purple Rain is an experience. A Prince experience.

The iconic musician plays a version of himself (The Kid) in this quasi-biopic, quasi-musical. It’s packed with scenes of The Kid and his band playing music, which is obviously smart.

Oh, and the music of Purple Rain is iconic. This soundtrack is where “When Doves Cry,” “Let’s Go Crazy,” and the titular song come from. That’s why this one is a must see.

The Muppets Take Manhattan

Not every Muppets movie is a must see. Muppets in Space , for example, is skippable. In fact, you should absolutely skip it. On the other hand, some Muppets films are worth seeing. For many, and we’re in this camp, The Muppets Take Manhattan is the best of the Muppet movies.

It birthed the Muppet Babies , and it features some of the most-beloved Muppets songs. In fact, from top to bottom, the music in The Muppets Take Manhattan may be the best, though it lacks a “Rainbow Connection” or “Movin’ Right Along.”

If you like these not quite mops, not quite puppets, go on and watch Manhattan be taken.

An alternative Christmas film classic, Gremlins was a huge success for screenwriter Chris Columbus and director Joe Dante. Produced by Steven Spielberg’s Amblin, the movie is now seen as one of the movies that helped pave the way for the introduction of the PG-13 rating. Apparently gross (and awesome) gremlin deaths were too bleak for the young ‘uns out there.

A limited number of famous faces can often be a benefit to horror movies, even horror-comedies. Of course, the true star of Gremlins is, you know, the gremlins. And of course, the mogwai, led by the iconic Gizmo (above).

Dante, a lover of B movies and student of film, was a fine choice for such a movie. The sequel, which is utterly bananas, is arguably even better.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

Raiders of the Lost Ark is great. The first Indiana Jones movie is a classic. In 1984, the second film in the series, Temple of Doom , arrived as a prequel. At the time, it was a huge hit. It’s part of one of the iconic film series of the last 40 years.

Time, though, has not been kind to Temple of Doom . These days, some viewers consider Temple of Doom spotty, and compare it unfavorably to the next Indiana Jones film, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade .

Indeed, it’s quite dark, and a bit gross. But if you care about blockbusters, and about the evolution of Indiana Jones, Temple of Doom remains a must see.

Liked This List of Must-See Movies of 1984?

You might also like this list of the 7 Wildest Roles Eddie Murphy Turned Down or this list of the Best Cocky Blonde Guys in 80s Movies.

Main image: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom . Paramount.

Editor's Note: Corrects main image.

Review: 1984 at Theatre Royal Bath

Superb Keith Allen steals the show in a terrifyingly brilliant revival of George Orwell's 1984

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With Alexa listening into our conversations, video doorbells recording what happens on the streets, hate rallies a la Donald Trump , manipulation of events (Newsspeak) to disseminate propaganda, Smartphones collecting data, social media giving rise to Groupthink and the stamping down of individualism, it's the perfect time for Theatre Royal Bath Productions' brilliantly terrifying revival.

Director Lindsay Posner pulls no punches in this chillingly, visceral adaptation by Ryan Craig (who surely will be in the running for an award for his excellent script), made all the more pertinent by an ingenuous, up-to-the-minute, mesh screen where Big Brother's always watching you. The screen is almost another character in the play, feeding back conversations, gestures and actions of those closely observed. It also provides information and data, when requested, in an eery, robotic AI-like fashion.

Mark Quartley , admirable as gaunt and nervy Winston Smith (comrade number 6079), is one of many blue overalled workers at the Ministry of Truth. He rewrites news items (fake news, anybody?) and twists bombings and hangings to suit the agenda of those in power.  He also starts writing in his diary, an illicit act.

Smith does tries to fit in with his neighbour and workmate, Parsons (an enthusiastic David Birrell ), who loyally believes in spewing out disgust during obligatory Two Minutes Hate sessions.

Parsons is delighted that refugee boat children waving to helicopters, in hope of rescue, don't realise they'll be blasted out of the water. And he's proud his seven-year-old daughter's reporting on anyone she perceives as suspicious.

Smith falls in love with colleague Julia (warmly played by Eleanor Wyld ) and they have forbidden trysts in the woods (The Golden Country) and a safe house provided by Winston's mysterious boss, O'Brien.

A superb Keith Allen steals the show as calmly sinister good cop, bad cop O'Brien. One moment he's giving Smith a banned copy of Hamlet; and the next he's torturing him in Room 101, the latter scene cleverly depicted in total blackness. We only hear what's going on and have to use our imaginations to visualise what's occurring.

Posner's tight control of the play mirrors the tight control by secret police and shadowy practices. He uses technology to enhance the tension rather than pull us out of the play, which happens all too often when multi-media is employed in productions.

Justin Nardella – head of set, costume and video design – should be congratulated for sticking to a starkly simple plan that contrasts with slick, modern on-screen techniques. And lighting by Paul Pyant , ranging from warm and golden to grey and hopeless, is equally commendable.

A disconcerting soundscape (compiled by sound designer Giles Thomas ) of ghost-like children and sweet songs from Winston's mother is hugely effective and evocative. It expresses the authoritarian adage that "who controls the past controls the future", with both fighting inside Smith's addled brain.

There are plenty of surprises in this first-rate play, including characters cropping up in pre-recorded footage. Keep an eye out for Finbar Lynch 's Goldstein, Zubin Varla as Syme, Nicholas Woodeson 's spine-chilling Big Brother and Janie Dee 's Woman.

Posner firmly steers the narrative (literally) via a camera panning over and zooming into the audience at the start and finish of the show, reminding us of the surveillance society we live in now and why we need to resist oppression of this kind.

For those concerned about the brutal nature of the material (we're not talking joyous, high-stepping musical here), mercifully, there's a glimmer of hope. There's love as well as hate in this tremendous production of a timeless masterpiece that shouldn't be missed.

1984 runs at Theatre Royal Bath until September 28 and then tours

Photo credit: Simon Annand

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George Orwell’s 1984 at Theatre Royal Bath and on tour – review

Lindsay Posner’s production tours throughout England until 23 November

Kris Hallett

26 September 2024

It’s a decade since new kids on the block Robert Icke and Duncan McMillan took on George Orwell’s last magnum opus and delivered it from Nottingham to the Great White Way. Beware the great adaptations, that production, which took 1984 and spun it out in surprising and novel ways, sits as a heavy albatross around the neck of this new reworking from Ryan Craig.

There is nothing particularly wrong with Craig’s take on the material or Lindsay Posner’s solid production and you can feel the money rolling in from school groups looking to see this prescient novel staged. Yet with Icke and McMillan’s version still fresh in this critic’s mind, it never marks out its territory or makes a case for why this adaptation, today. In short, it’s a faithful retelling of the story that will play well for those looking for a solid dramatisation, without reaching its theatrical potency.

The rebellion of mild-mannered Winston Smith and his colleague-turned-lover Julia is well known, as rebellion ferments before authority squashes it out. It’s an effective narrative hook, opening with scenes of freedom and hope before gradually turning the screws mercilessly as independent thought is crushed out. Posner’s production clearly charts the path, his filmic staging, cutting to multiple interior and exterior locations with a graphic projected onto the stage letting us know where we are, while Justin Nardella’s video design gives us a clear evocation of sun-drenched forests where dangerous thought and a new world can be dreamt up.

Nardella’s work is the production’s high point. Big Brother is constantly watching and the screens here are in perpetual motion, projecting several familiar TRB unofficial rep members including Finbar Lynch, Mathew Horne, and Nicholas Woodeson in the role of company members interacting with Mark Quartley’s deflated Winston, and providing graphic novel images as the two lovers lie in post-coital communion. Video design has become de-rigueur in our contemporary theatre scene but if any production justifies the use of video, it’s this one. With the wings stripped back to the theatre walls, political members sit on chairs around the side of the space observing what’s happening around them.

Yet its first half fails to ignite. This has to do with the lack of chemistry between its two leads. Quartley is mesmerising as Winston, early on showing the bored disdain he has for his day job, his professional competencies almost make him vanish into the political echo chamber he helps prop up. Y et Eleanor Wyld as Julia, a fine actress though she has shown herself previously, has a blankness in performance that feels like she has been broken by the system long before she is . There is no sense of the illicit nature of both their trysts and the rebellious words sprouting forth from their lips. Without a convincing love affair, it becomes difficult to see why they risk all. It distances the work.

Thankfully the second half works its dreadful spell. The scenes of torture as Keith Allen’s O’Brien slowly brings Quartley to the company’s side are eye-wateringly conveyed, consistently pulling away just as it becomes too much. Allen dials down the psychotic rage he has previously shown in some of his villains. His O’Brien is a more bespectacled, rational thinker, especially chilling because he commits violent acts with a composed aura that suggests this is just another afternoon for him. Room 101 plunges us into darkness, it’s the aural nightmare that finally breaks defiance once and for all. Quartley, naked and beaten, is hypnotic, a performance of striking vulnerability, emotionally and physically.

David Birrell also convinces as family man Parson, a loving father who also realises his child can be used as a weapon against him. It’s a performance much like the production, well done without offering much new insight, one that will offer much sustenance to those seeing Orwell’s work for the first time, without being able to shift memories of a superior version that showed how adaptations in theatre can be done.

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Class of 1984

Movies like this either grab you, or they don’t. “Class of 1984” grabbed me. I saw it for the first time at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival, where I wandered into the theater expecting to find the dog of the week and wandered out two hours later, a little dazed and sort of overwhelmed.

“Class of 1984” is not a great movie but it works with quiet, strong efficiency to achieve more or less what we expect from a movie with such a title. It is violent, funny, scary, contains boldly outlined characters, and gets us involved. It also has a lot of style. One of the reasons for the film’s style may be that it was made by people who knew what they were doing. The whole Dead Teenager genre has been seriously weakened in the last several years by wave upon wave of cheap, idiotic tax-shelter films from Canada and elsewhere: films in which a Mad Slasher and a lot of screaming adolescents have been substituted for talent, skill, and craft — movies such as “Prom Night” and “ Terror Train ” and “The Burning.”

Mark Lester’s “Class of 1984” stands head and shoulders above movies like that. It tells a strong, simple story. It is acted well. It is not afraid to be comic at times and, even better, it’s not afraid at the end to pull out all the stops and give us the sort of Grand Guignol conclusion that the slasher movies always botch. You may or may not think it’s any good, but you’ll have to admit that it works.

The movie stars Perry King , a skilled actor who has survived a lot of junk, as a music teacher who takes a job at a big city high school. The first day he walks into class, he faces trouble, and trouble is personified by Stegman (Timothy Van Patten), the brilliant but crazed leader of the high school gang. Stegman dresses as a cross between a punk rocker and a Hell’s Angel. He terrorizes half the school with his violence and mesmerizes the other half with his charisma. He also happens to be a brilliant musician. King tries to deal with him, reason with him, outthink him, and even outmuscle him, but the kid is strong, smart, and mean. The other teachers and the school officials have mostly surrendered to the reign of terror. A few put up a fight, most memorably the biology teacher, played by Roddy McDowall . He has one of the great scenes in the movie as he pulls a gun on his class and invites them to share with him the joys of education, or else.

The movie builds toward one of those nightmarish conclusions where everything’s happening at once. While the teacher prepares to lead his school orchestra in a concert, the thugs terrorize his helpless wife at home. The teacher turns the baton over to his best student, a shy young girl, and goes off to do battle with the punks. After a great deal of blood has been shed, the teacher and the gang leader are finally face to face, high in the wings over the high school auditorium stage, and the climax is a cross between “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” and “ Beyond the Valley of the Dolls .”

“Class of 1984” has received some really savage criticism. Newsweek called it “The Class of 1982 with herpes.” What does that mean? I dunno. I guess it means the critic found the movie so hateful that it wasn’t worth anything more than cheap wisecracks.

But unless we can accept talent wherever we find it in the movies, and especially in smaller genre movies without big stars, we’re going to be left with nothing but overpriced lead balloons and delicate little exercises in sensibility. “Class of 1984” is raw, offensive, vulgar, and violent, but it contains the sparks of talent and wit, and it is acted and directed by people who cared to make it special.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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Rosemary Waugh

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Rosemary is a freelance critic, specialising in theatre, dance and visual art. She has written for the TLS, New Statesman, Time Out and The i, among others. She is the current Chair of the Critics’ Circle (Drama Section). 

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