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1984

Play trailer Poster for 1984 Released Sep 1, 1956 1h 31m Sci-Fi Play Trailer Watchlist
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Tomatometer 2 Reviews 70% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
Winston Smith (Edmond O'Brien) falls in love with a woman (Jan Sterling), defying the law of a bleak, totalitarian state.

Critics Reviews

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Shane Burridge rec.arts.movies.reviews There is a kind of glum, low-rent fatality to the production that suggests oppression through attrition Aug 24, 2006 Full Review Phil Hall Film Threat Flat, badly miscast film version of the Orwell landmark. Rated: 2/5 Sep 17, 2004 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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DanTheMan 2 A brash, almost anachronistic caricature of the original novel, it was only natural that the success of the BBC version would ultimately lead to a film being quickly developed, yet, for all its technical limitations, the BBC adaptation is far superior to this lifeless film. There are a few solid aspects of this film, firstly the direction of Michael Anderson which makes good use of harsh contrasting lighting, and some contemporary futurism set design which certainly adds to the film's atmosphere. Sadly the writing does the film no favours, ditching the subtext, satire and sophistication, instead concentrating heavily on the romantic doomed love affair between Winston and Julia. The film is also woefully miscast, replacing the stoic Peter Cushing for the overly emotional Edmond O'Brien, the only role that really does work is a returning Donald Pleasence in an all too brief role as Parsons, Michael Redgrave is good enough in his role but gives an inferior performance to that of André Morell. With some laughable music to accompany it, it's increasingly hard to recommend this version of 1984, lacking any form of suspense and sense of timing, oversimplifying the material to an extent where it treats everyone watching as if they are brain dead. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 12/11/24 Full Review Michael V Rewriting this story is as unacceptable as rewriting the bible...or moreso . Still, as a film, it was very interesting and had some nice touches, in a visual context. Version I saw recently on YouTube had cut the very ending... the last scene! Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 10/02/23 Full Review Tyler W Im 28 & Love older movie's film was very good Rated 5 out of 5 stars 05/31/23 Full Review Audience Member One of the best dystopian films, perhaps even better in some aspects of the next remake. A must see. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/12/23 Full Review Audience Member This was required viewing in undergrad, but very difficult to watch. It was made that way intentionally to convey the message. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/12/23 Full Review Audience Member Disappointing! The film ripped off all the critical points from George Orwell. Scenes partly disconnected. The casting was bloody awful. The acting was as stones! Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Read all reviews
1984

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Movie Info

Synopsis Winston Smith (Edmond O'Brien) falls in love with a woman (Jan Sterling), defying the law of a bleak, totalitarian state.
Director
Michael Anderson
Screenwriter
George Orwell, William Templeton, Ralph Gilbert Bettison
Distributor
Columbia Pictures
Production Co
Columbia
Genre
Sci-Fi
Original Language
British English
Release Date (Theaters)
Sep 1, 1956, Wide
Release Date (DVD)
Jan 6, 2004
Runtime
1h 31m