1984

R

Released Dec 14, 1984

1 hr. 55 min.

Sci-Fi

List

73%

30 Reviews

Tomatometer

71%

50,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

A man loses his identity while living under a repressive regime. In a story based on George Orwell's classic novel, Winston Smith (John Hurt) is a government employee whose job involves the rewriting of history in a manner that casts his fictional country's leaders in a charitable light. His trysts with Julia (Suzanna Hamilton) provide his only measure of enjoyment, but lawmakers frown on the relationship -- and in this closely monitored society, there is no escape from Big Brother.

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Critics Consensus

1984 doesn't fully emerge from the shadow of its source material, but still proves a solid, suitably discomfiting adaptation of a classic dystopian tale.

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Georgan G

3.25 stars. This classic dystopian novel is portrayed with excellent acting. Since 1949 this plot shows people what to avoid in government.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

04/12/24

Full Review

Teddy B

A fittingly uncomfortable experience. George Orwell's novel is very faithfully adapted to the screen. The atmosphere is filled with a sense of helplessness and looming dread and the visual effects are wonderful. It is just a sense of constraint that haunts this film in a detrimental way, that mainly concerns the noticeably sluggish pacing. It just feels like more could have been done in this film. The minimalistic and dialogue-heavy third act of the novel just doesn't translate very well to the realm of film.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/01/24

Full Review

Alec B

It is the likely the perfect realization of Orwell's novel on a purely visual level. I have minor quibbles with the screenplay but at least it is a total downer. Also Hurt is the only conceivable choice to play Winston

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/10/24

Full Review

Logbuzzy G

Many emotions, good movie.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/30/23

Full Review

VaultBoy_Benny

This movie is an amazing experience, it is beautiful in its own ways and different from most movies you see these days.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/23/23

Full Review

Bruno V

Boa adaptação do livro. O filme em si foi bem produzido para o ambiente totalitário do regime do "Big brother".

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/07/23

Full Review

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Michael Radford

Director

John Hurt

Winston Smith

Richard Burton

O'Brien

Suzanna Hamilton

Julia

Cyril Cusack

Charrington

Gregor Fisher

Parsons

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1984: Official Clip - It Creeps Up on You

2:13

1984: Official Clip - O'Brien Tortures Winston

2:13

1984: Official Clip - Your Kind is Extinct

2:11

1984: Official Clip - Corrupt to the Core

2:12

1984: Official Clip - Victory is Not Possible

2:54

1984: Official Clip - Caught in the Bedroom

0:57

1984: Official Clip - Vision of the Future

2:55

1984: Official Clip - Two Minutes Hate

2:13

1984: Official Clip - Winston is Tested

2:11

1984: Official Clip - A Small Effort of Will

2:13

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Paul Attanasio

Washington Post

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.

Jan 2, 2018

Full Review

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Michael Radford's brilliant film of Orwell's vision does a good job of finding that line between the "future" world of 1984 and the grim postwar world in which Orwell wrote.

Rated: 3.5/4

Oct 23, 2004

Full Review

Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

‘…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.

Rated: 5/5

Jan 21, 2024

Full Review

Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

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...

Apr 14, 2023

Full Review

Andy Adams

Japan Times

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.

Feb 10, 2023

Full Review

Rob Gonsalves

Rob's Movie Vault

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

Rated: B+

Aug 31, 2022

Full Review

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Synopsis

A man loses his identity while living under a repressive regime. In a story based on George Orwell's classic novel, Winston Smith (John Hurt) is a government employee whose job involves the rewriting of history in a manner that casts his fictional country's leaders in a charitable light. His trysts with Julia (Suzanna Hamilton) provide his only measure of enjoyment, but lawmakers frown on the relationship -- and in this closely monitored society, there is no escape from Big Brother.

Director: Michael Radford
Screenwriter: George Orwell, Michael Radford
Distributor: Atlantic Releasing Corp.
Production Co: Paramount, MGM
Rating: R
Genre: Sci-Fi
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 14, 1984, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 6, 2013

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