1984

Play trailer

1984

R

Released Dec 14, 1984

1h 55m

Sci-Fi

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

75%

Tomatometer

32 Reviews

71%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

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.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Buy Now

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.

Read Critics Reviews

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

Michael Clark

Epoch Times

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.

Rated: 4.5/5

Jun 18, 2024

Full Review

Quentin Crisp

Christopher Street

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.

May 7, 2024

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

Read all reviews

Hasno R

this is literally 1984

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

09/20/24

Full Review

Davi D

Não é ruim, e está longe de ser, sem falar que é a adaptação que apresentou o partido e toda a ditadura da história da melhor forma possível, com destaque na arquitetura da cidade e do ambiente opressor que o filme consegue passar. Entretanto, o filme se atrapalha na hora de desenvolver os personagens, tornando-os vazios em personalidade e carisma, sem falar que muitos trechos importantes do livro foram adaptados de forma muito superficial, e outras foram completamente descartadas.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

09/14/24

Full Review

Michael H

This is how the book is. Just honest to the text.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

09/09/24

Full Review

Jim P

1984 is one of the best books ever written, but this big screen version fails to do it justice... It's bleak but the story doesn't flow well. It's too disjointed... Worth a watch, at least until a new version is made!

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

08/25/24

Full Review

Jim P

1984 is one of the best books ever written, but this big screen version doesn't do it justice... Too disjointed, no flow to it. Worth a watch, until a better version is made!

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

08/25/24

Full Review

Terry S

As important today as ever--You must watch it !!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/24/24

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Michael Radford

Director

John Hurt

Winston Smith

Richard Burton

O'Brien

Suzanna Hamilton

Julia

Cyril Cusack

Charrington

Gregor Fisher

Parsons

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

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

View more videos

THX-1138

86%

73%

THX-1138

Watchlist

Twilight Zone: The Movie

59%

55%

Twilight Zone: The Movie

Watchlist

Repo Man

98%

78%

Repo Man

Watchlist

Strange Invaders

67%

34%

Strange Invaders

Watchlist

Somewhere in Time

52%

88%

Somewhere in Time

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

The Legacy of The Matrix

Daniel Craig Joins Kidman in "The Golden Compass"

Ebert & Roeper: "V For Vendetta" Dark, Thoughtful, And That’s Good

View more photos

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
Producer: Simon Perry
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
Runtime: 1h 55m

Most Popular at Home Now