{"id":2155,"date":"2007-01-24T15:14:20","date_gmt":"2007-01-24T22:14:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=2155"},"modified":"2021-01-26T13:05:17","modified_gmt":"2021-01-26T20:05:17","slug":"1984-1956","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=2155","title":{"rendered":"1984 (1956)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;They&#8217;re afraid of love, because love makes a world they can&#8217;t control&#8211; And it&#8217;s a world <em>worth<\/em> taking risks for, isn&#8217;t it?&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/1984-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/1984-Poster-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-22717\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/1984-Poster-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/1984-Poster-85x128.jpg 85w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/1984-Poster.jpg 505w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nIn a totalitarian future, government employee Winston Smith (Edmond O&#8217;Brien) challenges &#8220;Big Brother&#8221; by taking on a secret lover (Jan Sterling).\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Donald Pleasence Films<\/li>\n<li>Dystopia<\/li>\n<li>Edmond O&#8217;Brien Films<\/li>\n<li>Jan Sterling Films<\/li>\n<li>Michael Redgrave Films<\/li>\n<li>Political Corruption<\/li>\n<li>Propaganda<\/li>\n<li>Resistance Fighters<\/li>\n<li>Science Fiction<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review:<\/strong><br \/>\nThis unfairly maligned early cinematic version of George Orwell&#8217;s classic novel has much to offer &#8212; including atmospheric black-and-white cinematography, effectively oppressive set designs, and an overall tone of gloom and despair which aptly suits Orwell&#8217;s intent. It&#8217;s difficult not to get caught up in Smith&#8217;s paranoia as he struggles to maintain a modicum of independence and authenticity under the watchful gaze of Big Brother &#8212; and by the final scenes, we find ourselves despairing on behalf of his seemingly hopeless situation. Unfortunately, as noted by many, both O&#8217;Brien and Sterling seem a bit &#8220;long in the tooth&#8221; for their roles, playing characters who most readers imagine as much younger; their clandestine romance is the weakest part of the film, and is portrayed much more effectively in the 1984 version (starring John Hurt and Suzanna Hamilton). <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Effectively &#8220;Big Brother&#8221;-ish set designs<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/Freedom.JPG\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/Freedom.JPG\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2154\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Atmospheric black-and-white cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/Paranoia.JPG\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/Paranoia.JPG\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2152\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Donald Pleasence as O&#8217;Brien&#8217;s pro &#8211; &#8220;Big Brother&#8221; neighbor<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/Pleasance.JPG\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/Pleasance.JPG\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2153\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes. While die-hard fans of the book will inevitably be disappointed by minor discrepancies, this film remains a powerful first-stab at adapting the most famous dystopic novel ever written.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Historically Relevant<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/imdb.com\/title\/tt0048918\/\">IMDB entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.shoestring.org\/mmi_revs\/1984(1956)-ms-139195623.html\">Movie Magazine International Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.tvguide.com\/detail\/movie.aspx?tvobjectid=126313&#038;more=ucmoviereview\">TV Guide Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;They&#8217;re afraid of love, because love makes a world they can&#8217;t control&#8211; And it&#8217;s a world worth taking risks for, isn&#8217;t it?&#8221; Synopsis: In a totalitarian future, government employee Winston Smith (Edmond O&#8217;Brien) challenges &#8220;Big Brother&#8221; by taking on a secret lover (Jan Sterling). Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Donald Pleasence Films Dystopia Edmond O&#8217;Brien Films Jan Sterling Films Michael Redgrave Films Political Corruption Propaganda Resistance Fighters Science Fiction Review: This unfairly maligned early cinematic version of George Orwell&#8217;s classic&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=2155\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2155","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2155"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2155\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":66123,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2155\/revisions\/66123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}