Nineteen eighty-four

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Movie
German title Nineteen
eighty-four
Original title 1984
Country of production Great Britain
original language English
Publishing year 1956
length 90 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Michael Anderson
script Ralph Gilbert Bettison
William Templeton
production N. Peter Rath by
Ralph Gilbert Bettison
music Malcolm Arnold
Cecil Millner
camera CM Pennington-Richards
cut Bill Lewthwaite
occupation

Nineteen Eighty-Four (Original title: 1984 ) is one in black and white twisted British science fiction film by Michael Anderson from the year 1956 . It is the third film adaptation of the novel of the same name by George Orwell .

action

After a nuclear war in 1965, the earth is divided into three world empires that are engaged in an ongoing war with one another: In the empire of Oceania there is a totalitarian police apparatus, which is controlled by the "big brother". London is the capital and seat of the state-ruling "party" that monitors all citizens for their loyalty to the state. Winston Smith works for the "Ministry of Truth," which is constantly revising historical documents and publications to present historical and recent events in a system- conforming sense. Winston doubts the state's legality and secretly reads ancient books. He begins a love affair with Julia, who also opposes the system (their relationship alone is a crime, since sexual contact between the sexes is only permitted for the purpose of procreation). They confide in the party functionary O'Connor (in the novel: O'Brien), another opposition member. When Winston and Julia are betrayed by the landlord of the room where they meet regularly, it turns out that O'Connor is in truth on the trail of critics of the system. Winston resists government torture, and it is only when he is exposed to his fear of rats that he betrays his ideals. This betrayal brings him back physical freedom, but his personality is broken. When he happens to meet Julia again, the two confess that they have betrayed the other and that the torture has destroyed their love. The following ending is different in the US and UK version: The UK version differs significantly from the original book, Winston shouts "Down with Big Brother!" During the following public propaganda message and is shot, Julia is horrified and tempted to come to him only to be shot moments later. The US version, on the other hand, stays a little closer to the original and has Winston join the cheering masses during the propaganda report with a loud “long live big brother!”

background

Although filmed in Great Britain and mostly cast with British actors, two American actors, Edmond O'Brien and Jan Sterling , were hired for the leading roles .

There is an alternative ending to the close close to the novel, at which Winston's and Julia's love is destroyed and Winston is "converted" into a loyal citizen. In this Winston and Julia meet again and shout, in a last desperate act of rebellion: "Down with Big Brother!". A police patrol then shot them both in the street. According to Georg Seeßlen and Hahn / Jansen, this finale was shot for the American market, whereas Phil Hardy and the Internet Movie Database assign it to the British version. In the West German cinemas where the film started on June 7, 1957, the end with the killing of the protagonists was shown.

Reviews

"The 1984 film version is pretty profane and shows little of the horror of Orwell's State." - Parish / Pitts: The Great SF Pictures

"The near-present vision of the future of the novel [...] turns into a comparatively harmless morality in the film through the lengthy drilling of a few horror scenes [...] The film couldn't miss its topic any worse." - Film watcher

"George Orwell's original [is] trimmed to the dimensions of an action film, and the cold horror of the novel has given way to a more sentimental view of the powerlessness of the individual." - Georg Seeßlen: Kino des Utopischen

“A simplified version of the book that pays little attention to the ideas that characterize it.” - Phil Hardy (Ed.): The Aurum Film Encyclopedia - Science Fiction

“Thoughtful version of George Orwell's science fiction.” - Leonard Maltin

“The film adaptation - at times striking and interesting in detail - does not have the visionary power of the novel. On the other hand, the plot construction is too intellectual and abstract for simple cinema excitement and interest to arise. ”-  Lexicon of international film

Further adaptations

The first feature-length adaptation of the novel, with the participation of Nigel Kneale as screenwriter, was a television version of the British BBC , which aired in 1954. As early as 1953, a 50-minute version of the US television station CBS was running as part of the Westinghouse Studio One series . Another TV version ran on the BBC in 1965 as part of the Theater 625 series . In 1984, the "Orwell Year", Michael Radford's novel was filmed again for the cinema under the same title .

literature

Web links

proof

  1. ↑ a b Georg Seeßlen: Cinema of the Utopian. History and mythology of science fiction films , Rowohlt, Reinbek near Hamburg 1980.
  2. ↑ Ronald M. Hahn, Volker Jansen: Lexikon des Science Fiction Films , 5th edition, Wilhelm Heyne Verlag, Munich 1992.
  3. ↑ Phil Hardy (ed.): The Aurum Film Encyclopedia - Science Fiction , Aurum Press, London 1991.
  4. ^ Nineteen eighty-four in the Internet Movie Database.
  5. ↑ a b Nineteen eighty-four in the Lexicon of International FilmTemplate: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used .
  6. ↑ a b Quoted from: Ronald M. Hahn, Volker Jansen: Lexikon des Science Fiction Films .
  7. ↑ "[...] a simplified version of the book that pays little heed to the ideas that make it so significant a work." - Phil Hardy (Ed.): The Aurum Film Encyclopedia - Science Fiction .
  8. ↑ "Thought-provoking version of George Orwell's futuristic novel." - Leonard Maltin's 2008 Movie Guide , Signet / New American Library, New York of 2007.