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Nineteen Eighty-Four

Nineteen Eighty-Four

Drama · Science Fiction · Thriller · 1984

Winston Smith 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 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.

Movie details

Nineteen Eighty-Four

“George Orwell's terrifying vision comes to the screen.”

1984 Drama · Science Fiction · Thriller 1h 53m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.8 / 10

Community rating

Winston Smith 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 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.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Nineteen Eighty-Four?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Michael Radford

Written by

Michael Radford

John Hurt

John Hurt

Winston Smith

Richard Burton

Richard Burton

O'Brien

Suzanna Hamilton

Suzanna Hamilton

Julia

Cyril Cusack

Cyril Cusack

Charrington

Gregor Fisher

Gregor Fisher

Parsons

James Walker

James Walker

Syme

Andrew Wilde

Andrew Wilde

Tillotson

Court is in session

Put Nineteen Eighty-Four on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Auteur Devotee

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.