qmtv This week I viewed 3 versions of 1984. First the 1984 version, inferior. Then the 1956, much better. And now the 1954, much better. The 84 version was confusing. If you hadn't read the book, or like me it was so long ago, there were details missing that made the film incomprehensible. The acting was also inferior except for Burton, John Hurt did well toward the end, but not great. 56 version was much better. Better details of what was going on, much better acting, cinematography, music, etc. 54 version was superior. Here we have superior screenplay. If you hadn't read the book, things were show or explained. The acting was top notch. Peter Cushing was great. Yvonne Mitchell did well. André Morell was also great. All the other actors portrayed their parts much better than the other versions. Take away the production value of sets, color, and multiple takes, and what you are left with is a professional screenplay and acting. This is what we have here.Rating is a B, 7 stars.

poe-48833 From THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY by Ambrose Bierce: "HARANGUE, n. A speech by an opponent, who is known as an harangue-outang." We've crossed a Line, here in this company (the "united $tate$"), where "alternative facts" (LIES) are disseminated daily and Fat Cat Fascism is The Order of the Day. Fat Cat Fascists: CASHists. Alternative facts: ALTFAX, in Newspeak. At the head of it all, to quote Orwell, "some sinister enchanter, capable by the mere power of his voice of wrecking the structure of civilization." (Just the other day, we were told that a "massacre" had taken place in Bowling Green, Kentucky- "The Bowling Green Massacre," it was dubbed. Only it didn't happen. It was all a LIE. An "alternative fact" from, apparently, an Alternative Universe...) (From the book, by George Orwell: "She had not a thought in her head that was not a slogan, and there was no imbecility, absolutely none, that she was not capable of swallowing if the Party handed it out to her.") (And: "The heresy of heresies was common sense.") In this particular video version of George Orwell's NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR, Donald Pleasance, in a small part as Syne, has one of my favorite lines. When he suspects that Big Brother suspects him of Thoughtcrime, he blurts: "Was it something I said...?" "Forget what you've forgotten," Peter Cushing as Winston Smith suggests. But therein lies the rub: short of lobotomies all around, is such a thing even possible...? With 65 MILLION refugees from War(s) and Global Warming knocking on the door hoping to be let in, we're already well past the Tipping Point. (Orwell: "Do you know what time of day it is?") What this company needs is competent Leadership (if such a thing exists), although such talk could get you kil-

wnstn_hmltn Teaming the ultimate speculative-fiction scenarist (Nigel Kneale) with two of the most monumental actors to have ever had a command of the Queen's English (Peter Cushing and Andre Morell) has resulted in a dynamic trio striking this unflinching rendition of the Orwell classic with sparks aplenty. Later to become living legends over at Hammer Films (particularly Cushing), it was this momentous pairing of Morell and Cushing that led the Hammer powers-that-be to reunite them seven years later in the truly remarkable "Cash on Demand" (see my review). The lovely, inscrutable Yvonne Mitchell acquits herself well as Cushing's forbidden love interest, and the atmosphere of foreboding and dread is so thick you could cut it. Last but not least, watching Kneale apply his inimitable touch to Orwell's concepts is a tremendously exciting foretaste of the wholly original yarns he would later spin ("Quatermass," etc. ) A superlative production all the way around.....don't miss it!

exadx Since these posts are relatively old, maybe there could have been a DVD or VHS release in the meantime. I'm a 1984 addict and if anyone has heard stg about it, could he please let me know. Serious 61, does your offer still hold?. If the answer is yes, I'm interested.I collect everything linked with dystopia, books, of course, but also movies. If you have some suggestions, it would be very helpful And I would be very grateful.It goes without saying that 1984 is way above the others dystopia novels (Brave New World, We, Farenheit 451 etc..) in my opinion, but I'll sturdily stand by Orwell 'til my last breath