Product Details

• Format: Import, Subtitled, NTSC
• Region: All Regions
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0029ATTAQ
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #27,248 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

SUMMARY: South Korean Edition DVD/ Sound in English / Optional Korean Subtitles can be turned off. After The Atomic War the world is divided into three states. London is the capital of Oceania, ruled by a party who has total control over all its citizens. Winston Smith is one of the bureaucrats, rewriting history in one of the departments. One day he commits the crime of falling in love with Julia. They try to escape Big Brother's listening and viewing devices, but, of course, nobody can really escape.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You will not find a better movie version of 1984, July 12, 2009

By 

bernie "webviator" (Arlington, Texas) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: 1984 ~ John Hurt - Richard Burton (Import - All Regions) (DVD)

Naturally any film media can not place the entire book on the screen with maybe the exception of "Hamlet" (1996). With anything less than a mini-series. Second is it the story or the philosophy that needs to be transmitted? If you are lucky you get both.

In this case we are lucky because both the basic story and the basic philosophy were transmitted in this movie. An added plus, you could say double plus good, was the portraying the environment as a period piece as described in the book and not as some modern version. They made the 1984 that was envisioned in 1948, not 1985.
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In a society that has eliminated many imbalances, surplus goods, and even class struggle, there are bound to be deviates; Winston Smith is one of those. He starts out, due to his inability to doublethink, with thoughtcrime. This is in a society that believes a thought is as real as the deed. Eventually he graduates through a series of misdemeanors to illicit sex and even plans to overthrow the very government that took him in as an orphan.
If he gets caught, he will be sent to the "Ministry of Love" where they have a record of 100% cures for this sort of insanity. They will even forgive his past indiscretions.
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To get a review of the book see "1984" by George Orwell. The movie can stand on its own merit, but knowledge of the book will help fill in the gaps and explain the inferences. Better actors could not have been picked. Richard Burton is in his element.

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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very well done!, December 29, 2010

By 

KSW Tom (Rochester) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: 1984 ~ John Hurt - Richard Burton (Import - All Regions) (DVD)

This version of the movie follows as close to the book as you can get however, read the book before you sit down to watch the movie. There are several details that are left out that might make you wonder what is going on.

The acting is very well done. The characters stay true to the book.

Overall highly recommended to those 1984 fans.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars True to the book, December 27, 2011

By 

James D. Crabtree "Doc Crabtree" (Fort Leavenworth, Kansas) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: 1984 ~ John Hurt - Richard Burton (Import - All Regions) (DVD)

This movie attempts to follow the original story created by George Orwell and as such does an excellent job. The costumes, the graphics, the visuals produced by the telescreens, the music, the overall decrepit appearance of everything, it's all true to the novel Orwell wrote. The casting was very good, with an excellent performance by Sir Richard Burton. The only weakness in this movie is that it is SO true to the book that it might be a little hard to follow in places without prior knowledge of the story.