Drama based on George Orwell's classic novel starring John Hurt and Richard Burton. In Orwell's nightmarish vision of a totalitarian state ruled by Big Brother's Inner Party, Winston Smith is a clerk, employed by Oceania's Ministry of Truth to rewrite history. Smith gradually begins to rebel against the repressive regime but soon learns that Big Brother is everywhere.
John Hurt is perfectly cast as the government cog who enters into a relationship with co-worker Suzanna Hamilton as an act of rebellion in this dramatisation of George Orwell's classic novel. Inspired less by Soviet tyranny than the paranoia induced by British wartime censorship and propaganda, Orwell's study of a dystopian future has lost none of its pessimism and dread. Much bleaker than the 1955 version, Michael Radford's superbly designed film holds out little hope that the human spirit will be able to withstand the onset of totalitarianism. Hurt gives a magnificent performance and his encounter with Richard Burton, as the personification of "Big Brother's" omnipresence, provides the dramatic highlight.
| role | name |
|---|---|
| Winston Smith | John Hurt |
| O'Brien | Richard Burton |
| Julia | Suzanna Hamilton |
| Charrington | Cyril Cusack |
| Parsons | Gregor Fisher |
| Syme | James Walker |
| Tillotson | Andrew Wilde |
| Tillotson's friend | David Trevena |
| Martin | David Cann |
| Jones | Anthony Benson |
| Telescreen announcer | Phyllis Logan |
| Waiter | Roger Lloyd Pack |
| role | name |
|---|---|
| Director | Michael Radford |
