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Nineteen Eighty-Four
Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2014 12:53 pm
by antnield
In November another piece of TV history finally sees the light of day once again, when Nigel Kneale’s 1954 adaptation of George Orwell’s classic Nineteen Eighty-Four, starring the great Peter Cushing, gets its DVD premiere.
Re: Nineteen Eighty-Four
Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2014 2:05 pm
by Dr Amicus
And about time too! I seem to remember this was submitted to the BBFC over 10 years ago, so I'm not sure what happened then.
I've seen the first 20 mins or so - BBC4 showed it about about 12 years ago - and that was remarkable. This was the repeat performance if I remember correctly, it was broadcast live and the first screening (that caused quite a stir, to put it mildly) wasn't recorded, but the second was. Cushing later claimed he felt the second performance wasn't as strong, but from what I've seen it is still really quite something.
Re: Nineteen Eighty-Four
Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2014 5:24 pm
by lefeufollet
Outstanding! I can finally retire my VHS copy.
Re: Nineteen Eighty-Four
Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2014 5:35 pm
by Lowry_Sam
Was hoping for a Criterion twofer combining this with the long out-of-print (R1) MGM (1984) version, but this will do nicely.
Re: Nineteen Eighty-Four
Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2014 10:14 pm
by pianist
Dr Amicus wrote:And about time too! I seem to remember this was submitted to the BBFC over 10 years ago, so I'm not sure what happened then.
I've seen the first 20 mins or so - BBC4 showed it about about 12 years ago - and that was remarkable. This was the repeat performance if I remember correctly, it was broadcast live and the first screening (that caused quite a stir, to put it mildly) wasn't recorded, but the second was. Cushing later claimed he felt the second performance wasn't as strong, but from what I've seen it is still really quite something.
I have been told that the Cushing wasn't released because of right issues pertaining to the 1984 version (of 1984!) with John Hurt. Not sure how that version would affect the Cushing one, but it's just something I heard. I also heard that Orwell's estate wasn't enamoured with the version so it was blocked.
Re: Nineteen Eighty-Four
Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2014 10:17 pm
by beamish13
Lowry_Sam wrote:Was hoping for a Criterion twofer combining this with the long out-of-print (R1) MGM (1984) version, but this will do nicely.
and with the correct color scheme and soundtrack!
A tangent, but Michael Radford's 1983 film ANOTHER TIME, ANOTHER PLACE would be a great Criterion, too. It's super rare, even in R2.
Re: Nineteen Eighty-Four
Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2014 10:25 pm
by GaryC
pianist wrote:Dr Amicus wrote:And about time too! I seem to remember this was submitted to the BBFC over 10 years ago, so I'm not sure what happened then.
I've seen the first 20 mins or so - BBC4 showed it about about 12 years ago - and that was remarkable. This was the repeat performance if I remember correctly, it was broadcast live and the first screening (that caused quite a stir, to put it mildly) wasn't recorded, but the second was. Cushing later claimed he felt the second performance wasn't as strong, but from what I've seen it is still really quite something.
I have been told that the Cushing wasn't released because of right issues pertaining to the 1984 version (of 1984!) with John Hurt. Not sure how that version would affect the Cushing one, but it's just something I heard. I also heard that Orwell's estate wasn't enamoured with the version so it was blocked.
The story I heard was that the Orwell estate blocked the release, so as not to conflict with the DVD release of the 1984 version.
Re: Nineteen Eighty-Four
Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2014 2:49 pm
by antnield
Re: Nineteen Eighty-Four
Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2014 3:52 pm
by GaryC
And that certificate's wrong, too - the BBFC passed this 12 ten years ago.
Re: Nineteen Eighty-Four
Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2015 1:23 pm
by EddieLarkin
Any ideas as to what is going on with this release? It was delayed until March 23rd (at least according to Amazon) but now it has no official release date. Is the Orwell estate interfering I wonder?
Re: Nineteen Eighty-Four
Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2015 10:04 pm
by Lowry_Sam
EddieLarkin wrote:Any ideas as to what is going on with this release? It was delayed until March 23rd (at least according to Amazon) but now it has no official release date. Is the Orwell estate interfering I wonder?
I thought I saw this as already for sale on Amazon, but I guess not. If you read the comments in the reviews, there's an ongoing exchange that suggests that the Orwell estate has once again (first time was in 2004), reneged on the rights after the restoration but before any discs were pressed so that people aren't confused by the multiple productions of the book, so some speculated that possibly another version (another remake?) was being released. One commenter noted that the estate's copyright expires in 2021, so maybe we'll have to wait 6 years, but I was able to still find
a preorder page on the BFI website.
Re: Nineteen Eighty-Four
Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2015 8:38 pm
by didi-5
If that is the case (again) it is absolutely ridiculous, and shame on the estate for doing this. How on earth would people get 'confused' if there are different versions available?
Re: Nineteen Eighty-Four
Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2015 11:30 pm
by Orlac
Mind you, some BFI stuff gets delayed for extras (i.e. Eyes without a Face), and their proposed Stromboli and Planeta Bur releases just seemed to vanish.
Re: Nineteen Eighty-Four
Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2015 12:24 pm
by GaryC
didi-5 wrote:If that is the case (again) it is absolutely ridiculous, and shame on the estate for doing this. How on earth would people get 'confused' if there are different versions available?
I have no confirmation that that is the case, but this was one of my theories for the delay. The other one was that, since the 1965 BBC production (from a revised version of Nigel Kneale's script) was found in the Library of Congress a couple of years ago, then the BFI may be looking to include that as well, but I stress that's total speculation on my part.
I saw the 1965 version at the BFI towards the end of last year, and the director Christopher Morahan was in attendance. The print found is missing a chunk of about 3 minutes or so about two thirds of the way in. I still haven't seen the 1954 version.
Re: Nineteen Eighty-Four
Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2021 2:50 pm
by antnield
Re: Nineteen Eighty-Four
Posted: Thu Feb 03, 2022 7:31 pm
by swo17
11 Apr 2022
Nineteen Eighty-Four (DVD + Blu-ray)
Directed by Rudolph Cartier
George Orwell's enduring dystopian masterpiece is brought vividly to life in this celebrated BBC production.
Adapted by Nigel Kneale (The Quatermass Experiment), Nineteen Eighty-Four broke new ground for television drama when first broadcast in 1954. Featuring a stunning central performance from Peter Cushing as the doomed Winston Smith, this highly influential small screen landmark has been newly restored by the BFI using original film materials from the BBC archive
One of the most requested BBC productions it's presented here for the very first time on Blu-ray and DVD and released to coincide with Kneale's centenary. Experience Orwell's haunting vision of a world dictated by tranny and propaganda; Big Brother is watching.
Extras
• Presented in High Definition and Standard Definition
• Newly recorded commentary by Jon Dear, also featuring Toby Hadoke and Andy Murray
• Nigel Kneale: Into the Unknown (2022): writer, actor and stand-up comedian Toby Hadoke in conversation with Kneale biographer and programmer Andy Murray. Together they try to unpick who Nigel Kneale was, what he did and why his work still matters in 2022
• Ministry of Truth (2022): Oliver Wake is interviewed by the BFI's Dick Fiddy as he dispels some myths surrounding the production and looks at the controversy it caused
• Illustrated booklet with new writing by Oliver Wake and David Ryan
• Newly commissioned sleeve art by Matt Needle
• Other Extras TBC
I assume they meant to say "tyranny"
Re: Nineteen Eighty-Four
Posted: Fri Feb 04, 2022 9:56 am
by Dr Amicus
I have a bookmark from the SF season in 2014 (?) with the first planned release as a coming soon... I was looking forward to it then and doubly so now.
His later horror career has overshadowed it, but Cushing was one of the biggest TV stars of the 1950s. There was a joke at the time "What's the definition of television?" "Peter Cushing with knobs on" - but I have also seen that applied to Gilbert Harding (a very different TV personality).
Re: Nineteen Eighty-Four
Posted: Fri Feb 04, 2022 3:20 pm
by Finch
How does it compare with the John Hurt feature?
Re: Nineteen Eighty-Four
Posted: Fri Feb 04, 2022 3:55 pm
by swo17
The two '50s adaptations are obviously of their time but I find all three films really interesting as points of comparison to each other. I recall this BBC adaptation feeling more stagebound than the subsequent '50s feature with its more daring set design, but no less worth watching. There are great casts in the two films (both of which feature Donald Pleasence!) though I think my ideal pairing would actually be Cushing from this version plus Redgrave from the other one
Re: Nineteen Eighty-Four
Posted: Fri Feb 04, 2022 11:20 pm
by Finch
Thanks swo!
