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1984 (1984)

 
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Bogmeister
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 01, 2019 2:02 pm    Post subject: 1984 (1984) Reply with quote

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_________ Nineteen Eighty-Four - Official Trailer


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It was the right year to do an adaptation of Orwell's famous novel.

John Hurt stars as the central character, a lowly paper pusher in a dark, Dystopian civilization which emphasizes drudgery if nothing else. He works in a very grey office arena (brown is actually the color palette stressed), stuck in his cubicle all the workday.

But his home space isn't really better. Seeing him walking home, the area looks like its been shelled, the aftermath of some war, and they haven't bothered to clean it up. This is like an extreme version of the worst days of the Soviet Union. Citizens are gathered into seated rallies in which everyone bleats like sheep (metaphorically speaking) in obedience to Big Brother.

But there's also the infamous ThoughtPolice — when Hurt starts an illicit affair with a free-thinking young woman, he is doomed. Richard Burton also stars as the interrogator, a high-ranking official in the ruling order. Big Brother will always get you eventually. In our reality, there's the IRS.

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BoG's Score: 6.5 out of 10



BoG
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 30, 2020 3:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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IMDB has several interesting trivia items for this production. Very Happy
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~ In poor health during most of the filming, Richard Burton had great difficulty remembering his lines and sometimes had to film a scene dozens of times before he could get it right. The scene in O'Brien's apartment where O'Brien is talking to Winston about Goldstein's book took a record of forty-one takes for Burton to say his speech without fumbling his lines.

Note from me: I have no idea how actors commit to memory large portions of dialog. I could never so it. Sad

I do know that stage hands can stand off camera and hold up large cue cards to the help actors, the way Marlon Brando did in Superman.

But I also know that a person reading off a cue card or a teleprompter (even when two are position at a 45° angle on either side of the speaker's position) prevents the person from looking absolutely natural and convincing if he or she has to use the teleprompters too often.

I wonder if actors could use those small ear pieces which are now available, so that someone could secretly prompt the actors with their lines.

Donald Trump actually accused Joe Biden of getting that kind of help during the presidential debate.

It was a typically stupid idea from Trump, because there were never any delays in Biden's answers. Obviously it would have been a dead give-away if Biden had waited until somebody told him what to say in an earpiece! Rolling Eyes

~ Many of the scenes were shot on the days noted in Winston Smith's diary. The scene where Smith enters his apartment and writes in his diary, dating the entry April 4, 1984, was filmed on April 4, 1984.

Note from me: Well, the idea is interesting, but I doubt it added much to the movie. Sad

~ The movie was filmed during April, May, and June 1984. The closing credits declare that "This film was photographed in and around London during the period April-June 1984, the exact time and setting imagined by the author (George Orwell)."

Note from me: See my comment above about this. And interesting idea, but . . . does anybody care? Rolling Eyes

~ This was Richard Burton's final movie before his death on August 5, 1984, at the age of fifty-eight.

Note from me: The end of a brilliant career.

~ Marvin J. Rosenblum once said that this movie had "The greatest marketing hook that there ever was for a movie: a film of 1984 made in 1984."

Note from me: Yeah, right . . . that's great. But the info I found about how it did at the box office compared to its budget doesn't bear that out.

Here's what Wikipedia says.

Budget £5.5 million or £4 million

Box office $8.4 million (United States)

Why the hell are there two amounts in British Sterling for the budget? And why is the box office amount in US dollars only!

Since the pound is now valued below the dollar, ($1.33 is £1.00) it would seem that the movie was a financial flop! Shocked

What am I missing, guys! Sad

~ Michael Radford had members of the crew go down into the sewers and get real sewer rats that were used in the film.

Note from me: Well, my goodness, we can't have pampered "pet rats" appearing in a movie like this! We need genuine sewer rats who understand the pain and suffering being raised in the sewer, scorned by mankind for countless generations! Sad

On the hand . . . what the hell, a freakin' rats are just rats! Right? Rolling Eyes

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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
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Pow
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Joined: 27 Sep 2014
Posts: 3400
Location: New York

PostPosted: Mon Nov 30, 2020 8:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Richard Burton was a marvelous actor, but like so many others he suffered from the disease of alcoholism.

It destroys brains cells and memory which results in actors requiring many, many takes shooting a scene, or the use of a teleprompter in order for them to recall their dialogue.

The legendary John Barrymore had to have chalkboards on set with his lines written on it. Like Burton, Barrymore was a chronic alcoholic.

Errol Flynn went through the exact same thing as he got older.
Years of heavy alcoholic consumption ruined his memory.

A sad end for wonderful actors who entertained so many people.
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