Nineteen Eighty-Four (TV play review)
Most people’s knowledge of George Orwell’s dystopian masterpiece ‘Nineteen Eighty Four will be the phrase ‘Big Brother Is Watching You!’ and that’s if they know anything about it at all. It is, of course, much more than that. The author George Orwell started work on the book in 1947, sending the final manuscript to the published in 1948.
The reason for pointing this out is that at the time it was written 1984 was still 40 years in the future. Given the accelerating rate of change the world had seen in the previous forty years and two world wars, it’s easy to see why Orwell thought things might be going in the wrong direction.
What we have here is the BBC’s adaptation of the story, originally broadcast in 1954. It stars Peter Cushing, André Morell, Yvonne Mitchell, Donald Pleasence and was adapted for television by Nigel Kneale. Directed by Rudolph Cartier and the music composed by John Hotchkis. While you might recognise Peter Cushing and Donald Pleasence, they weren’t the big name film stars when this was shot. Fame and fortune would arrive later.
There’s quite a long introduction to the film by the then Head of Drama Michael Barry. This introduction is actually taken from the second performance of the play. Did I mention that this was a television play? Back in the 1950s, almost all of the TV was broadcast live and what we are watching here is the second live performance broadcast to the nation on the 16th of December 1954.
Why the long introduction? After the first broadcast on the 12th of December, there was quite a ruckus. There was complaints from viewers, questions asked in Parliament and reports of a lady who died of the shock watching the program. Despite this, the BBC decided to restage the play and it’s this second performance that was captured on 35mm telerecording equipment. It is, of course, in black and white.
While the special effects are dated, the performance of the cast is exceptional. Peter Cushing staring as Winston Smith has a way of dominating most scenes even though he’s quite a subdued character to start with. It all starts to go wrong for Smith when he lets his mind wander and starts to commit thought crimes.
In this futuristic society, the thought of an act or deed has the same weight as the physical deed. If you think of transgressing against the many rules and regulations then you really are and will be held accountable. Unfortunately, Smith falls for a co-worker Julia (played by Yvonne Mitchell). Love isn’t allowed in this state-run society so there’s a crime which will be detected. Remember ‘Big Brother is Watching You’.
There is one scene where Smith goes into a neighbour’s apartment to mend a faulty sink. I remember it for the performances of the two children which is very good. Considering this was a live show all the cast deserve praise for delivering an excellent performance.
While the live performance is obviously the main attraction of this DVD there are also the extras to tempt you just that bit more. These include the TV program ‘Late Night Line-Up’ where members of the cast and crew look back at all the controversies that followed the broadcasting of the TV play. This was first broadcast in 1965 and is in black and white.
The Ministry of Truth which was recorded in 2022 (in colour!) has the TV historian Oliver Wake and the British Film Institutes Dick Fiddy delve into some of the myths that have grown from the first broadcasts of ‘Nineteen Eighty Four’. I found this particularly interesting as some of the claims seem outrageous now but probably made a lot of sense at the time. The program is 24 minutes long and well worth watching.
Also recommended is the ‘Nigel Kneale: Into The Unknown’ programme that is included as an extra. It’s a bit long at 72 minutes but provides a wonderful introduction to Nigel Kneale who adapted Orwell’s classic for the TV. Kneale was also responsible for adapting ‘The Quatermass Experiment’ for TV which also scared the bejeezus out of many people. Toby Hadoke and Nigel Kneale make a good pairing for this program.
I had a pre-release version of the disc and when I browsed it on my PC I noticed that in the top level folder a file titled Script.pdf which of course I had to open. It is a scan of the 112 page original script. There is just one scribble on this document so I’m not sure if it was used by the cast but even so it is fascinating.
There’s lots to commend in this offering from BFI from the un-nerving TV play to the extras. It’s well worth the money.
Andy Whitaker
July 2022
(pub: BFI, 2022. 113 minutes with extras duel format blu-ray/DVD. Price: £19.99 (UK). Catalogue Number BFIB1445)
cast: Peter Cushing, André Morell, Yvonne Mitchell, Donald Pleasence
check out website: https://shop.bfi.org.uk/nineteen-eighty-four-dual-format-edition.html
