George Orwell’s widow didn’t like this filmed version and others thought it wasn’t nearly dark enough There were several glaring omissions from the book and I just didn’t buy Edmond O’Brien as Winston Smith. In fact Orwell’s widow Sonia hated this version so much she didn’t renew its distribution license. I have to agree with her about its sterile presentation. I don’t agree with not letting it be seen. Let moviegoers make up their own minds instead of Big Brother or in this case Big Sister.
One sidelight from the 1956 version was that graffiti started popping up saying “Do It To Julia.” 1984 was also a popular assigned book in schools around the country during the 50’s.
In 1980 she agreed to another film version to be released in 1984. That’s the one to see with John Hurt and Richard Burton. Burton had a tough time during filming but pulled it off. John Hurt gave a great performance. This is a very dark film and could disturb some people.
I love the John Hurt and Burton film version! Highly underrated — I can’t believe it has such a low rating on imdb. I haven’t seen this one yet — but, despite your warnings I’m still tempted 😉