62: Make/Remake 1984

In the latest edition of make/remake Dakota Arsenault and Stephanie Prior talk about George Orwell’s novel 1984 and two different cinematic adaptations of it.

In 1949, George Orwell published his landmark novel detailing what the future might look like if we allow our civil liberties to be eroded and for extreme ideologies to take hold so strongly that the very fabric of society would crumble. It only took eight years for the first film adaptation of the book to be made directed by Michael Anderson and staring Edmond O’Brien as Winston Smith. The 1984 version of 1984 directed by Michael Radford and staring John Hurt as Winston, portrays communism just as dangerous as right wing authoritarianism.

Dakota and Steph discuss what similarities both films employ to tell the same story along with what differences the filmmakers decided to diverge from each other. Both contexts are looking at the pros and cons of the director’s choices.

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