It’s sobering to realise how much of the terminology that forms the core of Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell’s regrettably-timeless tale of totalitarianism and brutal social repression has passed almost seamlessly into near-common usage. Thoughtcrime, sex crime, newspeak, doublethink, Room 101 and, of course, Big Brother Is Watching You are concepts that we’re largely familiar with and that feel more pertinent and relevant than ever as we stagger across the screaming social media nightmare world gifted us by the 21st century. The BBC’s landmark production of Orwell’s novel was first broadcast in December 1954, just five years after the book’s publication, and, despite the sometimes primitive and stagey nature of its production, it remains a powerful, disturbing and remorselessly downbeat experience. It’s hardly surprising that sensitive contemporary viewers were traumatised by its cocktail of crushing concepts and images as Winston Smith (a young Peter Cushing) harbours growing resentment towards the soulless regime that has risen up in a Great Britain renamed Airstrip One in the aftermath of a devastating atomic war and is now part of a militaristic superstate known as Oceania. Smith works for the formidable Ministry of Truth but he dreams of rebellion and he embarks on a course of action – including a romance with his colleague Julia (Yvonne Mitchell) that serves to exacerbate his discontentment – that will lead him to the pits of despair and degradation.
Scripted by Nigel Kneale (a hot ticket following the huge success of his Quatermass Experiment serial the year before), Nineteen Eighty-Four takes no prisoners and makes no concessions for the still-delicate sensibilities of a post-war British TV audience. It’s tough, rugged, pitiless and ultimately hopeless. This new BFI Blu-ray release (the repeat performance of the original screening, hailing from the days when dramas were largely broadcast live and restaged in their entirety if they were repeated) is a stark reminder of the pioneering early days of British television and is best approached with the appropriate expectations. This was bold, landmark stuff at the time – in many ways it still is – but it’s a slow-paced, measured production with often quite theatrical performances (there’s even an interval) and a visual look that reflects the tone of the story with its drab, minimalist sets and slate grey costumes.
Nineteen Eighty-Four is sixty-six years old and we’re lucky it exists at all so picture quality is inevitably variable. Pre-filmed sequences (inserted into the ’live’ performances) are pin-sharp but the studio material inevitably looks occasionally fuzzy and grainy and obviously betrays its age. But this release is an important presentation of a literary classic turned into a television classic and it’s supported by some quality extra material including the BFI’s Dick Fiddy discussing many of the myths surrounding the production’s controversial afterlife, a fascinating clip from a 1965 edition of BBC2’s Late Night Line-Up that reunites many of the cast and crew 11 years after the event, Toby Hadoke in conversation with Kneale biographer Andy Murray, a new commentary, and an illustrated booklet. Just essential.
Nineteen Eighty-Four is released on Blu-ray and DVD on April 11th
