1984 (1984)

[Akijama]

PRE-ORDER http://www.screenarchives.com/title_...HTY-FOUR-1984/

Release date: December 8, 2015

“Michael Radford’s brilliant film of Orwell’s vision does a good job of finding that line between the ‘future’ world of 1984 and the grim postwar world in which Orwell wrote…penetrates deeply into the novel’s heart of darkness.” – Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

“Admirable, bleakly beautiful screen adaptation…exerts a fascination that demands attention even as you want to turn away from it…Mr. Hurt’s performance is splendid…Most stunning of all are the film’s production design, by Allan Cameron, and Roger Deakins’s photography.” – Vincent Canby, The New York Times

Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984), adapted from George Orwell’s classic dystopian novel by writer-director Michael Radford, stars John Hurt as Winston Smith, a drone in a totalitarian state dominated by the supreme figurehead, Big Brother. Attempting to break out, he has an affair with Julia (Suzanna Hamilton), a rebellious sensualist, but then has to deal with O’Brien (the great Richard Burton, in his final screen role) a powerful tool of the state. Featuring cinematography by the great Roger Deakins.

LIMITED TO 3,000 Units

LANGUAGE: English
VIDEO: 1080p High Definition / 1.66:1
AUDIO: English 1.0 DTS-HD MA
SUBTITLES: English SDH
1984 / Color
111 MINUTES
RATED R

Special Features: Isolated Score Track / Original Theatrical Trailer

[Show spoiler]Another title that will be coming from TT in due time. Something I learned a while ago.

Source:

[Show spoiler]

1984 (John Hurt) - Official Trailer - YouTube

[MTRodaba2468]

Regardless of whether I get the Europe release or the TT release, I'm sure it'll be a nice upgrade of my DVD...

[Al_The_Strange]

Saw this not too long ago and found it interesting. I'll gladly pick this up.

I wanted to get the film score too, but the soundtrack I got turned out to be Eurythmics music (which is fine too, but wasn't what I expected). Having an isolated music score for this movie will please me.

[spargs]

Just spent some time reading up on the film, which I've only seen once way back in the 80s...

Hopefully the release will include versions of the film scored both ways... the original theatrical release, which featured the Eurythmics score used against the wishes of director Michael Radford (as Radford didn't have final cut), and with the Muldowney musical score as originally intended by Radford that, to my knowledge, was only released on the long-OOP 2003 MGM DVD release.

[MifuneFan]

Great film, I've seen it about 3 or 4 times. Had the international version on my want list, but depending on extras I may opt for this version.

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by spargs

Just spent some time reading up on the film, which I've only seen once way back in the 80s...

Hopefully the release will include versions of the film scored both ways... with the Eurythmics score originally released theatrically against the wishes of director Michael Radford (as Radford didn't have final cut), and with the Muldowney musical score as originally intended by Radford that, to my knowledge, was only released on the long-OOP 2003 MGM DVD release.

Hmm, that was probably the version I saw. Didn't even realize there were two different scores. I also hope they manage to get them both included.

[ctyank]

I bought the AU release a couple months ago. Eurythmics soundtrack only. The music is very muted... you'll have a hard time hearing it clearly (but I think this is not a failing of the BD... I'm pretty sure that all versions of this movie featuring Eurythmics music bury it). I found it hard to believe that the music I was hearing was the same as what is on the Eurythmics CD (which I am quite fond of). PQ way better than the DVD, but not a great presentation.

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by spargs

Just spent some time reading up on the film, which I've only seen once way back in the 80s...

Hopefully the release will include versions of the film scored both ways... the original theatrical release, which featured the Eurythmics score used against the wishes of director Michael Radford (as Radford didn't have final cut), and with the Muldowney musical score as originally intended by Radford that, to my knowledge, was only released on the long-OOP 2003 MGM DVD release.

I hope so too and I still have that DVD.

[javi92]

Good title to release. Looking forward to it.

[Thomas Guycott]

A must buy for me.

[schlock]

Not only are there two different scores, but the version with the Eurythmics score has a desaturated washed-out look to make it grim. That was the version that played in theaters and came out on VHS.

The version with Muldowney's score has regular colors instead and is more vibrant and colorful. That's the version that was on MGM's first DVD.

The desaturated Eurythmics version showed up years later on DVD as a double-feature with "Megaville" from TGG Direct.

I can't see TT having both versions on their release as it's not just the score that is changed. I prefer the desaturated Eurythmics version myself. And as far as I remember, most of the Eurythmics incidental music was different in the film as to what's on the Eurythmics soundtrack LP.

Edit: One more thing, both versions of the film still credit both Eurythmics and Muldowney in the credits. Muldowney's music is at least featured briefly in the desaturated Eurythmics version of the film, but in the colorful Muldowney version of the film, the Eurythmics score is completely replaced even though they are still credited. The quickest way to know which version is which is to either look at the color palette (desaturated=Eurythmics, or colorful=Mudowney) or just jump to the middle of the end credits to see if Eurythmics' vocal song "Julia" is being played. There are no other vocals by Eurythmics in the film, no "Sexcrime" or even an instrumental of it. Eurythmics' score in the film is actually very low-key and very effective, and wasn't worth all the hoopla about it. This was never a Giorgio Moroder 'Metropolis' type pop score.

[oddbox83]

I have the Australian BD - it's pretty good. Beaten in caps by the French release in a case of single layer vs. double layer but looks fine in motion. It's supposed to have that gritty look which both discs show well.

My concern is TT using single layer and their usual compression. I think for region B buyers the choice is easy unless TT throw tons of newly made extras at it which I doubt or use the alternative director's-preferred soundtrack version.

[Jason One]

It should be noted that the film was only ever meant to have the desaturated look, which was applied to film prints. The US DVD was a straight transfer from the negatives without any of the intended color processing.

Also, as I recall the theatrical version is a mix of the Eurythmics and Muldowney scores, not entirely Eurythmics.

Originally Posted by schlock

Eurythmics' score in the film is actually very low-key and very effective, and wasn't worth all the hoopla about it. This was never a Giorgio Moroder 'Metropolis' type pop score.

I agree, it's very good and surprisingly subtle.

[Jason One]

If anyone is interested, cinematographer Roger Deakins posted about the film's look on his site's forum:

http://www.rogerdeakins.com/forum2/v....php?f=1&t=114

We used a bleach bypass process for all the prints of '1984'. It was the first time that this particular process was used on a feature film, as far as I know, and was created by Kay's lab in the UK. The process adds contrast as well as desaturates the image due to the retention of the developed silver in the emulsion. It gives the projected image a kind of luminous quality. Sadly, some of the latest DVDs do not reflect our original intentions as the distributer has not matched to a print but just taken a transfer from an IP, which, of course, is in full colour. That's more than annoying as some of the costumes and sets were actually over saturated in order to compensate for the kind of processing we were using.

...

We did a Full Bleach Bypass process on all the prints of '1984' when it was first released to get the 'look' we were after. Some DVD reflect this 'look' but I regret that one has recently been released that has been made without regard for our intended 'look'.
Our lab, Kays, came up with the solution to our needs and we made extensive colour tests. From this we had some of the sets painted more colourfully than we might have made them normally to counteract the desaturation of the processing. Some of the costumes were made a little bluer and some of the make up a little redder also.

[Kukulele]

It's being released on December 8th, according to TT facebook.

[KindredCoda]

It looks as if Twilight Time has been informed by many folks (myself included) about the dual soundtrack issue. Here's hoping they do something useful with that information.

[Dick Deckard]

I saw this movie a few months ago....interesting concepts, but not a very good movie. Not very good at all. I'm glad to see this one come out though because this is what I'd consider an "important" film. Unlike some of the other movies that are labeled as important this one really is.

[HotRats]

I think the best version is still the Peter Cushing, but that's never going to make for a stunning blu ray experience. There are a couple of very good BBC Radio adaptations, one from 1965 with Patrick Troughton, one from 2013 with Christopher Eccleston. Interesting coincidence that Troughton, Cushing Eccleston and Hurt have all played Doctor Who

[mar3o]

I have zero interest in this unless it contains the original score, not the one by the Eurythmics. There's no reason this can't contain both versions. The Eurythmics score totally ruins it for me. I'd love to own this but not with the Eurythmics score.

[oddbox83]

Originally Posted by mar3o

I have zero interest in this unless it contains the original score, not the one by the Eurythmics. There's no reason this can't contain both versions. The Eurythmics score totally ruins it for me. I'd love to own this but not with the Eurythmics score.

There's not a huge deal of difference between them for the most part. In a way both are original scores, Muldowney's is the director's preferred score and the Muldowney/Eurythmics shared score was the preference of the studio and what was released theatrically.