Nineteen Eighty-Four in popular media

George Orwell's dystopian political novel Nineteen Eighty-Four has been adapted for the cinema twice, for the radio and television at least twice. References to its themes, concepts and plot elements are also frequent in other works, particularly popular music and video entertainment.

Film adaptations

Nineteen Eighty-Four has been adapted into two theatrically released films. 1984 was directed into 6 different films but the only ones released to public were the following two. The first 1984 film was released in 1956. The second 1984 film, released in 1984, is a reasonably faithful adaptation of the novel, and was critically acclaimed. Many of the film's scenes were shot on the actual dates mentioned in the novel. For example, the scene in which Winston Smith writes the date "April 4, 1984" in his diary was filmed on April 4, 1984. The film's soundtrack was performed by the band Eurythmics, and a single taken from this, "Sexcrime (1984)", was a hit in several countries. The film is notable for containing Richard Burton's last performance.

It has been reported that the Equals (film) is an adaptation of 1984.[1][2]

Theater adaptations

The novel has several times been adapted for the stage by playwrights including Alan Lyddiard and Michael Gene Sullivan. A 2013 adaptation by Robert Icke and Duncan MacMillan for the Headlong theater company, which took the novel's Newspeak appendix as its starting point, has now toured the UK extensively as well as playing commercially in the West End (the first time 1984 has played in the commercial theater in London).

Radio adaptations

The first radio broadcast of Nineteen Eighty-Four was a one-hour adaptation transmitted by the United States' NBC radio network at 9pm. on August 27, 1949 as number 55 in the series NBC University Theater, which adapted the world's great novels for broadcast; it starred David Niven as Smith. Another broadcast on the NBC radio network was made by The Theatre Guild on The Air on Sunday April 26, 1953 for The United States Steel Hour starring Richard Widmark as "Smith" and Marian Seldes as "Julia".

In the United Kingdom, the BBC Home Service produced a 90-minute version with Patrick Troughton and Sylvia Syms in the lead roles, first broadcast on October 11, 1965. In April and May 2005, BBC Radio 2 broadcast a reading of the novel in eight weekly parts. As part of the 2013 The Real George Orwell season, BBC Radio 4 will broadcast a two-part adaptation starring Christopher Eccleston as "Smith", Pippa Nixon as "Julia" and Tim Pigott-Smith as "O'Brien" on February 10 and 17.

Television adaptations

The first television version of Nineteen Eighty-Four appeared in CBS's Studio One series in 1953. In it American actor Eddie Albert played Winston Smith and Canadian Lorne Greene played O'Brien.[3]

The second television version was adapted by Nigel Kneale for the BBC as a Sunday Night Play in 1954 starring Peter Cushing as "Smith", André Morell as "O'Brien" and Yvonne Mitchell as "Julia". The same script was remade in 1965 for the BBC 2's Theatre 625 series.

Operatic adaptation

The opera 1984 was composed by Lorin Maazel and directed by Robert Lepage. The libretto is by Tom Meehan, who worked on The Producers, and JD McClatchy, professor of poetry at Yale University. The opera premiered on May 3, 2005 at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

References in popular culture

References on radio

References on television

References in anime

References in popular music

References in film

References in video games

References in comics

References in books

References

  1. "How 1984 Could Be the Next Hunger Games". time.com. Jan 17, 2014. Retrieved 2014-11-25.
  2. "Kristen Stewart & Nicholas Hoult Will Play Lovers In New Film ‘Equals’". http://hollywoodlife.com. January 14, 2014. Retrieved 2014-11-25.
  3. "The Bootleg Files: "1984″". Film Threat. Retrieved 2013-10-28.
  4. "Skinny Puppy - Video Samples from Movies & Official Bootleg Database". Skinnypuppy.eu. Retrieved 2013-10-28.
  5. "Skinny Puppy - Video Samples from Movies & Official Bootleg Database". Skinnypuppy.eu. Retrieved 2013-10-28.
  6. "Ron 'Bumblefoot' Thal Reveals Meaning Behind 'Little Brother is Watching' ::Bumblefoot News ::antiMusic.com". antimusic.com. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  7. Tane, Kiyofume; Gaijin Punch (translation) (February 2009). "The Father of Strider Who Made the Game World Explode: Kouichi Yotsui Discography". Gameside (16). Retrieved 30 Dec 2009.
  8. "Dana De Young : Thoughts". Dana-deyoung.com. Retrieved 2013-10-28.
  9. The Butterfly and the Flame, by De Young, Dana published by iUniverse