"In a cinema showing patriotic newsreel, anonymous, black-clad citizens rise from their seats in unison to praise their leader Big Brother. Later in the film, it is made clear that the government considers each individual to be no more than a 'cell' in the great organism of the state."

"It would be hard to imagine a better dramatization of Orwell's novel than this film. It does a good job of communicating the novel's substance and spirit, and it has some compelling performances. In particular, the expressive John Hurt is riveting in the lead role. However, this is such a powerful portrayal that many viewers will ﬁnd the ultimate defeat of the individuals in the hands of the mega-state depressing, and some scenes of torture are graphic. It's not the most uplifting film, but certainly a very important one."

""1984" the film works because it wonderfully embodies the bleakness that was the book."

"John Hurt — Winston Smith"

"Richard Burton — O'Brien"

"Suzanna Hamilton — Julia"

"Cyril Cusack — Charrington"

"Gregor Fisher — Parsons"

"James Walker — Syme"

"David Cann — Martin"

"Anthony Benson — Jones"

"Peter Frye — Rutherford"

"Roger Lloyd-Pack — Waiter"

"Rupert Baderman — Winston as a Boy"

"Corinna Seddon — Winston's Mother"

"Martha Parsey — Winston's Sister"

"John Boswall — Emmanuel Goldstein"

"Bob Flag — Big Brother"

"Hey! Old Man! Yeah, you! You come back here without your little Cub Scout army, and I'll kick your Centrally Intelligent Ass up one side of the piazza and down the other!"

"Hi, I'm being blackmailed into robbing Vatican City by a psychotic American corporation and the C.I.A.."

"How am I driving? 1-800-I'm-gonna-fucking-die!"

"If the Mario brothers weren't New Jersey's third-largest crime family, I'd say, "Kiss my ass." But considering your status, I will say, "Slurp my butt.""

"James Coburn - George Kaplan"

"Donald Burton - Alfred"

"Sandra Bernhard - Minerva Mayflower"

"Richard E. Grant - Darwin Mayflower"

"Andie MacDowell - Anna Baragli"

"Danny Aiello - Tommy Five-Tone"

"Bruce Willis - Hudson Hawk"

"Watch your step. Hold your breath. Hang on for dear life. And catch...the hawk."

"Catch the Excitement. Catch the Adventure. Catch the Hawk."

"Shy. Sensitive. Law-abiding. Polite. Respectful. - I don't think so."

"For this cat burglar, nine lives may just not be enough."

"Catch the excitement. Catch the laughter. Catch the Hawk."

"Cardinal (in a confessional) Hit me with your best shot."

"Cardinal The Vatican has foiled the advances of pirates and terrorists. We will not lie down for some schmuck from New Jersey."

"(his dying words) MY PENSION!"

"We blow up space shuttles for breakfast. You and your friend Tommy are nothing more than... a late afternoon Triscuit. Ciao."

"Punks. They think that the "Bay of Pigs" is an herbal tea and that the Cold War has something to do with penguins."

"God, I miss Communism. The Red threat. People were scared, the Agency had some respect, and I got laid every night."

"Eureka, motherfuckers!"

"Bunny, ball ball."

"History, tradition, culture... are not concepts! These are trophies I keep in my den as paperweights! The chaos we will cause with this machine will be our final masterpiece!"

"If Da Vinci were alive today, he'd be eating microwave sushi, naked, in the back of a Cadillac with the both of us."

"I'll kill your friends, your family, and the bitch you took to the prom!"

"I'll torture you so slowly, you'll think it's a career."

"Money isn't everything - gold is. Fuck T-bills! Fuck blue chip stocks! Fuck junk bonds! We've got the real deal! Money will always be paper, but gold will always be GOLD!"

"This might be hard to believe, but I'm just a regular Joe. I just want to be happy. And happiness comes from the achievement of goals. It's just that when you've made your first billion by the age of 19, it's hard to keep coming up with new ones! But finally, I've got myself a new goal: WORLD DOMINATION!"

"What can I tell you? I'm the villain."

"(drugged) I feel like a dolphin who's never tasted melted snow. What does the color blue taste like? Bobo knows! (laughs) I must speak with the dolphins now. Eeeee-eeee-eee-eeeeeee!"