"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."

"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."

"The peculiar horror of individuality being swallowed up in some faceless social whole has been portrayed in a number of films that refer to the modern totalitarian experience, including…Nineteen Eighty-Four (Michael Radford, 1984)."

"This story is, of course, well known. 1984 must be one of the most widely read novels of our time. What is remarkable about the movie is how completely it satisfied my feelings about the book; the movie looks, feels, and almost tastes and smells like Orwell's bleak and angry vision."

"What Orwell feared, when he wrote his novel in 1948, was that Hitlerism, Stalinism, centralism, and conformity would catch hold and turn the world into a totalitarian prison camp. It is hard, looking around the globe, to say that he was altogether wrong. 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."

"The year of the movie. The movie of the year."

"Big Brother is Watching…"

"George Orwell's Terrifying Vision Comes To The Screen"

"Emmanuel Goldstein: [His finals words were recorded for the "Two Minutes Hate" before his execution...] What is freedom? Nothing the Party says is true. Nothing the Party does is good. Even the war itself isn't real. The Party wants you to believe we are at war so as to channel your aggressions away from their rightful target: the Party. Big Brother is not real. He is pure fiction created by the Party. The real rulers of the State are unknown, faceless manipulators who, because they are not known, are able to wield power without let or hindrance. People of Oceania, you are being duped. The Party doesn't serve the people — it serves itself. We are not at war with Eurasia. So, what is freedom? You are being made into obedient, stupid slaves of the Party. Open your eyes. See the evil that is happening to you. The Party drops bombs on its own citizens. It is the Party, not the Eurasians, who are our enemies. Rise up. Throw off the yoke. You have nothing to lose, and everything to gain, people of Oceania. [He is executed by a firing squad.]"

"Tom Parsons: Keep away from me, Smith. I’m an agent of Goldstein. I didn’t know it myself. Thoughtcrime is so insidious. It just creeps up on you. My daughter found it out. Very proud of her. Very grateful I’ve been discovered before it’s too late. They won’t shoot me, will they, Smith? I know I can be very useful in a labour camp...!"

"Harold Syme: It’s a beautiful thing, the destruction of words. You won't have seen the 10th dictionary edition yet, Smith. It's [indicates size with his thumb and index finger] that thick. The 11th edition will be [decreases size to small] that thick. The secret’s to move from translation, to direct thought, to automatic response. No need for self-discipline. Language coming from [points at his throat] here, not from [points at his temples] here."

"The world we are preparing, Winston, is of constant victory and constant triumph. You are beginning to accept it, you'll soon welcome it, and, finally, become a part of it."

"You once asked me, Winston, what was in room 101. I told you that you knew already. Everyone knows. The thing that is in room 101... is the worst thing in the world."

"Obedience is not enough. Power is inﬂicting pain and humiliation; otherwise, you cannot be sure. Power is tearing human minds apart, and putting them together again in new shapes of your own choosing. Power is not a means, it is an end. In our world, there will only be triumph and self-abasement. Everything else, we shall destroy. The past is forbidden. Why? Because when we can cut man from his own past, then we can cut him from his family, his children, other men. There is no loyalty, except loyalty to the Party. There is no love, except love of Big Brother. All competing pleasures, we will destroy. If you want a vision of the future, Winston, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—forever."

"We shall meet in the place where there is no darkness."

"I love you."

"Do it to her! Do it to Julia! I don’t care what you do to her, but do it to her! Tear her face off! Do it to Julia, not to me! DO IT TO JULIA! DO IT TO JULIA!!!! Not me!"

"[Entry in his forbidden diary] Freedom is the freedom to say two plus two equals four. If that is granted all else will follow."

"[Reads from Goldstein's book] "In accordance to the principles of doublethink, it does not matter if the war is not real, or when it is, that victory is not possible. The war is not meant to be won. It is meant to be continuous. The essential act of modern warfare is the destruction of the produce of human labour. A hierarchical society is only possible on the basis of poverty and ignorance. In principle, the war effort is always planned to keep society on the brink of starvation. The war is waged by the ruling group against its own subjects, and its object is not victory over Eurasia or Eastasia, but to keep the very structure of society intact." [notices Julia is asleep] Julia? Are you awake? There is truth, and there is untruth. To be in a minority of one doesn't make you mad. Julia, my love, I understand how, but I don't understand why."

"Was there ever a time when this was ordinary?"

"We are the dead."

"[Reciting Under the Spreading Chestnut Tree] Under the spreading chestnut tree, I sold you, you sold me."

"Thoughtcrime is death. Thoughtcrime does not entail death. Thoughtcrime IS death. I have committed even before setting pen to paper the essential crime that contains all others unto itself."

"[Entry in his forbidden diary] If there is hope, it lies in the proles. If they could become conscious of their own strength, they would have no need to conspire. History does not matter to them."

"[First entry in his forbidden diary] April 4, 1984... I think. To the past or to the future, to an age when thought is free, from the Age of Big Brother, from the Age of the Thought Police, from a dead man --- greetings!"

"This is our land --- a land of peace, and of plenty; a land of harmony and hope. This is our land: Oceania. These are our people: the workers, the strivers, the builders. These are our people --- the builders of our world, struggling, ﬁghting, bleeding, dying --- on the streets of our cities, and on the far-ﬂung battleﬁelds, ﬁghting against the mutilation of our hopes and dreams. Who are they? [images of protesters appear; a crowd chants "Eurasia, Eurasia."] They are the dark armies --- the dark, murdering armies of Eurasia. In the barren deserts of Africa and India, in the oceans of Australasia, courage, strength, and youth are sacrificed --- sacrificed to barbarians whose only honour is atrocity. But even as we grasp at victory, there is a cancer, an evil tumour, growing, spreading in our midst. [Image of Goldstein appears] Shout. Shout! SHOUT OUT HIS NAME!"

"Sometimes you can assassinate a leader without firing a shot."

"Kathryn Morris - Special Agent Paige Willomina"

"Mariel Hemingway - Cynthia Charlton Lee"

"Robin Thomas - William Hanson"

"Mike Binder - Lewis Hollis"

"Philip Baker Hall - Oscar Billings"

"Saul Rubinek - Jerry Tolliver"

"William Petersen - Gov. Jack Hathaway"

"Sam Elliott - Kermit Newman"

"Christian Slater - Rep. Reginald Webster"

"Jeff Bridges - President Jackson Evans"

"Gary Oldman - Rep. Sheldon Runyon"

"Joan Allen - Sen. Laine Hanson"

"Welcome To The Greatest Show On Earth"

"[Trying to dig up dirt on Shelly Runyon] I want something EMBARRASSING! Something sexual! Little boys, midgets, that sort of thing! Cows! I don't give a goddamn!"

"The people of this nation can stomach quite a bit. But the one thing they can't stomach is the image of a vice president with a mouthful of cock."

"Take a magic marker, cross out the word "objectivity". Your constituents want you for your opinions, your philosophy, for your subjectivity."

"[to President Jackson Evans] We're both sticking to our guns. The difference is, mine are loaded."

"I should have come down here and pointed my finger your way... [points at Rep. Shelley Runyon] ... pointed my finger YOUR way, and asked "Have you no decency, sir?""

"[addressing the Congress] Thank you. Napoleon once said when asked to explain the lack of great statesmen in the world, that 'to get power, you need to display absolute pettiness. To exercise power, you need to show true greatness.' Such pettiness and such greatness are rarely found in one person. I look upon the events of the past weeks and I've never come so to grips with that quotation. So, ladies and gentlemen of this Congress, it pains my soul to tell you that you have brought blood and shame under this great dome. Your leadership has raised the stakes of hate to a level where we can no longer separate the demagogue from the truly inspired. And believe this, there are traitors among us. And I'm not talking about those of you who sided against your party leadership. I'm talking about those of you who were patriots to your party but traitors to the necessary end result: That of righteousness, the truth, the concept of making the American dream blind to gender. And you know, I am not free of blame. Right from the start, I should've come down here, pointed a finger your way - pointed a finger your way [pointing at Runyon], and asked you, 'Have you no decency, sir?' Yesterday, I met [he notices Runyon exiting] - Mr. Runyon, you may walk out on me, you may walk out on this body, but you cannot walk out on the will of the American people. Americans are a good people. They're a just people, Mr. Runyon, and they will forgive you, but they will not forget. Hate and ego have no place residing in what my good friend Laine Hanson calls the chapel of democracy."

"[about Rep. Reginald Webster] Well, he may not know his right from his left, but he does know the difference between right and wrong."

"[to Gov. Hathaway] Who doesn't want a shortcut to greatness?"

"I'll die before Shelly Runyon checkmates me."

"[to Gov. Hathaway] You're the future of the Democratic party. And you always will be."