1984 - Film appreciation.
ENGLISH CHRISTMAS BREAK HOMEWORK 1984- FILM APPRECIATION 3/01/2009 The film 1984, (Director-Michael Radford) is adapted from the famous and thought provoking, book 1984 authored by GeorgeOrwell, written in 1949. The Director has picturised the world of Orwell precisely as the author would have imagined, traumatic and disastrous. Along with Roger Deakins and Allan Cameron’s the film’s, production, set design and cinematography are effectively the most outstanding features of the film. It demands the viewer’s attention at all times. According to me, the cinematography and set design are the two most important technical aspects that have been the defining features of this film. Cinematography includes; background sound, lighting and the camera’s focus. The set design including the props used to create Orwell’s image of Oceania are superb. It recreates a devasted image of Europe after the Second World War. Nothing seems to work in the world of 1984. There is decay and deprivation in every nook and corner. Everything is bland and ugly in an awful stony block style. The cinematography clearly portrays a disastrous look of the place. The appropriate usage of light and sound creates the feeling of fear, scare and intrigue. The character of Winston Smith gets under your skin and changes the way you perceive the world. In the first scene there is a portrayal of a three-dimensional world (TV monitor, common people and the rulers) on a two dimensional movie screen. The TV monitor is screaming authoritative statements of the Government to the common man. The commoners are accepting this approach – they are the members of the Inner Party.There are the members of the Outer Party who are the rulers sat still. A close shot is of the Big brother board, the camera then zooms into a man who was stern faced, he screamt; ‘these are our people ’ , ‘ the workers, the builders, the soldiers’ , ‘ shout, shout out his name, Goldstein, Goldstein’ , ‘ fighting against the mutilation of our hopes and dreams’. The audience is silently given the message
of how the dictatorial regime of Big Brother seized personal freedom and had absolute control of their thoughts. Common man is made to believe what the government wanted them to believe. We are given an insight to the ubiquitous menacing state power of that time. Thus, the camera, lights and the sound together impact the viewer from the very first scene. The lighting plays an extremely effective role in differentiating between reality and dreams, truth and untruth, rich and poor and dictators and workers. It is the life of the film. Also, adding to the film’s impact the use of ...
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of how the dictatorial regime of Big Brother seized personal freedom and had absolute control of their thoughts. Common man is made to believe what the government wanted them to believe. We are given an insight to the ubiquitous menacing state power of that time. Thus, the camera, lights and the sound together impact the viewer from the very first scene. The lighting plays an extremely effective role in differentiating between reality and dreams, truth and untruth, rich and poor and dictators and workers. It is the life of the film. Also, adding to the film’s impact the use of only dull colors. There are only shades of blue and grey everywhere whether it is; the is uniform of the citizens, television boxes, walls, rooms, offices, lifts or simply the garbage pilling up on the streets, everything seems diluted with tints and tones of darkness. This emphasizes on the cold harsh temperament of everything living. It gives an impression of the bad times full of sorrow and misery. There is minimilistic usage of lighting, which allows us to be able to see the faces of the characters that can see no ray of hope. The sun seems nonfunctional and nonexistent. Oceania was submerged in sorrow and along with the land ideas of freedom for many people was sinking too. ‘It has come at last, the call has come. It seems like all my life I have been waiting for it, anxiously.’ Only time that the screen looked bright was when Winston Smith and his fellow colleagues went against the terrible regime that dehumanizes populace. They were always shown in dim light. This suggests that their life was not worth living. However, on the other hand whenever Winston Smith dreamt of something positive against the regime, breaking the norms, the lighting of the scene is bright and lively. Also when he had an illicit affair with Julia at the Victory Square was illuminated. The setting was amidst lush green trees and under a bright blue sky. This shows how the Party had brutishly snatched away every basic freedom instilling an instinct of rebellion in few commoners. Smith asks Julia, ‘Was there a time when any of this seemed ordinary? Our luck can not last for long.’ This rebellion was the reason for a few moments of joy and livelihood, portrayed effectively by the colour green. Also at the end of the movie when Winston smith admits to his mistakes of being a thought criminal, the Director has portrayed this scene on television amidst greenery. ‘All I ask of you is to accept my love for our leader. I plotted against the government. I have learnt my lesson. I was sick in mind and body.’ This brings to light that even though Winston Smith had committed a crime that had nearly cost him his life, it is a creditable action. On the other hand the Upper Party members like O’Brien’s residence was well lit and had a tinge of vibrancy indicating happiness while every one else was dying in poverty. ‘Attention, Attention everyone, a vast military development has been reported in section 17 of the war zone’ , ‘ All over Oceania there has been an increase in the chocolate ration to 25 grams per week’, ‘death to eternal enemies of Oceania’. Another technical aspect is the background sound which enhances the whole impact of the movie. It is a sound that is constantly proclaiming and is very repetitive, forever reminding the people that they were no better than just slaves. The messages of the Big Brother rules are heard every hour of every day. They are a reminder of authority, they drone on information and announcements constantly. Only the Government can be heard. Even, the fundamental rights of speech had been taken away. ‘Freedom is the freedom to say 2+2 is 4, if that is granted all else follows’. The TV monitor kept ringing in every scene.The aspect of sound cannot be established off the written media. The modulation of sound from time to time draws the viewer’s attention. It extends our imagination that if we were in such a place for more than a few months our mind would stop. Thus, this effect used by the Director adds to the film’s impact about a totalitarian future to be bleak, austere looking and frightening. The narrator, Winston Smith talks about his actual thoughts, what he truly felt and believed. We as an audience are given full insight into the danger of dictatorship by these thoughts. ‘War is peace, freedom is slavery, and ignorance is strength’. It makes us create a vision against such a regime and Government wherein citizens have absolutely no freedom. Michael Radford has brought to light these harsh realities. Sound as a technical aspect is portrayed in a loud, subtle, simple but effective manner. Thus, combining sound and light this film can be regarded as a greatest cinematic adaptation from a well known book about futuristic speculation. The art production or set design is another technical aspect that has truly impressed me. It gives an encompassing ambience of tyranny and a wail of despair. All the elements have been used to such perfection that they make the film stand out so well. Michael Radford has created dark and dingy London using appropriate sets. Even the thought of strolling without adequate arms is unimaginable. Adding to the film’s impact the props seem as though they are directly picked from a garbage van. Everything from the office to the houses to the utensils is unkept, completely broken, and in a ruinous condition. These are signs of no prosperity. Even to go home from work roads and pathways are sunken in dirt and filth. This shows how unclean the environment was built by a party whose thoughts were even worse. Subconsciously these props add on layers of information that helps in better understanding of the story. The sets and background show very cold atmosphere. There is no sign of growth, any plants, trees or flowers. This is visible because when every character speaks, there is mist coming out from the mouth. They are covered from head to toe. In every corner whether it is the cafeteria house, office or streets there are films and droplets of moisture condensing, the land was devoid of light.This depicts how defeated everyone was in comparison to the ruling class. Besides being subjugated by rigid political system, the very act of thinking was condemned. ‘They can talk to you, they can make you say anything, but they can not make you believe it, they can not get into your heart’. These were the thoughts that lead Winston Smith to not fear rebelling.‘If there is hope it lies in the pro’s. If they can be conscious in their own strength then there would be no need to conspire’. The sets used give an impression that although fought miles and miles away war was fought nearby. The choice of props, locations and clothes added immensely to the tension of the scenes. The apartments were squalid and dilapidated; each day was bleak, filled with consumer shortages and the endless nagging of the old TV boxes in the background.. There were no curtains. There was no form of privacy and they always feared being watched. Everything was dull, drab and lifeless; there were broken walls, buildings surrounded by even more rubble and decay. The lifts did not work. It was a state of depression. The garbage was littered all over the state. The clothes differed from rich to poor. The poor had to wear unironed, rugged clothes whereas the rich wore crisp andclean ones. A demarcation existed. The poor were given stale meat and sugar as a meal. That’s all. The utensils, gas stove, crockery, trays were prison like. It was a mundane lifestyle. They lived as an abject of squalor and poverty. There were rats all over the place, devouring on anything. It was a brutal and gruesome sight. The only props that looked new were the posters of Big Brother and O’Brien’s office where glasses werenot broken, wine was served, and it was spic and span. Hence, the sets serve their purpose correctly; they indicate to the audience that the government seeks to utterly crush human spirits and that as long as tyrannies exist and governments lie, people will have to keep on surrendering and giving up their freedoms. The film focused on the cons of a dictatorial regime which was based on the principle of control. ‘Who controls the past controls the future, who controls the present controls the past’. It has left such an indelible impression. Earlier I thought it was impossible to truly capture the message of the book into a two hour film, However I have come to the conclusion that the director has done a fine job in extracting the core thoughts of the author to give a spectacular cinematic experience.WORD COUNT – 1,780
