Nineteen Eighty-Four

Right now you can watch Nineteen Eighty-Four in Australia on Amazon Prime Video, and in the US on Amazon Prime Video and YouTube TV — and it goes further with its ideas than most genre entertainment bothers to. The runtime earns every minute, with nothing here that feels like padding. A 7/10 rating says what the writing already makes obvious: this one works. John Hurt sets the tone, and the world-building does the rest. Available now on Amazon Prime Video — press play and find out why people keep recommending it.

There is a reason Nineteen Eighty-Four keeps coming up in conversation. The world-building is meticulous, but it is the characters who carry Nineteen Eighty-Four through its more ambitious moments. Winston Smith is a government employee whose job involves the rewriting of history in a manner that casts his fictional country's leaders in a charitable light. His trysts with Julia provide his only measure of enjoyment, but lawmakers frown on the relationship -- and in this closely monitored society, there is no escape from Big Brother. John Hurt and Richard Burton lead a cast that brings real weight to the material. It was released in 1984. The rules of Nineteen Eighty-Four's world are consistent enough that the big swings never feel like cheating. It delivers reliably on what it promises, which is more than most of its competition manages.

Nineteen Eighty-Four is satisfying on multiple levels — something to watch and something to think about after. It does not lean on comparisons to make its case. The complete film is available and best experienced without too much prior knowledge of where it goes. Watch for John Hurt in particular — the performance elevates the material. Satisfying on multiple levels.