1984 - BBC Live TV Productions

This live BBC TV version of 1984 has the true feel of the flip side of a utopia. The black and white would normally be a deterrent for modern viewers, but it really offers more atmosphere of a bleak reality. Its sets are otherworldly---meaning an eerily strange similarity to life as we know it, but not exactly from the reality of 1954 when it was broadcast.

Live events have an immediacy to them that canned events cannot ever have. Those 1984 actors' emotional appeals are that much more intense. Their pleas for secrecy---or later, for leniency---are really so believable. It is the well directed actors who drive this classic. You simply can't watch this without believing that Peter Cushing was one of the greatest actors of his generation. Yes, he became famous for Star Wars, but he was so much more.

Even if you've watched 1984 with John Hurt, this is well worth your time. It turns out that some big budget Hollywood movies were actually better as BBC TV broadcasts in black and white.