Portrays life in a future time when a totalitarian government watches over all citizens and directs all activities. In 1984, London is a grim city in the totalitarian state of Oceania where Big Brother is always watching you and the Thought Police can practically read your mind. Winston Smith is a man in grave danger for the simple reason that his memory still functions. Drawn into a forbidden love affair, Winston finds the courage to join a secret...

In this stunning adaptation of George Orwell's terrifying classic, Winston Smith (John Hurt) endures a squalid existence under the constant surveillance of Big Brother. But his life takes a horrifying turn when he begins a forbidden love affair and commits the crime of independent thought. Sent to the "Ministry of Love," he is at the mercy of O'Brien (Richard Burton, in his final feature film performance), a coolly treacherous leader determined to...

Brings together the words of over 60 writers, from Twain's earliest reviews to today, probing the many facets of his incomparable humor, his revolutionary use of vernacular language, his exploration of the realities of American life, and his fearless opposition to the injustices and outrages of an imperialistic age.