Prime Time: Animal Farm (1954)

When I saw that the animated version of Animal Farm was available online I figured that it wouldn’t really be worth my time. I last saw this film when I was at school, I believe it was one of the choices shown to us one day when the TV/VCR combo was wheeled into class, and I remember it being a fairly basic adaptation of the classic George Orwell tale. But then I started to think about it more, to think of the lessons in the story, and I decided that it might be time for a revisit.

The plot summary is quite simple. A number of farm animals plot to overthrow their human “leader”, aiming to improve their lot in life with some valuable rules, a system that aims to make everything more fair for the hard workers, and full democracy. Of course, as many of you will already be aware, things don’t go according to plan. Rules change, some workers end up doing far more than others, and a leader starts enjoying the many perks of leadership.

Keeping everything quite simple, with narration by Gordon Heath and animals voiced by Maurice Denham, this is an impressively harsh work. Despite the form, it isn’t specifically aimed at younger viewers, although anything too graphic is kept offscreen. This is a message movie, and the message was so valuable that digging around for production information quickly reveals that it was funded, at least in part, by the CIA, who also worked out a new ending to more effectively condemn the ideology at the heart of the tale. Considering how relatively quaint the whole thing is, that piece of information left me reeling. I never knew that I had once been in a classroom where I had witnessed some CIA-endorsed “propaganda”, and it makes the end result, which makes a good fist of carefully adapting the source material, and getting the tone just right, all the more impressive.

Joy Batchelor and John Halas are the directors, another also working with a few other writers in getting the story from page to screen, and they do a very good job. Animal Farm doesn’t really start in a place of sunshine and roses, and it just gets darker and darker on the way to an inevitably bleak conclusion (Orwell gave us some classics, but they’re not cheery tales). The fact that this blends the animation with a growing sense of oppression (both tonally and literally), yet keeps the character interactions and plotting paced perfectly to keep viewers intrigued, is an impressive feat, and Batchelor and Halas should be applauded for such a balancing act.

If you haven’t reminded yourself of the tale in some time, or you haven’t ever given it your time, then now is as good a time as any to rectify that. Much like his other prescient masterpiece, Animal Farm feels like an important lesson being shouted at people who are deliberately plugging up their ears with cotton wool. It’s a scenario playing out all around us nowadays, and one that has been ongoing throughout much of our history. I am not sure if there is any way to break the cycle, but it’s always worth at least reminding ourselves of why we spend so much time feeling frustrated and angry at those who never make the most of any opportunities for real change. Even if that kind of thinning wouldn’t necessarily be approved by the CIA.

8/10

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Prime Time: 1984 (1984)

I remember when I first read 1984, having heard of it as an essential text for many years. I thought it was impressively grim, but I also thought it was a bit far-fetched. That was almost 30 years ago, and I was younger and much more ignorant. Even if I had known about the various real-world factors that influenced the book, I probably would have shrugged with an attitude of “it would never happen here”. And just look at where we are now.

Written and directed by Michael Radford, based on the George Orwell book, this was filmed and released in 1984, allowing everyone involved to make use of the once-in-a-lifetime marketing opportunity. But a film needs more than just canny marketing, and 1984 sadly falters elsewhere.

Radford has taken a couple of great actors, and a timely release schedule, and seems to have neglected almost every other part of the film-making process. There’s no creativity on display, no strength put behind what should always be a gut-punch of a story, and no passion. I understand that the material might work against such an approach, considering how it’s all about breaking spirits and reshaping truth into whatever best serves the leader, but there’s no excuse to film something that feels just like a presentation by a local amateur dramatic society.

For those unfamiliar with the tale, John Hurt plays Winston Smith, a man who falls in love with Julia (Suzanna Hamilton). That love is dangerous, distracting both of them from their main roles, servants to the machine that is the totalitarian society ever-grinding around them. Things become more dangerous, and a happy ending looks increasingly unlikely, especially if anyone ends up in the dreaded Room 101.

Hurt is the best thing onscreen, followed closely by the commanding presence of Richard Burton, past his prime, but still undeniably riveting. Hamilton isn’t quite as good, although she does have the tougher main role, but there are some nice exchanges between herself and Hurt. One or two other familiar faces appear, including Gregor Fisher in a rare dramatic role, but the focus stays tight on our three leads for most of the runtime.

The downside to watching any standard interpretation of 1984 nowadays is that we have had a number of better versions of the tale from people who have used the novel as inspiration. Brazil is the obvious one to mention, but there’s also V For Vendetta, various episode of Black Mirror, The Matrix franchise, and even the gun-fu silliness of Equilibrium. Those are just the titles I can think of right now, but they are all better viewing options than this.

There is one thing about watching 1984 nowadays though, or anything similar to it. The fact that it all feels less like fiction with every passing day should serve as a reminder to call out manipulative nonsense like “alternative facts” and anyone attempting to rewrite even very recent history.

4/10

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