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by **flaw07** » Jan 28th, '09, 06:30

and it is now one of my favorite books of all time, can anyone point me in the direction and, while I was in town today, I was passed by a guy wearing a shirt with a slogan from the book, and it didn't occur to me until later that it was from 1984. can anyone point me to a website that would sell any merchandise like this. I'd love to own a shirt like that.

by **Demitri** » Jan 28th, '09, 09:41

Zazzle has shirts, hats, and more.

http://www.zazzle.com/war+is+peace+1984+gifts

by **Charles Calthrop** » Jan 28th, '09, 10:11

Surprised you weren't already familiar with it given your avatar. I think anyone who likes 'V' will appreciate 1984. It's still relevant and scary today.

EDIT: Sorry. Just spotted that you reread it.

by **Jean** » Jan 28th, '09, 11:47

Charles Calthrop wrote:I think anyone who likes 'V' will appreciate 1984. It's still relevant and scary today.

Alan Moore did write V when he thought 1984 would happen during the thatcher years.

Introducing V for Vendetta in 1998 Alan Moore wrote:It's 1988 now. Margaret Thatcher is entering her third term of office and talking confidently of an unbroken Conservative leadership well into the next century. My youngest daughter is seven and the tabloid press are circulating the idea of concentration camps for persons with AIDS. The new riot police wear black visors, as do their horses, and their vans have rotating video cameras mounted on top. The government has expressed a desire to eradicate homosexuality, even as an abstract concept, and one can only speculate as to which minority will be the next legislated against. I'm thinking of taking my family and getting out of this country soon, sometime over the next couple of years. It's cold and it's mean spirited and I don't like it here anymore. Goodnight England. Goodnight Home Serve and V for Victory. Hello the Voice of Fate and V for Vendetta.

I think its a shame that so many people will first experience V as a movie when the comic has so much more to give, and now the same is going to happen to Watchmen.

by **Charles Calthrop** » Jan 28th, '09, 12:03

I'd love to be proved wrong but I just don't see how Watchmen can be made into a good film. And even if it could be done I don't believe for a minute that Hollywood could do it. We'll see.

I'm less negative about 'V' the movie. I enjoyed it as a film in its own right with some interesting things to say. Anything that gets people thinking outside of the usual parameters is a good thing. I thought Ross' criticism was way OTT.

Being positive, a lot of people who aren't really aware of the source material are going to seek it out because of the movies.

by **flaw07** » Jan 28th, '09, 13:48

My dad was a huge comic nut when he was a kid, and he passed that obsession on to me, and that was how I got into V and the Watchmen and such, and the V movie wasn't too bad. The reason I reread 1984 was because the first time I read it, it was for my enlgish class my senior year of high school and, being that I procrastinate, I crammed it and didnt really get a chance to enjoy it. So I reread it and realized just how good it was.

Also, I don't think the watchmen will turn out too bad, they've got a great director working on it.

by **Charles Calthrop** » Jan 28th, '09, 13:55

Yeah, but some things just don't film well....
Take Fear and Loathing for instance. Fabulous book, superb cast and the right director. Still a mess though. I just think that some things are so bound to their medium that they don't translate well.

Like I though, I would like to be proved wrong.

by **flaw07** » Jan 28th, '09, 14:02

I see what you're saying, but I made the same statement for V and it turned out okay. Also before I forget, thanks you Dimitri for the link, I think I just found where my next paycheck will be going towards.

by **Tomo** » Jan 28th, '09, 14:06

Demitri wrote:Zazzle has shirts, hats, and more.

http://www.zazzle.com/war+is+peace+1984+gifts

Those INGSOC t-shirts are brilliant. I want one!

It's good to see more people discovering "Nineteen Eighty-Four". If ever there was a 20th century book of prophesy, this is it.

by **flaw07** » Jan 28th, '09, 14:14

It really reminded me of how important it is to use my mind and question things. It's truly amazeing how something written so long ago has the power to do that for the people of today. Does anyone know if the 1984 movie was any good?

by **Mandrake** » Jan 28th, '09, 15:48

The one with John Hurt and Richard Burton? Not seen it for ages but it was very gritty and realsitic, the effect of Winston Smith's teeth falling out was very well done!

by **Jean** » Jan 28th, '09, 17:48

Charles Calthrop wrote:I'd love to be proved wrong but I just don't see how Watchmen can be made into a good film. And even if it could be done I don't believe for a minute that Hollywood could do it. We'll see.

Being positive, a lot of people who aren't really aware of the source material are going to seek it out because of the movies.

I also inherited my love of comics from my dad, and when I stated my doubts about the movie he said it doesn't matter if its as good or includes as much, as long as the message of the comic (i.e what would it be like if costumed heroes existed in the real world) was featured.

My real problem with the movie is that this was something special and brilliant for the geeky few, the ones who held onto comics into their adult lives. And now every comic hating meat head is going to get something wonderful they don't deserve.

I also hate the fact that my version of V for Vendetta has the words 'Now a major motion picture!' printed across the front as if that made it better.

But then I'm a naturally bitter person.

by **Robbie** » Jan 29th, '09, 13:07

The 1984 movie had the right atmosphere but wasn't really much as an adaptation of the book, as far as I recall. I haven't seen it since 1984, so memory is hazy, but I do remember being disappointed.

(It had some pretty decent music, though, by the Eurythmics. I still have the album.)

I was very relieved that the V for Vendetta movie came out as well as it did, especially after other Alan Moore titles got so comprehensively ruined in their screen versions.

Does anybody else want to see The New Statesmen as a movie (assuming it's properly done)? Especially now that special effects technology is up to the task.

by **Dominic Rougier** » Jan 29th, '09, 13:21

None of the many 1984 film adaptions are wonderful, although the black-and-white BBC Peter Cushing TV version was damn close.

It's like Dune, in a way, there are too many internal monologues and thoughts for it to translate.

Brazil, on the other hand, is perfect

I'm a fan of dystopia (eep), in many forms - the best version of Brave New World I've ever seen on film was shot for schools in America. That was pretty good, even though they made the story's timeline linear.

Incidentally, the roleplaying game "Paranoia" (originally West End Games, Mongoose punlishing now) is definitely worth checking out - it's one of the few RPG's that attempt to transcend the genre, and any work that mixes political satire, black comedy and slapstick, AND make it funny in an improvisational and purely audial sense is worthwhile.

by **Reverend Tristan** » Jan 29th, '09, 13:43

I love the book 1984 (in fact I just love George Orwell) and it's strang that he wrote it to prove socialism wouldn't work but it stands for what we have become now, so many truths there. The film is good but it never got anywher near the grittiness of the book for me, it would have had to been another 2 hrs long :-)

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so i just reread 1984

so i just reread 1984

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