Brave New World (1980)

This movie was revolutionary because it showed what medical science could lead us to one day. The movie was based off the book and the book was written in 1931, so you can see Aldous Huxley's vivid imagination of what the world would be like hundreds of years down the road following the perfection of cloning. Stem cell research is not all bad but continuing practicing to clone could very well lead us down the "Brave New World" path. Now I don't fully believe that the world will turn out that way, but if you researched the origin of any of the greatest technology we have today you will see that the ideas for them started with a vision. Those visions, along with dedicated practice and increasingly advanced technology, have helped us get to the point we are now. I just thought this movie was interesting because it gave us a glimpse of what our world might be like in 2540, if not sooner. Scientists are working vigorously on stem cell and stem cell related studies and now that Obama has just allowed the practice to continue, it is only a matter of time before it is perfected.

I finally got to watch this movie. All 3hours of it. Now, I gave it a little leeway seeing how its more than 20 years old but I was still a little set back by this adaptation. I remember when it debuted on NBC as a movie of the week. I was in the middle of traveling with my family and when we finally reached our destination, there were only 30 minutes of the film left on television for me to watch. VCRs were not common household appliances then so that was not an option for me or any of my friends at the time either. It was interesting to see what I missed. It looked like they raided the set departments of Buck Rogers and Battlestar Galactica (a distinct possibility as this was a Universal property) in their quest to make the future of BNW. Though they tried to make it sterile it came off as a bit garish and I guess they thought the future meant everything had flashing LEDs. Some things were inventive though. The contraceptive belts used rotary dialers off of old telephones, one set was actually a mock up 747 interior that was supposed to be a luxury hotel suite (very interesting). It seems great care went into trying to be as accurate to the novel of the same name, but there was still a clunkiness in the acting. Perhaps it was the novel's dialog brought to life. Unlike "1984" where the environs created a bleak landscape that added to the culture of the people presented, BNW creates almost cartoon like personalities living in a utopia world that come off as silly and often naive though they portray their duties as part of this utopia very seriously and steadfastly. The one highlight of finally getting to see this movie for me was seeing a young Bud Cort. His portrayal of a shy and tortured Alpha Plus Bernard Marx was quirky and fascinating to watch. I never knew he had this type of range as I often missed seeing some of his better performances. Overall it was worth watching once but after that you may want to watch 1984 or Brazil in order to sweep away the anodyne utopian visions of this version of BNW.

I have taught the novel several times, and I know it rather well. The novel is infinitely better in every way, but at least the 1980 version attempt is interesting to watch and to compare it to the text.The 1980 version is flawed as is the 1998 version, but at least the 1980 version sticks to most of the plot most of the time. You can still understand the message Huxley was getting at despite its lapses in terms of adding characters and changing some story details. It helps to have read the novel before seeing it, but to a viewer who has not read it, the viewer would get most of the ideas found in the text.One big problem I found: Linda was not bloated and old and horrid looking enough. When she returns to the "other place," she hardly looks any different than any other beta female. Also, if she hadn't been given blood transfusions and hormones as in the novel, she would have shown signs of aging. Here she looks like her son's girlfriend, not his mother. The actor playing John also appeared to me to be too old; the character is supposed to look younger. I did like the fact that this version was much more ethnically diverse. The 1980 version is basically "white bread."I have shown my students the 1998 version, as I only recently discovered the googlevideo.com site having the second version. I would like to get a copy to show some of this one too.

I am not going to pretend this is my favourite film of all time, but it was a good, clear version of the excellent book.The film looks dated and would be boring for some. But those who are interested in what might happen to the human race should check this out. This idea is the most likely to come true of all possible fates of humans.The acting is in places 2-dimensional, but this is usually only when portraying characters who are themselves 2-dimensional, such as Lenina, Linda and Thomas.The three more interesting and deeper characters of Bernard, John and Mustapha are portrayed well and all change dramatically and believably as the story unwinds.Not a funny, thrilling or exciting film but a clear film that makes you think.