EDITORIAL

John Hurt has been my favourite actor ever since I was moved to tears by his performance in Elephant Man. The cumbersome make-up rendered him unable to use his face and eyes as acting tools... He could only project emotions through his voice and his body, but his talent was so great that it made him overcome every obstacle.

He was a much better Caligula than Malcolm McDowell... (I, Claudius) because, despite all the crazy, cruel and sometimes even hilarious antics, his Caligula remains a tragic human being, unable to ever be happy or even at peace. Even when the despot is gleefully laughing at one of his victims, Hurt makes you sense that the emperor is always running away from his demons. Hurt's Caligula is a psychopath, but not a sociopath; it's a mere cat with the claws and aggressiveness of a tiger. He's a coward, and he's never able to forget it. He can kill every other man on earth, rape every woman, break every taboo, he'll never forget his cowardice for even one second.

His performance in 1984 should have earned him an Academy Award nomination. His Winston Smith is almost the exact replica of the novel's hero. Something in him, very subtle, transcends his forced impassivity, his bland everyday face and demeanour. If a man wants to survive in Big Brother's world, he must be a robot devoid of any emotion and desire. His only aim in life must be to worship Big Brother, live for him, believe everything Big Brother tells him even if his mind is telling him that Big Brother is mistaken, or even, Big Brother forbids! lying. Winston Smith lives in a perpetual state of fear because he's not truly devoted to Big Brother, because he's having thoughts, feelings and desires that are crimes in Big Brother's world. He wears his impassive mask, but he knows that he's always watched, even when he is sleeping. A brief frown, a mere sigh can betray him, expose him for the criminal he is... Even though Winston Smith is never really alone, since he's always watched, his solitude his complete and he imagines that every one he knows is a perfect citizen who will denounce him at the first opportunity... Julia, the outwardly perfect citizen who really is a long-time rebel, sees through Winston's facade that he is someone like her, someone who hates Big Brother, someone burning with anger and desire. John Hurt makes us see what Julia sees and it's a great acting achievement. Winston goes through several transformations throughout the film, and Hurt makes us believe in them all: the outwardly-perfect citizen at the start, then the passionate lover, then the torture victim, finally the inwardly- and outwardly-perfect citizen who loves Big Brother and can't believe that he once hated him...

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