Having just seen the 1980 adaptation, I decided to watch this much-maligned 1998 remake as well. It was significantly better than I'd expected. The points of the original book come across quite well, the actors are quite good (esp. Rya Kihlstedt), and much of the thought-provoking content is retained. Considering how bad I had been led to believe that this was, it was a positive and worthwhile, at times even memorable, surprise.Still, I find have more criticism than praise for this version. It is very low-budget, and so resorts to showing a world far too similar to our own, with a general (and generally nonsensical) setting of skyscrapers, shopping malls and (?) traffic jams. People flying ordinary current-day helicopters and driving ditto cars. The cast of characters, too, has been whittled down to just a few mains, and Bernard Marx, in order to contrast him more with John the Savage (who is for some reason called John Cooper here), is handsome and orthodox, unlike in the book.What we have, then, is a deeply, deeply dumbed down version of the original story, super-simplified for a less intellectual audience, and probably also for the purpose of keeping the budget down.A 7 rating is very generous (and most of the reason is because of the greatness of the original book), but this TV movie actually did hold my attention, and I liked the performances of both Gallagher, Kihlstedt, Ferrer and Nimoy. A few of the changes made to the story (in an attempt to make it more current) were okay, although I'd have to say they were also unnecessary. Still and all, this is something I would buy if it were available on DVD rather than just VHS.7 out of 10.

Being as Huxley is an incredible fictional writer, I feel that this movie did him no justice whatsoever. I love Peter Gallagher as an actor and I think he as well as some the other actors did a fine job, but others did not fit at all. The script deleted important scenes as well as backstory and destroyed the ending! If I had an unlimited budget I would create a new film version that would parallel "The Matrix" in special effects and art direction. Especially, what is described in the first chapter of the book. Now that we are in a time where people are anti-government and big corporations the movie would do well. I had previously thought about Gary Sinise to play Bernard (because he is a great shorter actor- how he became short was never revealed in the movie by the way), but I think Sinise may be too old now. To play Linda I picture Jennifer Coolidge, and for John a younger upcoming twenty something. The previous John I felt was too old. They needed to find actors that fit the book description. But the biggest disappointment was the script. Overall, I would not recommend this 1998 version if you love the book.

I respect the integrity of the written word as much as anyone. I first read Huxley's BRAVE NEW WORLD at 13 and I enjoy the classic novel. However, there is no question in my mind that this innovative, dark, and sexy retelling of the Huxley classic is only strengthened by the major changes in plot and characterization.Let's face it, in Huxley's version the main characters are much less interesting than the ideas he presents. Bernard Marx is a whiner. Lenina Crowne is a luscious, empty-headed plaything of her own desires. The Savage is a paranoid, humorless sex-hating pervert. None of these people are really strong enough or engaging enough to make an audience care deeply about their adventures in the "perfect" future.What makes this TV version so amazing is that all the ugliness of the society has been captured -- the cloning, the compulsive spending,the life of pure sensation. But the characters are much, much stronger. In this version Bernard and Lenina are not weak and stupid. They are tough, honest, and sexy. Their society has twisted them in many ways, but as they learn better they make changes and try to make a difference. One exchange between them sums up the tone perfectly: LENINA: I'm beginning to understand why we eliminated love. BERNARD: I don't think we ever did.The casting is absolutely perfect. Tough, brooding, virile Peter Gallagher is a bold, daring choice. He turns Bernard from a Woody Allen whiner to a true romantic hero in his own right. Rya Kihlstedt, who was so sexy and feline in THE BUCCANEERS, is exactly the right actress to capture all of Lenina's sex appeal -- while adding a great deal of sly intelligence. This is a bold new cast for a bold new vision of Huxley's classic.In this version, Bernard and Lenina have the makings of a true, adult relationship, and they don't back away from danger in order to help their friend, the Savage. His tragedy remains intact, and indeed the fact that Lenina is much stronger and really in love with Bernard only makes John Savage's isolation more tragic. Watch the scene where the Savage is trying to explain Shakespeare to a classroom of bored clones. In the background, Lenina is watching, sitting on a desk with her fabulous legs crossed. In the book she's just a bimbo, but here she's more like a queenly figure of strength. She knows John can't survive, but he's under her protection all the same. The clones can't hurt John while she's in the room.The one thing I do regret is that this version totally ignores the Savage's Native American roots. Aldous Huxley really did live among the Zunis for several months. However, it is obvious that "political correctness" forced the film makers to reimagine the Outlands as more of a trailer park full of white trash than an Indian Reservation. But even this change works, in that it shows how bland the world is without culture, religion, and Shakespeare.In conclusion, this movie, like Michael Mann's LAST OF THE MOHICANS, is a legitimate example of what happens when a film maker truly captures the spirit of a literary classic -- without being tied to the exact letter of the text.Would love to see a DVD release of this modern television classic!

In the far future the World Controllers decided to build a world without any families and crimes. People are no longer born, they are mass produced. There are five different classes, which differ in intelligence: Alphas, Betas, Gammas, Deltas and Epsilons. The Alphas are the most intelligent people and the Epsilons are the most stupid ones. They are conditioned to believe, that they live a happy life and take the world's perfect drug "soma". Berndard and Lenina are both Alphas and are together since 4 months, although it is not really allowed to have a partner for this long because in the "Brave New World", everyone belongs to everyone else. However one day, they decide to visit an outlying reservation, but crash with their helicopter into it. In this reservation they meet John and his mother, who was previously a part of the Brave New World and take them back into "civilazation"...The plot is not really new. There are already other utopian films like "Brave New World". I like the idea of a character of the "other" world, going into the "new world". You can see where the mistakes are lying in the new system of society. In the film the producers concentrated more on Lenina than on John, like it was in the novel. They really changed Huxley's flat characters into round characters and the ending is quite different in the film, than in the novel. Tim Guinee (John) plays his characters very good, however I imagined a totally other actor for John, maybe a smaller one. As for Bernard (Peter Gallagher) I imagined also a smaller actor for him and not so "good looking", maybe someone like the guy who plays Henry Foster. The best job on the characters did Sally Kirkland (Linda). You really can see that she reflects Linda very well and likes to play her role. BUt in the end I never heard of one single one of the actors for BNW and I think that they should have picked some other actors, but all in all it can be said, that they are not too bad choicesm it could be worse. There were not really special effects from with you can say "Wow, gorgeous!" and the soundtrack is not really unique, too. You can only .hear some techno music and sometimes really soft music, which seems to me, that they can bring your every minitue to sleep and on first sight, I Didn't even realize, that there is this soft music (am I already too good conditioned?). So you can say, that this movie is not really outstanding with elements that make a film unique. I only recommend this film to people who like this genere and want to see what could happen if mandkind wants to create a perfect society without wars and real feelings. But I really hate this movie, I like the novel better