Nineteen Eighty-Four

''This article refers to the film entitled 1984. There is a separate article dealing with events in the film industry during that same year.''

1984 (sometimes Nineteen Eighty-Four) is a British film based upon the George Orwell novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, released in the eponymous year in the United Kingdom, although not until 1985 in the United States.

The film was shot in London between April and June 1984 - as the closing credits point out, this was "the exact location and time envisioned by the author". It stars John Hurt as Winston Smith and Richard Burton as O'Brien, and was directed by Michael Radford. Suzanna Hamilton was cast as Julia. The film was Burton's last movie role and is dedicated to his memory.

Eurythmics' fourth album 1984 (For the Love of Big Brother) was a produced as a soundtrack to the film, and includes the track "Sexcrime" which was released as a single. Michael Radford expressed discontent with the music Eurythmics made for the film, which resulted in an alteration of the score for the DVD release: only one track from the album is used for the DVD, over the closing credits; however, Annie Lennox made a cameo in the film. She appears behind Winston during the Two Minutes Hate. The music actually used in the film was written by Dominic Muldowney.

From a technical point of view, the film is notable for its muted colours, produced by a unique film processing technique specially devised for the movie.

Winston Smith endures a squalid existence in the totalitarian state of Oceania, under the constant surveillance of Big Brother. His life takes a horrifying turn when he starts a forbidden love affair and commits thoughtcrime - the crime of independent thought.

The film is a very faithful (though necessarily abridged) adaptation of the source novel.