Production
Sonia Brownell, Orwell's widow, owned the film rights to the famed novel. Shortly before her death in 1980, Brownell eventually agreed to allow the film to be produced only under the condition that no futuristic special effects be used.
The glowering, ever-watchful visage of Big Brother was provided by Bob Flag, a non-professional who was cast in the role after answering an open-casting call by the filmmakers in London.
For the role of O'Brien, Paul Scofield, Anthony Hopkins, Sean Connery and Rod Steiger were all previously considered. Richard Burton joined the production six weeks into its shooting schedule.
Production on the film occurred in and around London from April to June 1984. Some scenes were shot on the actual days noted in Winston's diary (for example: April 4, 1984) as well as at some of the actual locations and settings mentioned in Orwell’s novel.
Michael Radford and cinematographer Roger Deakins originally wanted to shoot the film in black and white, but the financial backers of the production, Virgin Films, opposed this idea. Instead Deakins used a film processing technique called bleach bypass to create the distinctive washed-out look of the film's colour visuals. The film is a very rare example of the technique being done on every release print, rather than the internegative or interpositive; as the silver is retained in the print and the lab is unable to reclaim the silver, so the cost is higher, but the retained silver gives a "depth" to the projected image.
The film is dedicated to the memory of Richard Burton, as this was his last acting role; he died in Switzerland two months before the British premiere date.
Read more about this topic: Nineteen Eighty-Four (film)
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—Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl Chesterfield (1694–1773)