Featured Image Credit: BBC
Topics: BBC, Film, History, Politics, TV and Film
Michael Slavin
When you finish one incredible film, your brain will always naturally go ‘what’s next’.
Oftentimes it can be frustrating to find one, as you will simply be chasing the high of discovering that first fantastic movie.
This will be a common experience for many who watched Threads on BBC Four last night.
The British war film, released in 1984, was aired on TV for only the fourth time ever last night.
The reaction from those watching mirrored the overwhelmingly positive reviews it has received in the 40 years since its release, with 100 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and a score of 8/10 on IMDb.
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One viewer said after watching it last night: “Should not have watched Threads before bed. Everyone always comments on how unremittingly f**king bleak it is but that really doesn't prepare you for how unremittingly f**king bleak it is.”
Another in the replied to this though, pointed to another film as being even more of a harrowing watch.
They replied saying: “Dare I say it if you want a nuclear war film that is even more grim then watch the BBC’s The War Game from the 1960s.
“So bad it didn’t get shown on TV until the 80s, and never since. It is truly shocking. Worse than Threads.”
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The film in question The War Game, aired in 1966, posits a hypothetical situation whereby China would invade South Vietnam, triggering a world wide war.
It focuses on Kent, where evacuations begin following fears of a Nuclear attack.
When one goes off – it causes chaos.
The film was initially intended to be screened by the BBC in 1965, but was pulled.
In a parliamentary hearing, it was revealed that the reason for this is: “When the television service undertook the making of a film on this subject, it recognised the risk that the film might turn out to be unsuitable for general showing.
“In the event, the effect of the film has been judged by the BBC to be too horrifying for the medium of broadcasting.”
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The film ended up premiering the following year to massive positive reaction.
It eventually aired on British TV for the first time in 1985, during the week before the 40th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The War Game was aired the day before Threads, which was aired for just the second time for the same reason.
It sits at 93 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, with the legendary Roger Ebert calling the film: “One of the most skillful documentary films ever made.”
The movie is a pseudo-documentary film – depicting fictional events through a realistic lense.