THREADS (Nuclear War)

Threads was aired on 1984, one Sunday night at 9pm to an unsuspecting UK TV audience, it single handedly put the nation off the nuclear war effort and was then quitely removed from the archives until 2002. Threads redefines the word grim and is hard to imagine what sort of impact this would have had on its viewers given its from an era in TV when there was only 4 channels and a Mary Whitehouse mentality towards censorship.




On the plus side it shows that the BBC were once brave and did care about quality programming that dealt with factual real life issues, you know stuff people really needed know.

The full length version was posted 4 years ago on Google Video, as that website is being closed I decided to upload the full film to YouTube.

Wiki;
Threads is a British television drama produced by the BBC in 1984. Written by Barry Hines and directed by Mick Jackson, it is a documentary-style account of a nuclear war and its effects on the city of Sheffield in northern England.

Filmed in late 1983 and early 1984, the primary plot centres on two families: the Kemps and the Becketts — as an international crisis between the United States and the Soviet Union erupts and escalates. As the United Kingdom prepares for war, the members of each family deal with their own personal crises. Meanwhile, a secondary plot centered upon Clive J. Sutton, the Chief Executive of Sheffield City Council serves to illustrate for the viewer the United Kingdom government's then-current continuity of government arrangements. As open warfare between NATO and the USSR-led Warsaw Pact begins, the harrowing details of the characters' struggle to survive the attacks is dramatically depicted. The balance of the film details the fate of each family as the characters face the medical, economic, social, and environmental consequences of a nuclear war. Both the plot and the atmosphere of the film are extremely bleak.

Threads was first broadcast on BBC Two on 23 September 1984.[4] It was repeated on BBC One on 1 August 1985 as part of a week of programmes marking the fortieth anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which also saw the first television screening of The War Game (which had been deemed too disturbing for television in the 20 years since it had been made). Threads was not shown again on British screens until the digital channel BBC Four broadcast it in October 2003.

Threads was broadcast in the USA on cable network Superstation TBS on January 13, 1985,[5] followed by a panel discussion on nuclear war. It was also shown on PBS stations as part of fund raising drives.

Threads was broadcast in Australia on the Nine Network on 19 June 1985.[6] Unusually for a commercial network, it broadcast the film without commercial breaks.[7]

[edit] AwardsThreads was nominated for seven BAFTA awards in 1985. It won for Best Design, Best Film Cameraman, Best Film Editor, and Best Single Drama. Its other nominations were for Best Costume Design, Best Make-Up, and Best Film Sound.

[edit] Video and DVD releasesThreads was originally released by BBC Video (on VHS and, for a very short period, Betamax) in 1987 (catalogue number BBCV4071) in the United Kingdom but soon went out of print and became a much sought-after item in the 1990s.

A DVD release appeared in the United Kingdom in 2000 on the Revelation label followed by a re-release in 2005.

Some video and DVD versions of the programme omitted the use of Chuck Berry's song "Johnny B. Goode" for copyright reasons.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Threads
• 1984
• BBC
• Tv
• Movie
• Of
• Nuclear
• War
• weapons
• atomic
• destruction
• grim
• as
• fuck

[BeGoneTrolls4evR]

While watching this film, I couldn't help but notice, how the events leading to the nuclear strikes, are very similar to current events happening between the U.S., and Middle East today. This is frightening to say the least. Knowing what to expect, and how to prepare, would be crucial to survival durring, and after a nuclear attack. This film, as dismal as it is, contains a great wealth of information. I will share this film with everyone I know. Thanks many times over, for sharing this.

[eurocon]

@BeGoneTrolls4evR yup the similaritys are staggering including how most of the nation is unaware of the danger. The danger of course being us and our hunger for nation stealing, destabilisation and just keeping us all scared. Watch the other films i posted, When the wind blows also showing the total futility of it all and Rollerball to see what the utopian vision of our corporate led government really has and is working towards.

eurocon 5 minutes ago

[plymouthbelvedere]

A complete analysis and timeline of THREADS is available at

h t t p : / / b i t . l y /mHjHA7

[eurocon]

@plymouthbelvedere That was really interesting thank you.

[EpicFishFingers]

Holy shit that was a powerful film. If anything alone was responsible for stopping this happening, it was this film

[Kill0Your0TV]

Probably the most frightening film ever made.

[spooookie1]

Desperately frightening.Nothing has come close to the impact this film had on me,or indeed,has on me.

On the plus side,at least we beat Portsmouth 1-0 apparently.

[Paganfuckingsexgod]

@unit23. Fair comment well presented. It's still a danger worth trying to avoid though isn't it?

Have you seem the cover of the economist this week? A very good article in it about the futility of bombing Iran to stop her getting nuclear capability. My point still remains though, we should at least try and avoid a conflagration between Israel and Iran, because that could lead to WW3 and you know it.

Damned if we do, damned if we don't.

[jazzx251]

@eurocon

Rollerball is a classic - I simply can't believe more people haven't seen it and realise what its message is. Much like this film.

[And Rollerball has some of the best made and edited sports footage I've ever watched - it's like being at the game, and yet it's totally imaginary!]

[BeGoneTrolls4evR]

@eurocon I definatly will watch When The Wind BIows etc. I have never seen, or heard of a lot of these movies. I guess because l was once consumed by the rat race, like most everyone else. It's was shocking to wake up, and realize how blind I really was for so many years. Mistrust of the mainstream media ignited the spark for me, as well as, the book 1984. Seeing that this movie aired in 1984, really sparked my interest in watching it. Thanks again

[seraptorxxx]

wtf

[ChaosButterfly8]

Iran ☣ ☢ ☣ ☢ ☣ ☢

[MasterAusUnd]

i'm sorry but i laught at 8:09 RAF comm centre

RAF also means Red army fraction