[Hugh Jboobs]

Just wondered if many people have seen this film and what their thoughts are? It was a made for TV film which screened on the BBC in 1984 and starred Karen Meagher and Reece Dinsdale.

I first saw it mentioned on a thread here entitled "Most shocking and disgusting films". I then read all about it on Wikipedia and read some of the reviews on Amazon. On the strength of that, I ordered it from Amazon and it's just arrived - I haven't watched it yet! (It's also available on YouTube I believe).

It sounds amazing, though very harrowing. Definitely not one to watch if you want cheering up!

So who's seen it? What did you think of it?

(Tried to put a link to the IMDB page but it wouldn't let me for some reason Here's the Wikipedia link instead: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Threads)

[ironjade]

Still harrowing after all these years. Did little for Sheffield as a tourist destination.

[Lojen]

Lets see if I can think up a few words to describe it; gritty, grim, bleak, harrowing.

It's well worth a watch all the same if only to see a more realistic depiction of the after effects of nuclear war than Hollywood would ever produce.

[CLL Dodge]

Saw it when first transmitted (when a nuclear conflict rather than just a dirty terrorist bomb seemed far more likely).

Saw it many years later on DVD (released 2005). Still seemed an effective bit of film-making.

[Pinkpaper]

I purchased this for the exact same reason you did, I also read that thread

Me and my husband were pretty shocked by it, I wasn't so much because I expected it to be grim but it took my husband completely unawares.

[Greyjoy12]

Its up there with the most grim films I have ever seen. I can watch pretty much anything without it playing on my mind afterwards but this one stayed in my head for a while after watching.

[Gulftastic]

It's on youtube.

One of the scariest things I saw in my teen years. I was terrified of nuclear war.

[Ginger Nut]

Scary broken milk bottles.

[ROWLING2010]

I saw it at school. well part of it at least and for years I wanted to know what happened next.
Saw it on sale in HMV on DVD a few years ago and brought it. Amazing, terrifying film. Especially for the time it was made.

Gave me nightmares and kinda made me regret wanting to know what happened next

[Voynich]

Depressing as hell and it traumatised me as a kid!

[dassser]

Margaret from "trollied" is in it she plays the lead blokes mother

[lil lexie]

bought it recently on DVD. Sorry to say I found it more quaint than shocking, with it's 'let's put the kettle on' attitude.

[Gulftastic]

For all it's grimness, it has lead to possibly the best entry on the whole of the IMDB:

http://uk.imdb.com/name/nm1856457/

[CLL Dodge]

Originally Posted by Gulftastic

For all it's grimness, it has lead to possibly the best entry on the whole of the IMDB:

http://uk.imdb.com/name/nm1856457/

Wonder who added the credit. Maybe she did.

[Mandark]

It was a lot better than the American effort, The Day After, that came out around the same time. Even still you had whole room fulls of Americans crying at that film.

[blueisthecolour]

It's a film that starts off as a 'kitchen sink' style drama typical of the time which you then expect to become a standard survival thriller once the bombs drop. However it actually becomes this unrelentingly horrific and miserable portrayal of life after a nuclear war. There's no redemption, no signs of hope, no happy ending. Just an increasingly bleak tale of sadness, struggle and despair.

It's impossible to watch and not question the madness of nuclear weapons.

[jrmswfc]

Originally Posted by Voynich

Depressing as hell and it traumatised me as a kid!

If you think you were traumatised, I watched it as a schoolboy living in Sheffield!

[Trsvis_Bickle]

It's still the most terrifying drama I've ever seen on screen and I saw it back in the 1980s when nuclear war was a very real threat. Obviously it had a much greater impact when I saw it in the 1980s but, as a human story, and as an indictment of the insanity of nuclear warfare, it has aged surprisingly well.

IIRC it was done on a shoestring budget. These days, you would expect devastation on that scale to require a huge CGI budget but the makers kept the focus at the level of individual humans and the aftermath of the war. I believe that old stills of bombed German cities from WWII stood in for ruined Sheffield.

[shirlt9]

Have watched this a number of times..have it on DVD..bleak...probably due another watch.

[Hugh Jboobs]

Well I've just finished watching this.

Grim as hell.

Glad I watched it though. It's given me a much better appreciation of what nuclear war would actually mean. Horrible to think about.


I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.
-- Albert Einstein

[treme]

"Giz it!"

[Voynich]

Originally Posted by Gulftastic

For all it's grimness, it has lead to possibly the best entry on the whole of the IMDB:

http://uk.imdb.com/name/nm1856457/

"Indeed, a truly memorable turn by the legendary Sellors. I do believe the urination itself was simulated, which just makes her realistic portrayal all the more incredible."

[jende]

I remember watching it at the time when I was in my teens and very anti nuclear. This really didn't make me feel any different! I thought the fact it was so harrowing was actually a good thing. Because let's face it, nuclear bombs being dropped all around, is never going to end happy ever after. I was really impressed and was shinning up my CND badge like nobodies business!!! I do think it is the sort of film that the Brits can actually do better than the Americans. That isn't some nationalistic crap talking, I just feel that Brit films can be more realistic than American ones sometimes.

Another good film in the same vein was When the Wind Blows. It was actually a animated film, so there wasn't any actors. The book was written using the pictures so they stuck with the animation. It's not as harrowing as based just on an old couple, but to me it was very effective. Didn't have a happy ending either.

[jende]

Originally Posted by Hugh Jboobs

Well I've just finished watching this.

Grim as hell.

Glad I watched it though. It's given me a much better appreciation of what nuclear war would actually mean. Horrible to think about.


I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.
-- Albert Einstein

It is. I don't think it helped at the time in the 80's, that Ronald Regan was in power in America. It was quite disturbing to know he had control of nuclear weapons!! But when I think back, I was a young teen when I watched this and there was more fear re nuclear then than there is now. So Threads was able to make a statement about something that was quite a big issue with some, at the time. I think it definitely brought up the reality and that we may have the whole Mutually Assured Destruction thing going on (which to me is never really assuring!), but when push comes to shove, they had so many bombs banging around it was worrying!

To quote another film. War Games - Mutually Assured Destrution - Winner:none. A 'strange game' and the conclusion being the 'only winning move is not to play.'

[StrmChaserSteve]

i remember my form teacher at school got sack for showing 'threads' to year 1 pupils

She was some sort of anti-nuclear protestor

there were a number of them at the time

The Day After (not tomorrow)

When the wind blows (animation) & david bowie music

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9aHT-IlkHo