looking for an 80's info film RE: Nuclear srike in Northern England

[Stuart W]

OK, this is an odd request, but I'll do my best!!

Some time in the 80's, I'm guessing mid 80's, ther was an information film about a northan england nuclear strike (somewhere neer shefield I believe). I think it was called "Threads" but not totaly sure.

Basicly, it started with some shots of different families doing day-to-day stuff then has a shot of some traffic on a road in a traffic jam. Then everyone is blinded by a bright light & on the horizon they can see nuclear 'shroom clouds. It then goes on to show the impact and effects.


So, does anyone know, firstly, WTF I am talking about and secondy, where I could get hold of this film?

[Paul K]

http://www.unc.edu/~landon/threads.html

[Neil]

How's this for starters? :http://www.thisisbradford.co.uk/bradford__district/bradford/news/barnett19.html :)

[Edit]-This should sort you out: http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00004U3VW/qid%3D1070881520/026-1941488-0961215 :angel:

N.

[Another Edit] :blush: Nice to see another '80s fan' out there Stu! :D

Ahhhh-the good old 80's :p

[Paul K]

and even
http://www.123pricecheck.com/cgi-bin/book/buy.cgi?http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00004U3VW/ref=nosim/ukinvestmentdire?dev-t=D10SBASHC4I9Q1

[Neil]

Damn you Stu-you've just set me off thinking of a short series in the eighties called "The Fear"

It starred Iain Glenn as the ring leader of a gang of East End villains, & was absolutely superb!

Darn you man-I've gotta track this down on DVD/video now :Peace:

[Edit]-Found this on IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0134246/

If anyone has any links where I may be able to buy this, I would be most appreciative! :luv: :D

[Stuart W]

:D

Thanx for the links guys, just ordered the VHS copy from Amazon!

Shame it isn't on DVD tho, I'll have to dig out the VCR and transfer the film onto my PC. (don't want to start another SCART nightmare getting the VCR plugged back in to the downstairs TV!)

Oh, and Nizza, just for you....
I Remember all my adolescant days,
And thats going back a few years now,
There was Quatermass and Journey into Space,
Their voices still ring loud and clear somehow,
The Eagle, Blackjacks, everlasting strips,
Things I read like Biggles,
And Newspaper round my chips,
National Health Orange Juice,
Birthday ten-bob notes,
Idiot mittens with the strings around our throats
I remember bags of coloured rubber bands,
Streets that never had no yellow lines,
There was Snake belts, mine was red and blue,
Shops with metal ovaltinie signs,
Fags around the bike-sheds, when my brother was a Ted,
Transistor radios we smuggled into bed,
Cold winter mornings, when the school milk froze,
Third pint bottles, yes I still remember those,
But I can't remember what I said to you,
That apparantly broke your heart in two,
And I can't remember quite honestly,
The last time you told me you loved me...,


Saturday morning picture shows,
How we whistled when the film broke down,
Frozen jubblies, flying saucers, liquorice wood,
And lead soldiers in a box for half a crown,
Having friends to tea, but never in the week,
Trying to ask a girl out, but forgetting how to speak,
Roy of the Rovers, in his red and yellow shirt,
Building roads for dinky toys, in the garden dirt,
But I can't remember what I said to you,
That apparantly broke your heart in two,
And I can't remember quite honestly,
The last time you told me you loved me...,

No I can't remember quite honestly,
The last time you told me you loved me...,


I won't go in to Pipkins, Hectors House, the Double Deckers, the Banana Bunch or Mary, Mungo & Midge. ;)

[Chris]

I was only about 12 when I first saw it - it was so horrible I had to turn it off only a couple of minutes after the nuclear explosions. It gave me nightmares for weeks. :disturbd:

[Stuart W]

I was only about 12 when I first saw it - it was so horrible I had to turn it off only a couple of minutes after the nuclear explosions. It gave me nightmares for weeks. :disturbd:

That was the general idea Towny :D

It was the usual 80's war propaganda. You have to remember we were in the midst of a cold war (USA & UK Vs USSR) where our beloved parliament wanted us to fully understand the impact of a nuclear strike.

I was a young adult when it was shown on TV and it gave me a fair few nightmares I can tell you! but it is still a whole lot more informative and accurate then the Americans "Duck & Cover" TV campaign of the 50's!!

[Flubflow]

Threads was shown on BBC4 last month (in fact they showed it twice with a few days of each other). Just as alarming now as it was way back then. Story drags on a bit towards the end.
I used to have on VHS but sold it for £2 with a shed load of other videos to a market trader (darn it! I could have made a more profitable sale here :))
It will probably come round again sometime soon. Check BBCi, they may tell you when it is next showing again.

I've seen that old British information film/documentary on what happens during a nuclear strike (made in the 60's I think). It used clips from the real government information film (very stark & scary). It was screened at a local polytechnic back in the late 70's. I remember some people leaving to throw up outside.

[Chris]

Am I remembering correctly - I think Frankie Goes to Hollywood sampled some of the Public Information Films from Threads in their single, Two Tribes. ??

[Paul K]

Damn you Stu-you've just set me off thinking of a short series in the eighties called "The Fear"

It starred Iain Glenn as the ring leader of a gang of East End villains, & was absolutely superb!

Darn you man-I've gotta track this down on DVD/video now :Peace:

[Edit]-Found this on IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0134246/

If anyone has any links where I may be able to buy this, I would be most appreciative! :luv: :D
Google has found nothing so far :shrug: Looks like it might be a bust. Was it on the BBC as they are creating that online archive soon?

[Flubflow]

Am I remembering correctly - I think Frankie Goes to Hollywood sampled some of the Public Information Films from Threads in their single, Two Tribes. ??

"The Air Attack Warning Sounds Like".....................

[Flubflow]

You could always get "When the Wind Blows" video.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00008T2HY/qid=1070885696/sr=10-1/ref=sr_10_3_1/026-5373269-2338030

The animated satire of the public misinformation film about nuclear attack as seen through the eyes of two old pensioners (by Raymond Briggs).
Buy the picture book and you can get a special deal on "Fungus the Bogeyman" ;).
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140094199/qid=1070885696/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_3_1/026-5373269-2338030

[Sociable]

I've seen that old British information film/documentary on what happens during a nuclear strike (made in the 60's I think). It used clips from the real government information film (very stark & scary). It was screened at a local polytechnic back in the late 70's. I remember some people leaving to throw up outside.

This is one that is on DVD Title was "The War Game".

http://www.playserver4.com/play247.asp?page=title&r=R2&title=111875

Sadly I'm old enough to have seen the original release back in 65 :)

"Conspicuously absent from TV screens until 1985, it was mainly through cinema release in 1966 - and its Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 1967 - that it gained a loyal and vociferous following, providing a sharp focus for CND and other peace movements.

This special edition DVD also includes Watkins' award-winning The Diary of an Unknown Soldier and The War Game - The Controversy, in which Patrick Murphy reveals new information pointing to a definitive account of the banning of the film".

This explains the earlier screenings at Poly's as the film was effectively banned from TV originally.

[Neil]

Google has found nothing so far :shrug: Looks like it might be a bust. Was it on the BBC as they are creating that online archive soon?

It was a 'Euston Films' production apparently, which makes me think it was ITV?

[Paul K]

Euston Films seems to be a subsidiary of Thames so yep, looks like it was ITV.

[Stuart W]

Threads was shown on BBC4 last month (in fact they showed it twice with a few days of each other). Just as alarming now as it was way back then. Story drags on a bit towards the end.
I used to have on VHS but sold it for £2 with a shed load of other videos to a market trader (darn it! I could have made a more profitable sale here :))
It will probably come round again sometime soon. Check BBCi, they may tell you when it is next showing again.

I've seen that old British information film/documentary on what happens during a nuclear strike (made in the 60's I think). It used clips from the real government information film (very stark & scary). It was screened at a local polytechnic back in the late 70's. I remember some people leaving to throw up outside.

Thanx for the info, but I have *NO* sky / cable TV, just BBC1, BBC2, Carlton, CH4, CH5 and Anglia. I still pay the same ammount on my damn TV license, but that's another thread.....


You could always get "When the Wind Blows" video.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00008T2HY/qid=1070885696/sr=10-1/ref=sr_10_3_1/026-5373269-2338030

The animated satire of the public misinformation film about nuclear attack as seen through the eyes of two old pensioners (by Raymond Briggs).
Buy the picture book and you can get a special deal on "Fungus the Bogeyman" ;).
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140094199/qid=1070885696/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_3_1/026-5373269-2338030

I allready have when the wind blows, I am getting Threads because it is a fantastic 'impact' film. Not for it's stunning digital computerised special effects, just the psychological impact of seeing it 'in the now' as it were.... albeit nearly 20 yrs old!! lol.

[Sociable]

Can't help reflecting on how each new generation of students re-finds this issue and provides a fresh twist bit like discovering sex for the first time and assuming the "older" generation hadn't already been there done that and wore the CND T-Shirts. :)

For stark reality "The War Game" was hard to beat and still carries the same force now, if not more so some 40 years later.

As one of those "Oldies" my main fear now is the new shift to a "Pre-emptive" stance by the US.

Any one else found it scary that room had to be reserved for the officer carrying the "Football" in the Presidents Limo during his recent state visit?

[Flubflow]

This is one that is on DVD Title was "The War Game".

http://www.playserver4.com/play247.asp?page=title&r=R2&title=111875

Sadly I'm old enough to have seen the original release back in 65 :)

"Conspicuously absent from TV screens until 1985, it was mainly through cinema release in 1966 - and its Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 1967 - that it gained a loyal and vociferous following, providing a sharp focus for CND and other peace movements.

This special edition DVD also includes Watkins' award-winning The Diary of an Unknown Soldier and The War Game - The Controversy, in which Patrick Murphy reveals new information pointing to a definitive account of the banning of the film".

This explains the earlier screenings at Poly's as the film was effectively banned from TV originally.

It is quite an amusing thought that the Poly/university screenings were probably a great recruitment oppurtunity for both CND and Mi5. :)

[Sociable]

It is quite an amusing thought that the Poly/university screenings were probably a great recruitment oppurtunity for both CND and Mi5. :)

Very true :)

In fact I was still getting Christmas Cards from the Local Communist party some 10 years after having attended one of the screenings. Would be fun to see if that earned me a "File" with MI5 to go with my regular attendance at the anti Nam protests about the same time. LOL

[Theodoric]

I remember Threads. However before that was, in the 60s, The War Game. Because of pressure from the Wilson government, the BBC chickened out of broadcasting it. I saw it at a cinema in London a few years later.