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From Amazon.co.uk
Hideously plausible when first broadcast in 1984, this BBC TV docu-drama now seems like a terrifying might-have-been, although a great deal of what it says about the probable aftermath of a nuclear attack remains horribly pertinent. Scripted by Barry Hines (author of the novel on which Ken Loach's Kes was based) and directed by Mick Jackson (who later went to Hollywood with The Bodyguard and Volcano), at the time Threads seemed like a response to the American TV movie The Day After although it stands nobly on its own. Showing the after-effects of World War III on the United Kingdom by concentrating on two Sheffield families linked by an unplanned pregnancy, it illustrates the scientific, political, medical and social consequences of the severing of the many vital connective "threads" that support a Western society. Grim in a particularly 1980s way, this is a compulsive if uncomfortable watch and accomplishes a great deal without the distraction of spectacle, picking through all the melted milk bottles and firing squad traffic wardens to find the human horror at the heart of it all. --Kim Newman
Product Description
Graphic, no-holds-barred documentary style account of a nuclear attack on Sheffield during the 1980s. Ruth Beckett (Karen Meagher) and Jimmy Kemp (Reece Dinsdale) live in Sheffield, and are busy preparing for their upcoming marriage. When Russia invades Iran, hoping to bring the country under its influence, tension is increased throughout the west, and particularly at the local R.A.F. base. Blissfully unconcerned with world events, Ruth and Jimmy carry on with their preparations. With no prior warning, two Russian ICBM's hit Sheffield, obliterating the city, and turning the landscape into a radioactive desert. With the population reduced to scavenging for survival, Ruth is faced with a desolate, unremittingly bleak future.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
53 of 54 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
The original screening of this TV film terrified any number of viewers and reviewers (and even traumatised - look at what other Amazonians say!!) back in the mid 1980s. It is so thoroughly realistic in its suburban English setting (naturally mildly dating it), and in its realisation of the underlying emotion of 'real people', that it's impossible to feel detached.
I personally (in my teens) couldn't stomach it all, and only watched the full film on a worn video in 1998. It brought back the full horror, the pessimism, the complete sense of insecurity of growing up under threat in the 1980s. The political climate may have changed (or has it? Look at the fictional news reports in the film . . .) but the 'Threads' of society are what the film is really about. Are they stronger now, or weaker? What would happen if such a thing happened in the 2000s? This is why the film is still relevant.
I watch this film occasionally, at the very least because the feeling of suspense is so skillful. Ordinary, domestic, things are going on - and then a teleprinter will chatter a fragment of doom over the top. At first matter-of-fact, and gradually more chill sets in. Characters can't sleep (neither will you!), and when the mushroom cloud finally appears, you can only feel the awe voiced by one of the characters, frozen to the spot: '. . . they've done it . . .'
I suspect a lot of people were haunted by that phrase. You care for all the different characters, empathise with them. And then . . . the world we know vanishes (even dear old Woolworths) and hope goes with it, forever. The grating roar of poison wind sets in. This packs a punch, and when the film finishes, you'll want to open the window and breath fresh air, quite honestly. Back in the 1980s, I'd already turned off. Watch it now - as history lesson, science fiction, or powerful drama.
I personally (in my teens) couldn't stomach it all, and only watched the full film on a worn video in 1998. It brought back the full horror, the pessimism, the complete sense of insecurity of growing up under threat in the 1980s. The political climate may have changed (or has it? Look at the fictional news reports in the film . . .) but the 'Threads' of society are what the film is really about. Are they stronger now, or weaker? What would happen if such a thing happened in the 2000s? This is why the film is still relevant.
I watch this film occasionally, at the very least because the feeling of suspense is so skillful. Ordinary, domestic, things are going on - and then a teleprinter will chatter a fragment of doom over the top. At first matter-of-fact, and gradually more chill sets in. Characters can't sleep (neither will you!), and when the mushroom cloud finally appears, you can only feel the awe voiced by one of the characters, frozen to the spot: '. . . they've done it . . .'
I suspect a lot of people were haunted by that phrase. You care for all the different characters, empathise with them. And then . . . the world we know vanishes (even dear old Woolworths) and hope goes with it, forever. The grating roar of poison wind sets in. This packs a punch, and when the film finishes, you'll want to open the window and breath fresh air, quite honestly. Back in the 1980s, I'd already turned off. Watch it now - as history lesson, science fiction, or powerful drama.
90 of 93 people found the following review helpful
By Techie Glenn
Format:DVD
Threads....set in Sheffield in the early 80's this film depicts the build-up to nuclear war, a strike on Sheffield itself and the aftermath.
Words can barely describe how profoundly disturbing this film is, especially if you lived through the era as the events preceding the attack are eerily familiar and once again have relevance given the various troubling political situations that we find the world in today. What was a film about a certain time in history has now become a timely warning about what could possibly be again.
I revisited this film when studying film at university and was actually reluctant to watch it again because of the impact it had on me the first time around (I'd have been about 9 or 10 years old then). The effect was as massive on me 20 years later and I found myself transfixed with horror. The brutal effects of mankind's most indiscriminately destructive and dirty weaponry are shown with no sparing of the audiences feelings, there is no happy ending, no hope and no winners, how this ever got to be aired on television, especially in the 80's, is remarkable.
The nearest comparison I can give to this would probably be the BBC docudrama 'The War Game' and although this is more obviously a dramatization rather than a documentary style recreation it is still highly effective and absolutely chilling.
I recommend this film wholeheartedly; it is shocking and disturbing for the right reasons.
Words can barely describe how profoundly disturbing this film is, especially if you lived through the era as the events preceding the attack are eerily familiar and once again have relevance given the various troubling political situations that we find the world in today. What was a film about a certain time in history has now become a timely warning about what could possibly be again.
I revisited this film when studying film at university and was actually reluctant to watch it again because of the impact it had on me the first time around (I'd have been about 9 or 10 years old then). The effect was as massive on me 20 years later and I found myself transfixed with horror. The brutal effects of mankind's most indiscriminately destructive and dirty weaponry are shown with no sparing of the audiences feelings, there is no happy ending, no hope and no winners, how this ever got to be aired on television, especially in the 80's, is remarkable.
The nearest comparison I can give to this would probably be the BBC docudrama 'The War Game' and although this is more obviously a dramatization rather than a documentary style recreation it is still highly effective and absolutely chilling.
I recommend this film wholeheartedly; it is shocking and disturbing for the right reasons.
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:VHS Tape
I was about 15 when I first saw this nightmarish TV film. It scared the hell out of me then and it's impact now is no less harsh, despite the apparent thawing of the cold war. We are guided through the international problems leading to the eventual nuclear attack, in an all to realistic way, by news bulletins and glimpses of newspaper headlines. The tension leading to the outbreak of war is almost unbearable, made worse by a familiar belief among some of the characters that nothing will happen! We see the immediate horror of the attack; heat, blast the fallout settling on the flattened Sheffield. More importantly we are forced to face the reality that even 13 years later we are still scavenging around in the ruins of our cities looking for scraps of food. There is no government, no health care and very little value stamped on human life. As we are reminded by the CND speaker addressing the crowd earlier in the film 'You can not win a nuclear war!' Things may have changed in the politics of east & west, but the threat remains real and the concept of 'Mutual assured destruction' still applies in the 21st century as it did in the late 20th. The American attempt at a nuclear disaster movie 'The Day after' was not a patch on this, inevitably watered down so as not cause the American public too much distress, and shatter their belief that winning a nuclear war was a possibility. However, lets get one thing straight about 'Threads' It has NO entertainment value at all. Thats why it works.
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4.6 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
No happy ending
I saw this on TV when it first came out, and it was a very frightening. We were in a time when Nuclear War seemed a very real possibility. Read more
Published 14 days ago by David Cotton
3.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting, but dated
I enjoyed watching this, but it is dated. It is a very depressing view of human behaviour when the chips are down
Published 19 days ago by Violet Barnes
5.0 out of 5 stars
Disturbing, of course
This is one of those seminal movies that once you've seen you just never forget. I sat and watched it with a bowl of popcorn and found it amazingly disturbing and so glad that we... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Molly McCallister
5.0 out of 5 stars
Scary as .......
Threads scared the hell out of me.
Is it worth getting? Yes
Is it any good? yes
Good storyline? Yes
Good acting? yeah its alright. Read more
Is it worth getting? Yes
Is it any good? yes
Good storyline? Yes
Good acting? yeah its alright. Read more
Published 3 months ago by HaxE3Demo
5.0 out of 5 stars
Even more relevant today?
I was born in Sheffield and watched this when I was 24. It was broadcast amidst constant mutterings about nuclear war and the very 'reassuring?! Read more
Published 4 months ago by Dollywagon
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thought provoking!
I remember seeing this on TV. I honestly had forgotten how powerful it was. When it was originally screened, the topic was more relevant due to the 'cold war' era. Read more
Published 4 months ago by RosieW
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good Drama
This is indeed a most excellent drama, true to life and terrifyingly possible. I watched this back in the day on television and again recently. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Technorati
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Warning from the Past
Imagine: a Crass LP sleeve on film, in all of it's stomach-wrenching, hollow-eyed dread.
I've just watched Threads for the first time since the BBC first aired it in... Read more
I've just watched Threads for the first time since the BBC first aired it in... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Rooksby
5.0 out of 5 stars
True horror!
Bought back many memories of the 1980s, I remember being terrified by the public information broadcasts of what to do in the event of nuclear war and this film although captivating... Read more
Published 5 months ago by andrew wood
5.0 out of 5 stars
And I sat on the hill and watched them land.
I haven't plucked up the courage to watch this film yet. As other reviews have said, it is terrifyingly realistic. For me, more so. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Roy Bennett
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