I watched this again last night , Its a horrifying film, I watched in the 80's and it scared me half to death, I watched it last night and did the same. In all these cases, the original music over the opening narration was removed, again due to licensing problems; this was an extract from the Alpine Symphony by Richard Strauss, performed by the Dresden State Opera Orchestra, conducted by Rudolf Kempe (HMV ASD 3173). A 46-minute docudrama produced for the BBC, the film was pulled due to being, as the broadcaster put it, “ too horrifying for the medium of broadcasting”. While Hines script is incredibly powerful, Mick Jackson's direction takes the narrative and magnifies it almost exponentially thanks to the terrifying visuals. I recently bought the newly released DVD version, and have watched it, or parts of it, a number of times now.

Threads (1984 film) - Wikipedia Threads (1984 film) - Wikipedia

Along with Hines, Jackson also received a letter of praise from Labour leader Neil Kinnock, stating "the dangers of complacency are much greater than any risks of knowledge". The deliberate absence of any sentimentality is replaced by a brilliantly structured and compelling narrative (written by A Kestrel for a Knave-author Barry Hines). What sticks out in my mind is the scene of the hospital when the blood was being swept down the steps. An emergency response team, holed up deep beneath the remains of Sheffield town hall, attempt to exert relief, but they're thwarted at every turn by dwindling supplies and radioactive fallout. Many years later I found that the actress who played her, Victoria O'Keefe, had died some years after Threads was made, in a motorway car crash, and even after the decades since I'd seen it, I felt a deep, heavy grief of loss and sorrow for a life cut so short.

Threads was not shown again on British screens until the digital channel BBC Four broadcast it in October 2003. Heavily pregnant, Ruth - now separated from Jimmy - symbolises the antithesis of everything that this harsh new world represents.

Threads (TV Movie 1984) - IMDb Threads (TV Movie 1984) - IMDb

But back in 1985, it was indeed an absolutely terrifying film, and even as I was wretching the very first time I saw it, I was thinking about how incredibly important it is, and what an achievement it had been in film, especially TV films. There's even time, just before the final scene turns your stomach, for some sentimentality; as Ruth dies - 13 years on from the attacks - it's revealed that she's been carrying, for all this time, one of Jimmy's beloved books on birds. The BBC’s hard-hitting and unflinching nuclear fallout drama Threads was recently remastered and re-released on DVD.It was Threads that led to me joining the CND and I firmly believe everyone should watch it, at least once. With political tensions and the threat of war increasing rapidly by the day, the first third of Threads lays down a foundation of anxiety for the troubled citizens of the UK.

Threads 1984 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming Threads 1984 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming

Extras were chosen on the basis of height and age, and were all told to look "miserable" and to wear ragged clothes; the majority were CND supporters.Watching individual people be subjected to one of the most horrible things imaginable and then following whomever is left makes for a very downer of an experience, but an important one.

Threads Blu-ray review - Entertainment Focus Threads Blu-ray review - Entertainment Focus

All the Generals and Politicians in the world should be required to watch this before being given their office . We soon learn that Ruth is pregnant, much to the consternation of both sets of parents, who hail from differing sides of the British class divide (Jimmy is working class, while Ruth is middle class). It's a disturbing image which hits home hard and underlines the emotional havoc that a nuclear attack could wreak.The final scene with Jason Robards reduced to a pale zombie and saying "get out of my house" to another survivor, who then embraces him is heart-breaking. The effects of a nuclear holocaust on the working class city of Sheffield, England and the eventual long-term effects of nuclear war on civilization. According to Jackson, so immersive was his experience behind the camera that “it took years to get out of my head”. Anyone expecting this transfer to be pristine is likely to be disappointed as it’s definitely rougher-looking than most HD presentations. Mick Jackson was hired to direct the film, as he had previously worked in the area of nuclear apocalypse in 1982, producing the BBC Q.