4 ms·

You should watch Threads (1984), the most messed up film ever made, produced in part by the BBC https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgT4Y30DkaA https://www.youtube

You should watch Threads (1984), the most messed up film ever made, produced in part by the BBC https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgT4Y30DkaA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgT4Y30DkaA (trailer only) It's about the lives of average people before, during and after a fictional nuclear attack in the UK.

gibspaulding 4y ago
I just listened to Atomic Hobo's podcast about Threads, and as someone with a bit of a fascination with nuclear history, I sort of want to see it, but I can't quite decide if it's something I want to put myself through.
- 29athrowaway 4y ago
  It gets incrementally harder to watch. You can decide what's a good stopping point for you.
semireg 4y ago
I watched it a year ago. The imagery sticks with you - you sigh a lot. It’s subtle and bleak with little to no “modern movie drama” (gasps, pop outs by bad guys, scares) other than a few run of the mill drawn out pregnancies. Watch it alone so you can digest it without the distractions of audible sighs (or crying) from people near you. I recommend it, much like On The Beach (the book or the movie).
- 29athrowaway 4y ago
  I guess the retro aesthetic, the lack of CGI and an orchestral soundtrack, makes it check fewer "this is a movie" boxes in your brain, making it interesting to a modern audience in a way.
heavyset_go 4y ago
Came here to post this. It's a movie that really bothered me on a visceral level enough that it's stuck with me and consistently makes me pause every once in a while when I remember it. That movie would have been terrifying with just firebombing alone, something that has/had happen all over the world. Nukes somehow surpass the hell on Earth that is conventional total war. It's also impressive what they made on such a small budget, with something like ~$500k.
- 29athrowaway 4y ago
  It is the best nuclear non proliferation and arms control ad.
  - Radim 4y ago
    From what I remember, Threads was even broadcast in the Soviet Union – with a little disclaimer that Soviets never did (and never would!) strike first, so that that part of the movie was "western propaganda". But the rest of the film is so apolitical, and so hauntingly well done, that even the "bad guys" in it liked it. It's really a testament to the film's quality.
    - heavyset_go 4y ago
      Seemed to me like the US and allies were equally painted as aggressors and "bad guys" in the movie. The protagonists were even negatively affected by the US using the UK as a launchpad for war before any bomb had dropped. Allied states actively suppressed anti-nuclear proliferation movements with violence in the movie, as well. I think a point that they were trying to drive home is that there are no "good guys" or winners in a nuclear war, especially when it comes to those who perpetrate it on any side.
helsinkiandrew 4y ago
> You should watch Threads (1984), the most messed up film ever made, produced in part by the BBC No you shouldn't - atleast not without thinking about it first. I still remember its dark, unremitting bleakness 38 years later - it really makes you think about whether its better for your family to die in the initial blast rather than 'survive'.
Eleison23 4y ago
I did view "Threads", years ago. It was disturbing, yes. When I was in school, the teachers all put out an advisory about "The Day After (1983)". It was a big deal; many families were planning to watch it, and it wasn't on cable, it was on broadcast OTA TV, so it was highly accessible, even to children. The school administration decided they needed to get in front of the controversy and put out a Christian message about hope and trust in God, when it seemed like the world was panicking over the Cold War and mainstream media was egging us on. Ever since then, I have appreciated their candor and willingness to tell us the truth about this world and the next. We had fire drills at school; we knew about "duck and cover" but we didn't practice any air-raid drills that I can recall. However, when my mother took me shopping at the JC Penney across town, there was prominent signage for their old-fashioned Fallout Shelter in the basement. I was really intrigued by the bold yellow lettering and symbology, and I sometimes wonder what it was like down there, because we've never seen the inside of any bomb shelter whatsoever. My dad worked around hazardous materials on a regular basis, as a safety professional, and he was on the science end of things, and spent time in the office as much as the lab. He often brought home tools like a Geiger counter, film badges, a radio pager, and I think there were other chemical sensors ("sniffers"?) Learning at his feet, I picked up a lot of geology, so I could recognize isotopes and chemical symbols and count in rems, etc. Earthquakes were the primary hazard for us, and I suppose that any nuclear explosion would've had earthquake-like effects, among other things, to put it blandly.

gibspaulding 4y ago

I just listened to Atomic Hobo's podcast about Threads, and as someone with a bit of a fascination with nuclear history, I sort of want to see it, but I can't quite decide if it's something I want to put myself through.

29athrowaway 4y ago
It gets incrementally harder to watch. You can decide what's a good stopping point for you.

semireg 4y ago

I watched it a year ago. The imagery sticks with you - you sigh a lot. It’s subtle and bleak with little to no “modern movie drama” (gasps, pop outs by bad guys, scares) other than a few run of the mill drawn out pregnancies. Watch it alone so you can digest it without the distractions of audible sighs (or crying) from people near you. I recommend it, much like On The Beach (the book or the movie).

29athrowaway 4y ago
I guess the retro aesthetic, the lack of CGI and an orchestral soundtrack, makes it check fewer "this is a movie" boxes in your brain, making it interesting to a modern audience in a way.

heavyset_go 4y ago

Came here to post this. It's a movie that really bothered me on a visceral level enough that it's stuck with me and consistently makes me pause every once in a while when I remember it. That movie would have been terrifying with just firebombing alone, something that has/had happen all over the world. Nukes somehow surpass the hell on Earth that is conventional total war. It's also impressive what they made on such a small budget, with something like ~$500k.

29athrowaway 4y ago
It is the best nuclear non proliferation and arms control ad.
- Radim 4y ago
  From what I remember, Threads was even broadcast in the Soviet Union – with a little disclaimer that Soviets never did (and never would!) strike first, so that that part of the movie was "western propaganda". But the rest of the film is so apolitical, and so hauntingly well done, that even the "bad guys" in it liked it. It's really a testament to the film's quality.
  - heavyset_go 4y ago
    Seemed to me like the US and allies were equally painted as aggressors and "bad guys" in the movie. The protagonists were even negatively affected by the US using the UK as a launchpad for war before any bomb had dropped. Allied states actively suppressed anti-nuclear proliferation movements with violence in the movie, as well. I think a point that they were trying to drive home is that there are no "good guys" or winners in a nuclear war, especially when it comes to those who perpetrate it on any side.

helsinkiandrew 4y ago

> You should watch Threads (1984), the most messed up film ever made, produced in part by the BBC No you shouldn't - atleast not without thinking about it first. I still remember its dark, unremitting bleakness 38 years later - it really makes you think about whether its better for your family to die in the initial blast rather than 'survive'.

Eleison23 4y ago

I did view "Threads", years ago. It was disturbing, yes. When I was in school, the teachers all put out an advisory about "The Day After (1983)". It was a big deal; many families were planning to watch it, and it wasn't on cable, it was on broadcast OTA TV, so it was highly accessible, even to children. The school administration decided they needed to get in front of the controversy and put out a Christian message about hope and trust in God, when it seemed like the world was panicking over the Cold War and mainstream media was egging us on. Ever since then, I have appreciated their candor and willingness to tell us the truth about this world and the next. We had fire drills at school; we knew about "duck and cover" but we didn't practice any air-raid drills that I can recall. However, when my mother took me shopping at the JC Penney across town, there was prominent signage for their old-fashioned Fallout Shelter in the basement. I was really intrigued by the bold yellow lettering and symbology, and I sometimes wonder what it was like down there, because we've never seen the inside of any bomb shelter whatsoever. My dad worked around hazardous materials on a regular basis, as a safety professional, and he was on the science end of things, and spent time in the office as much as the lab. He often brought home tools like a Geiger counter, film badges, a radio pager, and I think there were other chemical sensors ("sniffers"?) Learning at his feet, I picked up a lot of geology, so I could recognize isotopes and chemical symbols and count in rems, etc. Earthquakes were the primary hazard for us, and I suppose that any nuclear explosion would've had earthquake-like effects, among other things, to put it blandly.