THREADS

Adamantium

So there i was looking up the Imdb threads of Terminator Salvation, every other post was about unrealistic the future nuclear war scenario was depicted.

So i looked up facts and figures regarding such an exchange which led me to a made for BBC TV docudrama THREADS. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090163/

Its quite old (1984), and low budget but you wouldn't know it!

Jesus Christ I'm still reeling from it an hour later, it was powerful,horrific, eeiry, unrelenting with its pessisim, it makes any terminator like post apocalyptic drama look a teddy bears picnic in comparison, don't watch it if your in a bad mood! (or on your own for that matter)

Hollywood wouldn't come within with a million miles of this script or its treatment and i'm suprised it was made at all! Forget SAW or other modern horror, this is real deal, The way it depicts the aftermath and society 13 years later is chilly and nightmare inducing, yet i still watched on in morbid curiosity

Any idiot who thinks we should even contemplate nuke a country should see this film it may change his or her ideas. People stand to lose everything. in a way,Its actually put me off theses kind of movies for good

Any one else seen this? What ye think?


I watched it once, but never again:eek:

Sticky_Fingers

Bleak doesn't even begin to describe this movie, once the bombs are dropped the grim, grinding hopelessness of the situation never stops until the very end. The (deeply inferior, though still worth a watch) American version of this movie called The Day After also helped Ronald Reagan see the true impact and consequences of all out nuclear war which helped change his mind on the subject. I wonder what he would have thought if he had seen this instead.

If you "enjoyed" threads you may also like Testament, suitably bleak but nowhere near as draining as Threads.

The BBC originally commissioned a Q.E.D documentary called Nuclear War:A Guide to Armageddon that was the basis of Threads, it can be found on youtube if you want to give it a watch.

Phony Scott

Sticky_Fingers wrote: »

The BBC originally commissioned a Q.E.D documentary called Nuclear War:A Guide to Armageddon that was the basis of Threads, it can be found on youtube if you want to give it a watch.

There is also the 1965 documentary 'The War Game' which is supposedly very realistic, but I found it to be very clunky and, to be honest, a little laughable.

Another film to look out for if you managed 'Threads' would be the grim cartoon 'When the Wind Blows'.

As for the opposite side of the spectrum, more Terminator-esque would be a brilliant, but sadly forgotten 'Colossus: The Forbin Project'. It is truely a class film. It's dated, but if you liked Terminator, you'll dig this film bigtime.
A word of warning though. DO NOT WATCH THE TRAILER as it ruins the surprises along the way.

Everyone thinks that the only time the world has come close to Nuclear distruction was the Cuban missile crisis, but we came really close in both 1983 and sometime in the mid-1990s, both because of computer errors. I'll
check it up again and get back to you about those stories as they are unbelievable but frighteningly true.

Sticky_Fingers

Phony Scott wrote: »

Everyone thinks that the only time the world has come close to Nuclear distruction was the Cuban missile crisis, but we came really close in both 1983 and sometime in the mid-1990s, both because of computer errors. I'll
check it up again and get back to you about those stories as they are unbelievable but frighteningly true.

Excellent Channel 4 documentary concerning the 1983 incident called 1983:The Brink of Apocalypse. Here's some more info about the whole incident (Able Archer 83) if anyones interested, it's terrifying to think how a series of disconnected evens scared the Russians into seriously thinking WW3 was about to break out.

The incident in the 90's was also a complete misunderstanding, Swedish scientists were launching a rocket and when the Russian early warning system picked it up they panicked. Luckily President Yeltsin had the cop on to wait and see what happened before doing anything foolish.

Phony Scott

Sticky_Fingers wrote: »

Luckily President Yeltsin had the cop on to wait and see what happened before doing anything foolish.

Now if the guy with a pickled liver knows that it is madness to launch a nuclear strike, what do you think it says about Mutual Assured Destruction aka MAD.

This is the thing that ultimately made me turn against religion. I don't trust religiously fanatic countries with nuclear weapons. Discuss...

alexa5x5

Saw this a few years ago and it still plays on my mind like no movie ever has. No horror could ever come to being as realistic and utterly terrifying as this.
Think I read some where that they either made it and only showed it a few times because people were too freaked out by it. Or the original was edited before being showed to the public.

Ihackedboardz

Does anyone remember a 2 parter that was shown I think on rte a few years back of a possible outcome if Sellafield went up? anyone know where to get or has a copy of it ?

AnonoBoy

Ihackedboardz wrote: »

Does anyone remember a 2 parter that was shown I think on rte a few years back of a possible outcome if Sellafield went up? anyone know where to get or has a copy of it ?

Fallout it was called.

Don't think it was released but it was made by the same people that make No Frontiers so you could contact them and ask.

Dudess

I have a morbid fascination with post apocalyptic visions in literature and TV/film - Threads is one of the most powerful I've ever seen. More frightening and horrific than sad - others mentioned: When The Wind Blows, Testament, and The Day After are more the latter. Another very sad film is On The Beach. Bizarrely, that was actually made a couple of years before the Cuban Missile Crisis.
I disagree Phony Scott re The War Game - found that very affecting, and clearly a huge influence on Threads. Probably hasn't aged well though.
Utterly terrifying is the Protect & Survive British government series of ads from the 70s/80s.
"In the event of a nuclear attack, Britain will likely become a desolate, uninhabitable wasteland..." :eek:
Why try to survive so...?

mrsoundie

As soon as I saw the word THREADS it got my interest and I remember it the first time around when shown on RTE. Sh1t myself and still do (thanks by the way to the OP). Threads was way ahead in the desolation stakes with a close second was 1984. Thank god neither came true. Bit obsessed now by Nuclear weapons and Nuclear War. There is a bit on YouTube, so enjoy the searching and thanks again for the memories.

indough

i was made watch this in school as a young nipper

Phony Scott

Dudess wrote: »

I disagree Phony Scott re The War Game

As it is older than the others some of the information came across as a bit bogus to me, almost as outdated as this laughable chestnut:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKqXu-5jw60

Dudess wrote: »

Why try to survive so...?

On the more serious side, if the bombs ultimately fall, I hope I'm caught as close to the blast as possible. For anyone who thinks thats crazy talk, you should read up more about what happens if you don't. It equals a very slow painful death

Phony Scott

Actually, this thread drew me into the whole topic about Nukes again, but this seems to be getting away from the film 'Threads' a bit. I'd like to discuss this topic in greater detail. Where do we go on boards.ie to set-up a thread to talk about this further?

Sticky_Fingers

Dudess wrote: »

Utterly terrifying is the Protect & Survive British government series of ads from the 70s/80s.
"In the event of a nuclear attack, Britain will likely become a desolate, uninhabitable wasteland..." :eek:
Why try to survive so...?

Well if Total Recall has taught me anything (and it has) it's that exposure to radiation makes some women develop a third boobie so perhaps it'll all be worth it in the end:p

As for On the Beach, there was a recent TV remake and while it takes some liberties with the story was still a pretty decent attempt. As an added bonus it starred Bryan Brown, awesome:D

Dudess

Lol - I can only imagine the amount of praying for a nuclear attack after Total Recall. :pac:
Yeah I saw the Aussie remake of On The Beach. Scary and sad stuff...

Phony Scott wrote: »

Actually, this thread drew me into the whole topic about Nukes again, but this seems to be getting away from the film 'Threads' a bit. I'd like to discuss this topic in greater detail. Where do we go on boards.ie to set-up a thread to talk about this further?

Here ya go: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=1123

Phony Scott

Dudess wrote: »

Here ya go: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=1123

Thank you your Dudess

faceman

I hadnt heard of this movie until I read this thread and I finally watched the movie last night.

I just want to thank everyone in this thread for being the cause of me taking valium now.

bonerm

The clinical Protect and survive series are interesting clips to watch. This is my favourite.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGMdnod8VPI

If you want a very good satirical look impending nuclear disaster then watch When the Wind Blows.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3335238684076482887#

Phony Scott

faceman wrote: »

I just want to thank everyone in this thread for being the cause of me taking valium now.

Hopefully this will calm your shattered nerves.

Ducked and Covered

I watched 'Threads' again tonight. I haven't seen it since 2002, when times were really very uncertain and I had nightmares after watching the film. This time around, I watched it with my brother and it didn't have the same impact as it did the first time around. There were bits post-apocalpse which didn't quite ring true to me and I'm not sure what exactly. Anyway it's still a very difficult film to sit through.

I'll need to hunt down 'Testament' now.

Cianan2

Bloody hell, just watched this after reading this thread. Had to see it, as I love harrowing films but christ, that has left a mark - 1984, made for tv?!? I wonder at what time in the night that was originally shown on the telly??

Dudess

I never grow tired of (or less scared by) the scene in Terminator 2 where she nods off and dreams about a nuclear strike. Good god that is some haunting scene... :eek:

ReacherCreature

Dudess wrote: »

I never grow tired of (or less scared by) the scene in Terminator 2 where she nods off and dreams about a nuclear strike. Good god that is some haunting scene... :eek:

Agreed. The scenes in T1 such as the opening firefights, when Reese dreams back, are harrowing. Even the ending of T3 is brilliant, the missiles lifting off quietly and peacefully to bring ruin. Just well crafted.

I don't know if I want to see Threads now, and I'm a fan of this type. Sounds haunting.

Phony Scott

ReacherCreature wrote: »

I don't know if I want to see Threads now, and I'm a fan of this type. Sounds haunting.

Seeing it again, the shock and awe aspect of the apocalypse didn't work for me on the same level, but I began to read into the film on a much deeper level. There is a hugely creepy bit in the film in which we see a series of paintings being removed from an arts museum, but we never find out what actually happens to them in the end.

While that is happening, outside the CND protesters are rioting with police, yet in this quite museum, culture is being removed slowly and calmly. The horrifying hint is that somewhere, not necessarily an illuminate per say, but some elite, are doing this while society is tearing itself apart.

Ihackedboardz

As far as I know in real life this would happen in the weeks/ days before an attack & they would be moved to a disused mine in wales that was modified for this very outcome...kinda creepy just thinking about it