alex-85794 I watched Threads again yesterday, my 3rd time, firstly at school in the mid-80s, then again a few years ago, then most recently yesterday evening.Without doubt this is the most horrific film I have ever seen, even with multiple viewings and knowing the ending, its shock value does not decrease at all.I've watched a lot of post-apocalyptic type films (incl. The Day After) and Threads is the *only* one that truly gives me nightmares with scenes that will never ever go away from me.Kudos to the writer, director, production staff, actors and the BBC for making this film. As others have mentioned, this film should be required viewing for everyone, and especially those who have their finger on the button.Yes it seems a little dated now (33+ years on) in terms of production values, special effects etc, but actually it's all the better for this.In my mind Threads is one for the best films ever made and should certainly be near the top (or at the top) of everyone's must-see list. Just have a box of tissues and some emotional support nearby when you do watch it.

Hitchcoc With our idiot politicians popping their buttons when it comes to a nuclear confrontation, here in 2017, everyone should be required to see this film. It takes place in England and focuses on a small space and involves the aftermath of a nuclear confrontation. It is a companion piece to America's movie "The Day After." As powerful as that film is, this one eclipses it in its horrifying portrayal of the lives of people, trying to deal with all the fallout (both literally and figuratively) of such an event. Here we see what would actually happen to people and communities. There is nothing the least bit optimistic. The kind of devastation is beyond belief. I mentioned fallout. As bad as the original wave of fire is, at least most of those people were incinerated. It's those left alive that are the focus. Pregnant women, little children, young people who had a future, local politicians trying to aid people when they are totally unprepared. We need to recognize that the ones that would have to help us could be themselves destroyed or decimated. This is one of the most troubling films ever produced and can barely be watched. Much scarier than any commercial effort because of its documentary style and ultimate messaged. There is no letup in it and no real reward, other than this is an unacceptable thing to have happen.

thejcowboy22 This movie hits you from all sides visually and fervidly. Yet dated in 1984 before the fall of the Berlin Wall and 9-11 the reality of the 11th hour couldn't be more accurate. Parallel events leading up to that day of nuclear annihilation. In this made for television BBC production, we focus on the industrial gray town of Sheffield, England. The plot centers around the local stage, two families, the Kemp's and the Beckett's. Also the world stage with the United States and Soviet Russia in an attempt to capture the Iranian oil fields as the grand prize. As the days draw nearer to the Apocalypse as the Writer Barry Hines has each date typed before a new scene we see world events and tensions grow as War is eminent.As for the local side Jimmy Kemp (Reece Dinsdale) and his pregnant girl friend (Ruth Beckett (Karen Meagher)are planning to get married as Ruth watches Royal air-force jets fly by. Mundane problems of daily life fill the local scene but as the days progress you see anti- war rallies in the streets as other world events like a US Naval ship are destroyed as the domino effect leading to a complete nuclear confrontation. Local authorities are talking about evacuating people and shelters for the masses but it's all talk as Judgement Day grows near. The aftermath hits you so hard. The visual and the hopelessness of dark days filled with smoke and destruction and how are characters react to their new ungodly surroundings. I've watched my share of Nuclear war films and documentaries throughout my many years and this docudrama comes as close to reality as it gets. The reality is get together and make a plan to save the huge populations in an event of terror. The real answer is, there is no plan in an event and we, the lucky ones who survive the fallout will end up like savages fighting for scrapes of food and water using simple gardening tools hoping that something will grow for the next harvest. Powerful television from England and as real as reality can get and the accuracy although certain events have passed the probability for World War is upon us closer than we ever imagined. I give this one seven nuclear war heads.

bayardhiler Ever since the first atom bomb was detonated in 1945, the world has lived in fear of the possibility of nuclear war and the annihilation of civilization. Naturally, such a scenario has formed the basis of more than one film, some going for a more sci-fi take where radiation created mutants and monsters roam the earth in the aftermath, others going for a more darker, realistic take. Those of the latter can be some of the most horrific films ever made, but few of those films reach the level of realism and abject terror that 1984's "Threads" does. Produced by the BBC for television, it came out during a time of renewed tensions in the Cold War and fears that a nuclear confrontation between the Soviet Union and the United States was imminent. The American landmark TV movie "The Day After" had come out one year earlier, now it would be the British's turn, and while "The Day After" was a frighteningly realistic movie, "Threads" went one step further in becoming the most horrific film of its kind.Made in a quasi-documentary style with occasional narration by Paul Vaughan, it takes place in the northern England town of Sheffield, where two young lovers Ruth and Jimmy are just starting out in life and planning on getting married, having a baby, and blissfully unaware of the news of a growing crisis unfolding in Iran. The Soviets have invaded Iran due to a American backed coup that has overthrown the government there, America calls for the Soviets to leave, they refuse, and the situation escalates when the United States sends troops of their own. Slowly but surely, the residents can't help but notice the situation as tensions mount, and panic gradually ensues. You can feel the feeling of dread increase as the film progresses, and things reach a boiling point when tactical nuclear weapons are used by both the Russians and Americans in Iran. Tensions and protests increase, until finally the unthinkable happens: The bombs come for Sheffield, and all hell breaks loose when the demonic mushroom cloud looms over the land, but as we will soon learn the bomb is only the beginning, for what follows makes even the most horrific tale of fire and brimstone hell seem trite in comparison. If you seek even the remotest resemblance of hope, joy, or happiness, look someplace else, for "Threads" has none to offer. The scene where the bomb drops is the most realistic and disturbing of any such scene I have ever seen, for we see sheer terror on a primal scale as buildings are turned instantly into rubble, a woman wets herself in terror, milk bottles are melted, still moving human bodies are roasted alive among the fires, cats are suffocated from the heat, and life as we know it ends forever. All of this still holds over thirty years later, despite being a made for TV production. But if the bomb is bad, the aftermath is worse. There is no electricity, no running water, infrastructure is reduced to rubble and hospitals are useless as the narrator dryly tells us that with out the basic necessities of water and electricity, a doctor is no longer able to provide basic care, and is no more valuable than the next survivor, having instead to resort to primitive measures of the past, all shown in horrific detail. Fall out covers the sky, causing a nuclear winter, radiation rains down, causing sickness and misery undreamed of, the soil contaminates, and crops are no more. I can unequivocally say this is the most hopeless movie I ever seen of any genre, for "Threads" pulls zero punches, permeates your soul, and utterly rips it apart. I ended up watching this on a small screen my phone, which I normally don't do as I prefer big screens. At first I didn't know if I'd be able to watch it all the way because of that, but as the film progressed the size of the screen no longer mattered, for "Threads" pulled me in and would not let go, right up until the final moment where we find out what the future of mankind is; there isn't one. For fifteen to twenty minutes after the ending I was barely able to move or speak, as my mind couldn't completely grasp what I had seen. Even now I'm not sure it can. "Threads" shows what could have easily happened if the cold war had ever gone hot (as it almost did, many times, a lot more than most people realize), and what could still happen if God forbid a day comes when things between the west and Russia or some other nuclear power come to blows over some international incident. After all, folks, the cold war might have ended, but that doesn't mean Russia and the U.S. stopped aiming missiles at one another. This film is hard to come by in the United States, and I was only able to see it through a link on you tube, but if you get the chance and have the stamina to witness the closest thing to real nuclear war without actually experiencing it, watch "Threads", and while you're at it, whether you're a believer or not, pray this isn't the future of mankind.