Threads (1984 film)

Threads
Threads
Directed by	Mick Jackson
Written by	Barry Hines
Produced by	Mick Jackson,; Graham Massey,; John Purdie,; Peter Wolfes
Starring	Karen Meagher,; Reece Dinsdale
Distributed by	BBC
Release date	1984
Running time	110 min
Language	English
Budget	-

This article is about the television movie. For other uses of the word, see Thread disambiguation.

Threads is a 1984 BBC television docudrama depicting the effects of a nuclear war on the United Kingdom and its aftermath. Written by Barry Hines and directed by Mick Jackson, Threads was filmed in late 1983 and early 1984. The premise of Threads was to hypothesize the effects of a nuclear war on the United Kingdom after an exchange between the Soviet Union and the United States escalates to include the UK. According to the credits, Carl Sagan was among the consultants for the production.

Plot

The story focuses on two families from Sheffield, beginning two months before the attack. We watch their lifestyle and their reactions as fighting erupts and escalates, the UK places itself on a war footing, and strategic bombing commences. We then follow family members as they face, and sometimes die of, the medical, economic, social, and ecological consequences of a nuclear war. The film concludes thirteen years after, as civilization rebuilds to a stage like the early Industrial Era. Both the plot and the atmosphere of the film are extremely bleak.

The story begins with two families in Sheffield, linked by young Ruth Beckett and Jimmy becoming rapidly engaged due to an unplanned pregnancy; the young couple buys a flat and Jimmy argues with his parents over having a baby during the recession. In the background, ignored by the characters at first, the Soviet Union has invaded Iran and the United States, with British support, has turned to military retaliation. A third plot thread follows the Mayor of Sheffield, who is put on alert and tasked with creating a local team who could run the area in the event of a nuclear attack. The situation escalates with military clashes, Warsaw Pact troops on the Austrian-East German border, the government taking control of British airlines & roads for military purposes, and large protests against British involvement in the crisis. Soon Britain is gripped in fear with panic buying and mass exoduses from cities, and reports come in of tactical nuclear weapons being used in Iran.

Early in the morning, the four-minute warning sounds and Sheffield erupts into panic. Warheads detonate over the North Sea, creating an electromagnetic pulse that knocks out communications; a second missile strike hits a NATO base near Sheffield, shattering windows and increasing panic. Jimmy flees through Sheffield to try and reach Ruth; Ruth and her family attempt to make it to their basement; and Jimmy's parents hurriedly prepare a woefully inadequate shelter out of matresses & a door. Missile exchanges escalate and a direct strike hits Sheffield - the city is devastated and most of the city is set on fire, with Jimmy being killed and his mother being severely burnt by the heat of the blast. On-screen text tells us that 210 megatons have fallen on the United Kingdom (with 3000 in total across the planet), that two-thirds of houses are in fire zones, and immediate deaths are between 17-30 million.

Ruth later leaves the cellar and wanders through the devastated city, while the remaining hospitals are inundated. The Mayor's team attempts to control the situation but proves unable, with communications down and their headquarters running out of oxygen (they will eventually all die). Two months after the war, sunlight begins to return and a radio message comes up saying that if Britain is to rebuild then it must go agricultural; however, the temperature has drastically fallen and everything needed for modern farming - chemicals, fertiliser and fuel for machines - will only last for one year. Only those who work in the rebuilding will receive food. Eventually, Ruth gives birth in a stable to her baby.

Thirteen years later, Britain's population has fallen to 4-11 million and Ruth dies, aged drastically by the conditions. The post-war generation are emotionally and mentally stunted, talking in broken English and educated by fading tapes of black-and-white preschool shows, which they watch in incomprehending silence. Ruth's daughter and two boys of her age are caught stealing food. Escaping, one is shot dead. Ruth's daughter and the other boy escapes. She eats the food herself, and the boy attacks and rapes her. The movie ends with Ruth's daughter giving birth to a horribly deformed, stillborn child, and screaming in horror.

Like The War Game, which dealt with similar subject matter, Threads mixes conventional narrative with documentary-style text screens and narration by BBC journalist Paul Vaughan. One of the key elements of the film is that much of the reportage of world events leading up to the war is in the background, with few people paying attention until it becomes clear that war is imminent.

Broadcast and release history

Broadcast

Threads was first broadcast on BBC television in 1984 and then again in 1985 as part of a week of programmes marking the fortieth anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It was not shown again on British screens until digital channel BBC Four broadcast it in November 2003.

Threads was also broadcast once in the USA. In 1985, it was shown on PBS stations as part of fund raising drives, usually to good viewer response judging by the donation tallies for the respective evening the show was aired.^{[citation needed]} Threads was also syndicated in the US to commercial television stations, as well as Superstation TBS; the latter followed the film with a panel discussion on nuclear war.

Video and DVD releases

Threads was originally released by BBC Video on VHS in 1987 (catalogue number BBCV4071) in the UK but soon went out of print and became a much sought-after item in the 1990s.

A DVD release appeared in the UK in 2000 on the Revelation label followed by a re-release in 2005.

The VHS/DVD releases have a modified soundtrack (compared with the broadcast version) because of rights issues.

Trivia

During filming, the BBC reportedly got into trouble with the local police after detonating a large smoke bomb to simulate a mushroom cloud. Many residents believed there had been a real explosion.
For added realism in its depiction of the nuclear attack and consequences, findings from the 1980 British Government exercise "Square Leg" were used.

Footnotes