When the Wind Blows (1986 film)

When the Wind Blows
Directed by	Jimmy Murakami
Written by	Raymond Briggs (also graphic novel)
Starring	Sir John Mills Dame Peggy Ashcroft
Music by	David Bowie Roger Waters
Distributed by	United Kingdom: Recorded Releasing United States: Kings Road Entertainment
Release dates	United Kingdom: October 1986 (limited) 30 January 1987 (wide) Portugal: February 1987 (Fantasporto Film Festival) United States: 11 March 1988 Japan: 25 July 1987
Running time	80 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

When the Wind Blows is an animated film originally released in the United Kingdom in 1986. The film is based on Raymond Briggs' graphic novel of the same name. The film was directed by Jimmy Murakami and it stars the voices of John Mills and Peggy Ashcroft.

The film was Briggs' second collaboration with TVC, after their efforts with a special based on another work of his, The Snowman, in 1982. It was distributed by Recorded Releasing in the UK, and by Kings Road Entertainment in the United States. A subsequent graphic novel by Briggs, 1998's Ethel and Ernest, makes it clear that Briggs based the protagonist couple in When the Wind Blows on his own parents.

When the Wind Blows is a hybrid of drawn animation and stop-motion animation. The characters of Jim and Hilda Bloggs are drawn, but their home and most of the objects in it are real objects that seldom move but are animated with stop motion when they do.

The soundtrack album features music by Roger Waters and David Bowie (who performed its credit songs), Genesis, Squeeze and Paul Hardcastle.

Plot summary

When the Wind Blows depicts a nuclear attack on the UK by the Soviet Union from the viewpoint of a retired couple, Jim and Hilda Bloggs. The Bloggs live in rural Sussex and exhibit considerable confusion regarding the nature and seriousness of their situation, which is sometimes used to generate gentle comedy as well as darker elements. As the novel progresses their situation becomes steadily more hopeless as they suffer from the effects of radiation sickness. The film ends on an extremely bleak note, with them both dying as they pray.

Soundtrack

Untitled

The soundtrack to the film was scored by Waters, featuring music by Bowie, Hugh Cornwell, Genesis, Hardcastle and Squeeze.

Track listing

All tracks written by Waters and performed by Waters and The Bleeding Heart Band except where noted. On some versions of the album the Roger Waters tracks are all put into one 24:26 minute song.

1. "When the Wind Blows" (Bowie, Erdal Kizilcay) – 3:35
   • Performed by Bowie
2. "Facts And Figures" (Edgar Sampson) – 4:19
   • Performed by Hugh Cornwell
3. "The Brazilian" (Tony Banks, Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford) – 4:51
   • Performed by Genesis
4. "What Have They Done?" (Chris Difford, Glenn Tilbrook) – 3:39
   • Performed by Squeeze
5. "The Shuffle" (Hardcastle) – 4:16
   • Performed by Hardcastle
6. "The Russian Missile" – 0:10
7. "Towers of Faith" – 7:00
8. "Hilda's Dream" – 1:36
9. "The American Bomber" – 0:07
10. "The Anderson Shelter" – 1:13
11. "The British Submarine" – 0:14
12. "The Attack" – 2:53
13. "The Fall Out" – 2:04
14. "Hilda's Hair" – 4:20
15. "Folded Flags" – 4:51

Personnel

The Bleeding Heart Band

• Roger Waters – bass guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals on "Towers Of Faith" and "Folded Flags"
• Jay Stapley – guitar
• Snowy White – guitar
• John Gordon – bass guitar
• Matt Irving – keyboards, organ
• Nick Glennie-Smith – piano, organ
• John Linwood – Linn programming
• Freddie Krc – drums, percussion
• Mel Collins – saxophone
• Clare Torry – backing vocals on "Towers Of Faith"
• Paul Carrack – keyboards and vocals on "Folded Flags"

See also

• List of animated feature-length films
• List of nuclear holocaust fiction

External links

• When the Wind Blows at IMDb
• When the Wind Blows at Rotten Tomatoes
• When the Wind Blows at AllMovie
• Template:Bcdb title
• Toonhound pages on original graphic novel and animated film