The effects of a nuclear holocaust on the working class city of Sheffield, England and the eventual long-term effects of nuclear war on civilization.The effects of a nuclear holocaust on the working class city of Sheffield, England and the eventual long-term effects of nuclear war on civilization.The effects of a nuclear holocaust on the working class city of Sheffield, England and the eventual long-term effects of nuclear war on civilization.
- Won 4 BAFTA Awards
- 4 wins & 4 nominations total
David Brierly
- Mr. Kemp
- (as David Brierley)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIn the aftermath of the nuclear blast, footage of a cat supposedly "suffocating" outside in the extreme heat is shown. This is actually footage of a cat enjoying a hefty dose of catnip, then they just reversed the film to give the impression of the cat suffocating (the way the cat is rolling on the ground is the giveaway).
- GoofsToward the end of the film, when Ruth falls over while she and her daughter are working the fields, you can hear the director say "Look up nice and slow" to the actors. It's even included in the current closed captioning, with the speaker attributed as "Man."
- Alternate versionsIn the original broadcast version, the narration which opens the film is accompanied by a recording of Richard Strauss's "Alpine Symphony"; due to rights issues, the music was removed from most later home video releases. It was restored for Severin's Blu-ray release, as well as the UK Blu-ray release from Simply Media.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Secret Society: In Time of Crisis (1987)
Featured review
I was about eleven or twelve when this harrowing made-for-TV docu-drama was repeated by the BBC, back to back with 'The War Game'. 'The War Game' didn't faze me much, for various reasons, but 'Threads' - that grabbed me instantly and wouldn't let go. It was not only horribly real, seeing a lower-middle class family rather like my own suddenly plunged back into the dark ages by a nuclear holocaust, it was also entirely believable (the cold war was still very much an ongoing concern back in the eighties) and shockingly compelling. I wanted to look away, but couldn't. I wanted to run from the room in fright, but couldn't. For better or worse, this film showed in full, unflinching, uncompromising detail exactly what it would be like if your home town got nuked, and gave us graphic realism in spades. Melting milk-bottles, spontaneous urination, houses reduced to rubble in seconds, burning cats, dead kids, gore, vomit, armed traffic wardens shooting looters, filth, decay, disease...it's certainly not a barrel of laughs, but Mick Jackson's aim was to shut up all the ignorant gung-hos who believed a nuclear war could be "won". He succeeded, unequivocally. The scene that made the deepest impact on me was the ravaged makeshift classroom with a ragged bunch of shell-shocked adults dazedly watching an ancient videotape of a schools programme (Words and Pictures, in fact) in an attempt to regain their numeracy and literacy skills. That was a show we used to watch at school. Work it out for yourself. In short, this is a downbeat, depressing, bleak and utterly horrible film, but I recommend it wholeheartedly to everyone. The cold war may be gone, but the threats portrayed are still very real.
- world_of_weird
- Sep 15, 2004
- Permalink
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- Tag Null
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- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- £400,000 (estimated)
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