The War Game (1965)

Director:

Peter Watkins

Writer:

Peter Watkins

Release Date:

7 February 1967 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | Short | Drama | Sci-Fi | War

Tagline:

BBC TV's film about a nuclear attack on Britain directed by Peter Watkins

Plot:

The War Game is a fictional, worst-case-scenario docu-drama about nuclear war and its aftermath in and around a typical English city...

Plot Keywords:

Nuclear War | Nuclear Attack | Film Starts With Text | Nuclear Weapons | Controversial

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 4 wins

Cast

Michael Aspel	...	Commentator
Peter Graham	...	Commentator
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kathy Staff	...	Interviewee (uncredited)
Peter Watkins	...	Documentist (uncredited)

Directed by
Peter Watkins

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Peter Watkins

Produced by
Peter Watkins	....	producer

Cinematography by
Peter Bartlett
Peter Suschitzky

Film Editing by
Michael Bradsell

Costume Design by
Vanessa Clarke

Makeup Department
Lilias Munro	....	makeup artist

Sound Department
Lou Hanks	....	sound
Stan Morcom	....	sound (as Stanley Morcom)
Derek Williams	....	sound

Other crew
Tony Cornell	....	design
Anne Davey	....	design
Peter Norton	....	production assistant
Derek Ware	....	action sequences

Production Companies

• British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Distributors

• Kamras Film Agency (1968) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Project X Distribution (2006) (Canada) (DVD)
• Project X Distribution (2006) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

48 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:X (original rating) | France:-12 | UK:12 (2002) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Canterbury, Kent, England, UK

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trivia:

After it had won an Oscar for Documentary Feature, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences changed their rules regarding eligibility for this category.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Cold War" (1998)

Essential viewing

I saw The War Game thanks to my local branch of CND in 1979 when they showed it in a hall in our town. My mum was vehemently anti-communist so I had to sneak out to see it. The local paper kicked up at 14-year olds being encouraged to see an 'X' film. Was it worth the fuss? Yes, without a doubt. I had already seen Watkin's definitive 'Culloden' earlier that year and was bowled over by the documentary style applied to a drama, but The War Game surpassed even that. I will never forget the scenes of the helmeted English bobbies shooting people in the head to put them out of their misery, or the bucket full of wedding rings or most of all, the line of kids being asked what they wanted to be when they grew up and the replies of 'nuffink.'

For me, that summed up the futility of war, nuclear or otherwise.

'Threads' is good, but 'The War Game' is still the best portrayal of a nuclear attack on Britain ever made. It should be shown more often.