Threads (1984) (TV)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Director:

Mick Jackson

Writer:

Barry Hines (writer)

Release Date:

23 September 1984 (UK)

Genre:

Drama | Sci-Fi | War

Plot:

Documentary style account of a nuclear holocaust and its effect on the working class city of Sheffield, England; and the eventual long run affects of nuclear war on civilization.

Plot Keywords:

Nuclear | Nuclear Holocaust | Nuclear War | Birth | Bunker

Awards:

4 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Karen Meagher	...	Ruth Beckett
Reece Dinsdale	...	Jimmy Kemp
David Brierly	...	Mr. Kemp (as David Brierley)
Rita May	...	Mrs. Kemp
Nicholas Lane	...	Michael Kemp
Jane Hazlegrove	...	Alison Kemp
Henry Moxon	...	Mr. Beckett
June Broughton	...	Mrs. Beckett
Sylvia Stoker	...	Granny Beckett
Harry Beety	...	Clive Sutton
Ruth Holden	...	Marjorie Sutton
Ashley Barker	...	Bob
Michael O'Hagan	...	Chief Supt. Hirst
Phil Rose	...	Medical Officer
Steve Halliwell	...	Information Officer
Brian Grellis	...	Accommodation Officer
Peter Faulkner	...	Transport Officer
Anthony Collin	...	Food Officer
Michael Ely	...	Scientific Advisor
Sharon Baylis	...	Manpower Officer
David Stutt	...	Works Oficer
Phil Askham	...	Mr. Stothard
Anna Seymour	...	Mrs. Stothard
Fiona Rook	...	Carol Stothard
Christine Buckley	...	Woman in Supermarket
Joe Belcher	...	Shopkeeper
David Major	...	Boy in Supermarket
Maggie Ford	...	Peace Speaker
Mike Kay	...	Trade Unionist
Richard Albrecht	...	Officer at Food Depot
Ted Beyer	...	Policeman
Dean Williamson	...	Policeman
Joe Holmes	...	Mr. Langley
Andy Fenn-Rodgers	...	Patrol Officer
Graham Hill	...	Soldier
Nigel Collins	...	Soldier
Jerry Read	...	Looter (as Jerry Ready)
Dennis Conlon	...	Looter
Greta Dunn	...	Woman at Hospital
Nat Jackley	...	Old Man in Graveyard
John Livesey	...	Street Trader
Victoria O'Keefe	...	Jane
Lee Daley	...	Spike
Marcus Lund	...	Gaz
Lesley Judd	...	Newscaster
Colin Ward-Lewis	...	Newscaster
Paul Vaughan	...	Narrator
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Patrick Allen	...	Public Information Film Announcer (uncredited)
Ed Bishop	...	US President (voice) (uncredited)
Lee Cambell	...	Dead Boy Under Gate (uncredited)
Anne Sellors	...	Woman who urinates herself (uncredited)
Michael Shale	...	Man who has leg amputated (uncredited)

Directed by
Mick Jackson

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Barry Hines		writer

Produced by
Mick Jackson	....	producer
Graham Massey	....	executive producer
John Purdie	....	executive producer
Peter Wolfes	....	associate producer

Cinematography by
Andrew Dunn
Paul Morris

Film Editing by
Donna Bickerstaff
Jim Latham

Costume Design by
Sally Nieper

Makeup Department
Carol Gibbs	....	makeup assistant
Derek Lloyd	....	makeup assistant
Jan Nethercot	....	makeup designer
John Humphreys	....	burn effects (uncredited)

Production Management
Matthew Kuipers	....	production manager
Jacinta Peel	....	production manager

Art Department
Andy Coward	....	graphic designer
Dorothy Elliott	....	prop buyer

Sound Department
John Hale	....	dubbing mixer
Graham Ross	....	sound recordist
Simon Muir	....	assistant dubbing mixer (uncredited)
Martin Simpson	....	assistant dubbing mixer (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Peter Wragg	....	visual effects

Stunts
Dorothy Ford	....	stunts

Other crew
Eric Alley	....	programme advisor
Pennie Bloomfield	....	assistant floor manager
Duncan Campbell	....	programme advisor
Eric Chivian	....	scientific advisor
Dr. John Coggle	....	programme advisor
George Crossley	....	scientific advisor
Dr. John Dawson	....	programme advisor
Elizabeth Downie	....	production assistant
John Erikson	....	scientific advisor
Peter Goodwin	....	scientific advisor
Dr. David Holloway	....	programme advisor
Dr. Arthur Katz	....	programme advisor
Robert J. Lifton	....	scientific advisor
Alan Longman	....	scientific advisor
Michael McElroy	....	scientific advisor
Simon Moorhead	....	assistant floor manager
Norman Myers	....	scientific advisor
Wendy Plowright	....	production assistant
George Rathjens	....	scientific advisor
Joseph Rotblat	....	programme advisor (as Prof. Joseph Rotblat)
Carl Sagan	....	scientific advisor
Philip Steadman	....	scientific advisor
Richard Turco	....	scientific advisor
George Woodwell	....	scientific advisor

Production Companies

• British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
• Nine Network Australia
• Western-World Television Inc.

Distributors

• Distribuidora Internacional de Filmes (DIF) (Brazil) (VHS)

Runtime:

Brazil:110 min

Country:

UK | Australia | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M (video rating) | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Buxton, Derbyshire, England, UK

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trivia:

US television magnate Ted Turner wanted to air this film on TBS, his cable TV network, but couldn't find a sponsor. He decided to broadcast the film out of his own pocket.

Goofs:

Continuity: Jane, Ruth's daughter, who gives birth was herself born after the nuclear holocaust, yet she has fillings and pierced ears.

Quotes:

Michael Kemp: Jimmy's getting married!
Alison Kemp: Are you? Well it's a bit sudden! You're not even engaged!
Jimmy Kemp: How do you know? Anyway, it's nowt to do wi' you, so keep your nose out.
Alison Kemp: Are you getting married in a church or in a registry office?
Michael Kemp: Alison, what's an abortion?
Mrs. Kemp: Michael! I've told you once...
Alison Kemp: Oh! So *that's* it!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Screenwipe: (#2.3)" (2006)

Simply the most devastating film I've ever seen

Words can't describe how this movie affected me in 1985, but I'll try. I happened upon a presentation of "Threads" when I was about 11 years old. As a Navy family, we were stationed in Washington D.C. After viewing it, I was frightened to the point of vomiting. I had nightmares for weeks. The world was a very unstable place at the time with a Soviet government that seemed to change monthly.

The cast does an admirable job here. Dialog is kept to a damaging minimum. There is no soundtrack other than screams of misery and explosions. Very effective. While you can't compare a TV production, there is effective use of stock footage. The interspersed scientific facts regarding the aftermath punctuate the film brilliantly.

While other films about the same topic, like "The Day After" and Testament", were reasonably effective in their messages, I think they failed where "Threads" succeeded. In the aforementioned films, there's a glimmer of hope. In "Threads" there is no hope, only death, misery and dread.

I believe I saw "Threads" before the TV broadcast of "The Day After" because my reaction was one of slight indifference. After seeing Mick Jackson's and Barry Hines' work, "The Day After" is like a day at Disneyland. No film portrays the world on the brink and over the edge as effectively. Highly recommended.