I first saw this while on holiday in the UK in 1985 at age 14. Having never heard of it I didn't know what to expect until I was told it was the British version of 'The Day After'.
The premise is relatively similar to TDA; Sheffield residents Ruth Beckett & Jimmy Kemp are preparing for their upcoming marriage & birth of their first child. Unfortunately at the same time, the USSR invades Iran in the hopes of making it another Soviet satellite state. The U.S., U.K., and U.N condemn the Soviets, but they arrogantly defend their actions & balk at peaceful negotiations. Meanwhile, Jimmy & Ruth start making plans to move into a flat as the crisis escalates. Near Sheffield is Finningley RAF Base - a NATO air base & prime target for Soviet ICBMs. The alert status is increased after a Soviet ship is damaged in collision with a U.S. destroyer, and the Americans issue an ultimatum to the Soviets calling for a joint withdrawal from Iran. The Soviets, however, ignore the warning, and the Americans strike the Soviet base at Moshad with conventional bombs from B-52s. The Russians deploy a nuclear-tipped air-defence missile, annihilating the bombers. The U.S. strikes back with a low-yield battlefield nuclear weapon on the Soviet base, stopping the exchange.
Meanwhile the British government is preparing for the possibility that central government may be eliminated in a nuclear war, and gives local authorities instructions on how to proceed. In Sheffield, this authority is the city's peacetime chief executive, Mr. Sutton. Parliament also passes an Emergency Powers Act, resulting in closing of major roads, no fuel availability except for official vehicles, and redeployment of fire engines from their firehalls to underground bunkers. 'Protect & Survive' PSAs are broadcast repeatedly on TV & radio and guides are issued to UK residents.
May 26, 0800; The Soviets decide to launch a pre-emptive nuclear strike against UK & NATO airbases, command posts, communication centers and other military installations. In addition to targets such as the Pentagon, Pearl Harbor, and Norfolk, VA (Atlantic Fleet HQ) in the U.S., RAF Finningley, Early Warning Centers, and other outposts in the UK have become targets. NASA Space Command detects Soviet ICBMs in-flight a few minutes later, and during a briefing in the Sheffield bunker, the 3-minute warning comes; 'Attack Warning! Red! Attack Warning! Red!'. Jimmy & one of his co-workers are outside at 0830 when the air-raid sirens sound, and panic breaks out! People are running everywhere in their fight for survival. Although the RAF manages to get fighters into the air, RAF Finningley is hit at 0837 by the first ICBM. The mushroom cloud over the airbase sends Sheffield's population into a bigger panic, and Jimmy flees towards Ruth's to check on her. Unknown to him, nuclear exchanges are escalating making all major U.K. cities targets. In addition to London, Manchester, Edinburgh & Glasgow, Sheffield is also a target because of its industrial base of steel, engineering & chemical production. A second ICBM hits Crewe & the blast annihilates Sheffield, creating a massive firestorm fueled by industrial sites & ordinary combustibles. Jimmy, his brother & sister die in the blast; Ruth, her parents & grandmother escape to their basement. Jimmy's parents are caught unawares in their makeshift shelter which offers little protection. The people in the bunker are buried under the city hall. Fallout hits & begins to cause critical illness in most of the survivors, Mrs. Kemp eventually dies of it in combination with other wounds suffered in the blast. Ruth flees her shelter into a horrible, radioactive, barren world where death surrounds her everywhere. The fires are out, but nothing is recognizable. Detention camps are created to deal with looters, some of whom kill Ruth's parents but are soon caught by soldiers. They will later be executed. Mr. Kemp dies later from starvation & radiation poisoning. Those in the bunker at city hall eventually die of suffocation before a rescue team can reach them. Ruth eventually gives birth to a daughter, but she grows up emotionally, physically & mentally stunted - like most of the postwar generation. With no agrochemicals, fertilizers, and insects eating crops, many starve or freeze to death in nuclear winter. 13 years later, things are just as bleak as Ruth dies of radiation-induced cancer, and her daughter later gives birth to a deformed, stillborn infant.
The sheer horror of the attack & aftermath cannot be stressed enough. Though the acting is wooden in places, the sheer effectiveness of the special effects of the attack is stunning for its time. Digital effects did not exist and this was shot on a low budget. I remember seeing the mushroom cloud over the RAF base and thinking how real it looked. The same could be said of the blast scenes & aftermath. The portrayals by the actors of the postwar generation are quite convincing; it was an angle I hadn't thought of - growing up with no education or anyone to teach them a language. Director Jackson & writer Barry Hines did meticulous research when making this one; the credits read like a 'Who's Who' of science with names like Dr. Carl Sagan, the Home Office Defence College, and the British Medical Association.
Even after the end of the Cold War, this chilling film should be COMPULSORY viewing for all world leaders as well as high school students. It would be invaluable for them to see what threat the Cold War once posed. The threat from the USSR & eastern bloc may be largely gone, but it remains from China, North Korea, and possibly Iran as well as terrorists in the future.
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