When the Wind Blows (1986)

A naive elderly British rural couple survive the initial onslaught of a nuclear war.

Director:

Jimmy T. Murakami

Writers:

Raymond Briggs (book), Raymond Briggs (script)

Stars:

Peggy Ashcroft, John Mills, Robin Houston

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Peggy Ashcroft	...	Hilda Bloggs (voice)
John Mills	...	Jim (voice)
Robin Houston	...	Announcer (voice)
James Russell	...	(voice)
David Dundas	...	(voice)
Matt Irving	...	(voice)

Storyline

With the help of government-issued pamphlets, an elderly British couple build a shelter and prepare for an impending nuclear attack, unaware that times and the nature of war have changed from their romantic memories of World War II.

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Plot Keywords:

tragedy | adult animation | nuclear war | black comedy | pudding | 

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Taglines:

...It's No Fairy Tale

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Genres:

Animation | Comedy | Drama | War

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Details

Official Sites:

At Entertainment [Japan]

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 March 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

Quando o Vento Sopra

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,597, 13 March 1988, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$5,274

Company Credits

Production Co:

Meltdown Productions,British Screen Productions,Film Four International

Technical Specs

Runtime:

84 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was part of a 1980s cycle of films about nuclear warfare and the risks of nuclear energy which had started in 1979 with The China Syndrome (1979). The films included Silkwood (1983), Testament (1983), Threads (1984), WarGames (1983), The Day After (1983), The Atomic Cafe (1982), The Manhattan Project (1986), Whoops Apocalypse (1982), Special Bulletin (1983), Ground Zero (1987), Barefoot Gen (Hadashi no Gen (1983)), Rules of Engagement (1989), When the Wind Blows (1986), Letters from a Dead Man (Pisma myortvogo cheloveka (1986)), Memoirs of a Survivor (1981) and The Chain Reaction (1980).

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Goofs

At the beginning of the scene in which Jim and Hilda are bedridden, Hilda's feet are missing for a few frames as the camera pans across.

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Quotes

Jim: I wonder if there's any radiation about.
Hilda: Well, I can't see anything.
Jim: Hurry up dear and get back in the Inner Core or Refuge. We'd better have an early night.
Hilda: Well if you can't see it and can't feel it, it can't be doing you any harm, can it?

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Crazy Credits

After the end credits, Morse code can be heard in the background. The code, when translated, means "MAD". MAD is an abbreviation for the term "Mutually Assured Destruction".

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Connections

Featured in It Was Alright in the 70s: Fear in the 80s (2015)

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Soundtracks

What Have They Done
Written by Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford
Performed by Squeeze
Produced by Glenn Tilbrook and Pete Hammond

User Reviews

Chilling

This is a film you will never forget. I watched it as a teenager expecting something soppy and sentimental (it was made by some of the same people who made the Snowman, a Christmas tale featuring the chorister Aled Jones).

John Mills is superb as the male character, his voice carries the echoes of his former glories as hero, officer type and all round good guy. With lavish casting, animation and soundtrack the plot is given a painful intensity.

Instead my family were treated to horror of the worst kind. A horror that deals with ordinary comfortable society. The two lovely elderly characters are my grandparents, my neighbours. We see them crumble and disintegrate in the nuclear aftermath. They prepare cheerfully for a nuclear war and wait helplessly in the fallout for a rescue which will never come.

Don't watch it with your parents, you will cry and be reminded about it for years afterwards.