Google video is a great place on the net. This “XL” version of Youtube might meet its demise in the next year as Google transfers everything to Youtube .. it does house some fantastic gems. One of those is “The War Game” a BBC movie/documentary about what would happen if the cold war heated up. Now when I say “post WW3 Movies” many of you will of course say “The day after”. But although it was immensely popular in its time .. its not very ‘accurate’ of just what would have happened if we pushed the big red button. Having an interest in the subject I went online and looked for other “post nuclear holocaust” movies and found 2 chilling English movies that deal with the subject. Where “The day after” might be pretty good when it comes to special effects and drama, these English movies are the ones that really get stuck in your brain.
Threads (1984) takes a look at what a Nuclear holocaust would do to modern western society. It deals with the most delicate and vulnerable aspect of our modern day civilisation : We all rely on each other for something. Nobody can survive on their own. So what would happen if the “threads” of this society would be cut by a disastrous event like Nuclear war. Where “the day after” looks at the immediate results of a nuclear attack .. Threads takes a look at the years it would take to get back on our feet.
The second movie I found is called “The war Game” and dates back to 1965. What is chilling about this particular movie is that it draws back on the knowledge we learned from World War 2 and the events that occurred after the bombing of Dresden and Berlin. It draws parallels between the events of those days and how a Nuclear holocaust might result in comparable situations. No special effects .. but it will haunt you.
You can watch “The war game” (complete movie) here.
I saw the Berlin wall go down in 1985 and have not experienced a lot of the cold war. But for those of you who have no idea of the dangers of Nuclear war, take some time to watch these movies. Next time you see North Korea or some far away country working on a Nuclear missile .. remember that the events mentioned above .. can still happen.
Over the edge... 