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Metro
30-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
Watch this terrifying film tonight – it might change your life
Melting eyeballs. Third-degree burns. Fire storms. Mercy killings. These are just some of the graphic scenes from Peter Watkins' 1966 film, The War Game. I first watched it in 1985 at the age of 12 and was absolutely horrified. The fact it was narrated by prominent newsreader Michael Aspel made it hit so much harder. To me, he was the avuncular voice of mainstream tea-time TV, so hearing him explain that the effects of a thermal nuclear explosion are like 'an enormous door slamming in the depths of hell' really brought things home. Now, it's going to be shown tonight on BBC Four. And despite how terrifying it is, I'd recommend everyone to watch it. Set in Kent, it portrays a fictional nuclear bomb dropping and we see people's severe retinal burns before the shockwave and mass fires hit. One graphic scene shows a whole family experiencing 'death within three minutes'. In the aftermath of the attack, there's radiation sickness, hunger, looting and riots. Police execute people who are seen as troublemakers and shoot others with severe radiation exposure in mercy killings. The widespread shock and despair are rendered particularly haunting: Children who were orphaned in the attack are asked what they want to be when they grow up. One says they 'don't want to be nothing', but others can't even speak. The War Game was mired in controversy before it was even finished, as Julie McDowall explained in her book Attack Warning Red Winston Churchill reportedly banned any broadcasts on that showed the horrors of nuclear war and ordered the BBC to submit any scripts to the Government for their sign-off. His defence secretary, Harold Macmillan, said that if the facts about nuclear weapons were presented 'abruptly' or in an 'alarming' fashion, the public may become 'defeatist'. Against this background, the BBC invited officials from Whitehall in 1965 to preview the film, it then concluded that the film was 'too horrifying' for an 'indiscriminate audience'. The corporation tried to stress that it had reached this decision without 'outside pressure of any kind' but filmmaker Peter Watkins ended up resigning from the BBC in protest. Watkins later claimed that the BBC told him privately that they feared it had the potential to 'drive up to 20,000 [people] to suicide'. It wouldn't be shown on the BBC until 20 years later on the 40th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, which is when I watched it as a child. Around this same time, I watched another BBC film called Threads that had a deeply traumatising effect on me. That portrayed grisly, graphic, and relentless detail on what the aftermath of a nuclear attack would mean for people and animals: agonising deaths, societal breakdown, sexual assault, and vomiting. Watching The War Game just months after I'd watched Threads felt like the sucker punch that does more damage than the opening jab. Threads unsettled me hugely and as I was still trying to find my feet, The War Game came along and knocked me to the ground. As a direct result of both of these films, I joined the Youth Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) and became a full-on anti-nuclear zealot. Days after the broadcast of both the films in 1985, I spent that week joining 'die-in' protests in local high streets, where we would collapse on the pavement as if a nuclear bomb had just gone off. Later, I also helped to float candles in the River Thames to remember the victims, and my Dad got a call from the police to ask him to collect me from the American Embassy, which I'd try to chain myself to. I owe this activism and sense of community to watching those two films, which is why I want you to watch it tonight. In just 47 minutes, you can learn so much about how fragile our existence is, how cruel power – and the people who wield it – can be, and how science has taken us deliberately to the cliff edge of global destruction. It's the portrayal of the psychological trauma of the survivors that has stuck with me most. The film left me convinced that the very best thing to do in a nuclear war is to die as soon as possible. These days, nuclear nerds like me sometimes compare Threads and The War Game the way others argue over Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, or Oasis and Blur. For me, the two films have had different legacies. More Trending Threads became a lifelong obsession. I've watched it many dozens of times and I am a member of a Facebook group, Threads Survivors, where we discuss it in detail. Next month, I'm going to Sheffield to visit some of the filming locations and to watch the premiere of a documentary about Threads and its impact. I've even got a Threads-related figurine and badges. I won't watch The War Game again tonight because it's just too intense and lacks the humanity, occasional humour and other strange charms of Threads, but I think you should watch it. View More » It may just change your life – like it did mine. Do you have a story you'd like to share? Get in touch by emailing Share your views in the comments below. MORE: Recognising Palestine is not rewarding Hamas – and it shouldn't come with strings MORE: I interview celebrities – but Rob Brydon's sweaty bus tour was utterly surreal MORE: Supernatural thriller fans insist 'give it a chance' after BBC drops 16 episodes
Scotsman
30-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
BBC to air two of its most ‘horrifying' programmes tonight
Threads and The War Game to air on BBC Four - but maybe best not to watch them before bed 😨 Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... A double bill of two of the most 'horrifying' films will air tonight. The War Game and Threads will be televised on BBC Four. Both offer frighteningly realistic aftermaths of nuclear war. If you want to get a good night's sleep this evening, you may just want to avoid BBC Four. The channel will be airing a double bill featuring two of the most horrifying films ever made by the broadcaster. Classic movies The War Game and Threads will be playing this evening and could be set to traumatise a whole new generation. Dating from the 1960s and 1980s respectively, the films are a product of Cold War anxieties about 'The Bomb'. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Each tackles the run-up to and the potential aftermath of a nuclear war happening. Fortunately, in the decades since, they have remained simple warnings and not prophetic visions. I have not personally watched The War Game, but during my A-Level history course we spent a deeply haunting two hour class watching Threads. It has remained seared into my mind ever since and I still get chills anytime I see the name. When is The War Game and Threads on TV? One of the most terrifying films ever made, 'Threads' is an account of the aftermath of nucleur war in the English city of Sheffield. Originally released in 1984, if anything it's scarier now than it was then. If you don't mind having nightmares, you can watch it on the BBC iPlayer. | BBC BBC Four will be running a double bill of the two classic apocalyptic visions this evening (July 30). First up will be The War Game, which is set to start at 10.10 pm, following a brief 10-minute prelude called Michael Aspel Remembers - The War Game. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The documentary will run for 45 minutes and is set to finish at 10.55 pm, according to the schedule. It will be followed by a second prelude programme in which Threads director Mick Jackson reflects on the 1980s movie. Threads itself is due to start at 11.15 pm and will run until 1.10 am. The movie has an approximate runtime of 112 minutes. What are the movies about? Both The War Game and Threads were born out of the Cold War anxieties about the looming threat of nuclear war. The tension between the communist bloc and the capitalist world threatened to bubble over on numerous occasions in the decades between WW2 and the fall of the Berlin Wall in the 1990s, most famous of which was the Cuban Missile Crisis. The preview for The War Game, via Radio Times , reads: 'Docudrama that imagines the events leading up to a nuclear strike on the UK, then presents its likely after-effects. Director Peter Watkins focuses on a decimated community in Kent as public health declines, order crumbles and martial law is declared.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Meanwhile Threads is about, according to Radio Times: 'Harrowing drama about the consequences of nuclear war, focusing on two Sheffield families in the days leading up to - and the years following - a direct hit on the city. First shown in 1984, the award-winning film pulls no punches in its depiction of the fallout.' Who is in the cast of The War Game and Threads? The War Game was made with an unknown cast with Michael Aspel as a commentator. Threads on the other hand features some more recognisable names. It starred . Reece Dinsdale and Karen Meagher. The former would go on to appear in shows like Spooks and Home to Roost. Are the films really that scary? I cannot personally speak to The War Game as I have never actually seen this docudrama. However, it caused such a fluster in the BBC and the Government back in the 1960s that it was pulled from its provisional premiere date of October 6, 1965. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The film would go on to be screened at the National Theatre in London from April 13, 1966, to May 3 of that year. It would not be broadcast on TV until 1985, the day before a repeat of Threads. Legendary film critic Roger Ebert gave The War Game four stars in 1967 and described it as featuring some of 'the most horrifying (scenes) ever put on film'. He hailed its 'remarkable authenticity'. On the other hand, I can firmly speak to the deeply unsettling and harrowing nature of Threads. It has been nearly 15 years since I watched the movie, on a spring afternoon in a classroom on the top floor of my sixth form (Nunthorpe Sixth Form in Middlesbrough). The hairs on the back of my neck still stand up at just the mention of the film's title. Some of the scenes feel like they have been permanently branded in my mind's eye. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Only a very few times in my life have I been so deeply affected by a movie or TV show that is has disrupted my sleep - and Threads was one such time. For reference, another was when watching the ghost train episode of Thomas the Tank Engine as a pre-schooler (I slept with my head under the covers for a year). It is not one for the faint of heart, and you would probably be wise to mentally prepare yourself before turning it on. Did you watch Threads when it was originally on TV - or in the years since? Let me know your thoughts and if it scared you as much as it did me by email: . If you love TV, check out our Screen Babble podcast to get the latest in TV and film.
Scotsman
30-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
BBC to air two of its most ‘horrifying' programmes tonight
Threads and The War Game to air on BBC Four - but maybe best not to watch them before bed 😨 Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... A double bill of two of the most 'horrifying' films will air tonight. The War Game and Threads will be televised on BBC Four. Both offer frighteningly realistic aftermaths of nuclear war. If you want to get a good night's sleep this evening, you may just want to avoid BBC Four. The channel will be airing a double bill featuring two of the most horrifying films ever made by the broadcaster. Classic movies The War Game and Threads will be playing this evening and could be set to traumatise a whole new generation. Dating from the 1960s and 1980s respectively, the films are a product of Cold War anxieties about 'The Bomb'. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Each tackles the run-up to and the potential aftermath of a nuclear war happening. Fortunately, in the decades since, they have remained simple warnings and not prophetic visions. I have not personally watched The War Game, but during my A-Level history course we spent a deeply haunting two hour class watching Threads. It has remained seared into my mind ever since and I still get chills anytime I see the name. When is The War Game and Threads on TV? One of the most terrifying films ever made, 'Threads' is an account of the aftermath of nucleur war in the English city of Sheffield. Originally released in 1984, if anything it's scarier now than it was then. If you don't mind having nightmares, you can watch it on the BBC iPlayer. | BBC BBC Four will be running a double bill of the two classic apocalyptic visions this evening (July 30). First up will be The War Game, which is set to start at 10.10 pm, following a brief 10-minute prelude called Michael Aspel Remembers - The War Game. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The documentary will run for 45 minutes and is set to finish at 10.55 pm, according to the schedule. It will be followed by a second prelude programme in which Threads director Mick Jackson reflects on the 1980s movie. Threads itself is due to start at 11.15 pm and will run until 1.10 am. The movie has an approximate runtime of 112 minutes. What are the movies about? Both The War Game and Threads were born out of the Cold War anxieties about the looming threat of nuclear war. The tension between the communist bloc and the capitalist world threatened to bubble over on numerous occasions in the decades between WW2 and the fall of the Berlin Wall in the 1990s, most famous of which was the Cuban Missile Crisis. The preview for The War Game, via Radio Times , reads: 'Docudrama that imagines the events leading up to a nuclear strike on the UK, then presents its likely after-effects. Director Peter Watkins focuses on a decimated community in Kent as public health declines, order crumbles and martial law is declared.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Meanwhile Threads is about, according to Radio Times: 'Harrowing drama about the consequences of nuclear war, focusing on two Sheffield families in the days leading up to - and the years following - a direct hit on the city. First shown in 1984, the award-winning film pulls no punches in its depiction of the fallout.' Who is in the cast of The War Game and Threads? The War Game was made with an unknown cast with Michael Aspel as a commentator. Threads on the other hand features some more recognisable names. It starred . Reece Dinsdale and Karen Meagher. The former would go on to appear in shows like Spooks and Home to Roost. Are the films really that scary? I cannot personally speak to The War Game as I have never actually seen this docudrama. However, it caused such a fluster in the BBC and the Government back in the 1960s that it was pulled from its provisional premiere date of October 6, 1965. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The film would go on to be screened at the National Theatre in London from April 13, 1966, to May 3 of that year. It would not be broadcast on TV until 1985, the day before a repeat of Threads. Legendary film critic Roger Ebert gave The War Game four stars in 1967 and described it as featuring some of 'the most horrifying (scenes) ever put on film'. He hailed its 'remarkable authenticity'. On the other hand, I can firmly speak to the deeply unsettling and harrowing nature of Threads. It has been nearly 15 years since I watched the movie, on a spring afternoon in a classroom on the top floor of my sixth form (Nunthorpe Sixth Form in Middlesbrough). The hairs on the back of my neck still stand up at just the mention of the film's title. Some of the scenes feel like they have been permanently branded in my mind's eye. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Only a very few times in my life have I been so deeply affected by a movie or TV show that is has disrupted my sleep - and Threads was one such time. For reference, another was when watching the ghost train episode of Thomas the Tank Engine as a pre-schooler (I slept with my head under the covers for a year). It is not one for the faint of heart, and you would probably be wise to mentally prepare yourself before turning it on. Did you watch Threads when it was originally on TV - or in the years since? Let me know your thoughts and if it scared you as much as it did me by email: .
Daily Mail
29-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Nicola says baby hated the violin...until she played her Baby Shark!
She is an internationally-renowned violinist whose award-winning talent draws audiences from far and wide. However, Nicola Benedetti, 38, has revealed she has had to work hard to gain the approval of one discerning critic - her baby daughter. The Ayrshire-born musician said her one year old girl 'absolutely hated' it every time Benedetti picked up the violin and would 'immediately start crying'. It is only due to the violinist's perseverance and the fact she dropped her usual repertoire of classical pieces in favour of popular children's song Baby Shark that she eventually won the tot round. In an interview on BBC Four show Women's Hour, Benedetti, who welcomed her baby daughter with American jazz musician husband Wynton Marsalis, 63, last year, said: 'When she was six or seven months and I started playing the violin she just immediately started crying. Not crying joyfully at all. She absolutely hated it. 'I don't think she hated the sound. I think it was more like I was holding [the violin] instead of her. 'It was this instinctual sense of this thing that now mum's got. You know it was a barrier between me and her. 'It is because I can't pick her up when I've got the violin in my hand. 'But I just then quite slowly would start sort of playing things that I guess were more familiar to her. 'And playing [while] sitting on the floor, very close to her. Playing a couple of little notes and seeing the interaction and just trying to make it fun. 'And there was like a change moment where she just started to love it and now she does.' When asked if her repertoire for her daughter included the children's song Baby Shark, she said: 'I think I've probably done that a few times. 'I think I have. I've added some extra, nice harmonies and made it interesting.'
Telegraph
29-07-2025
- General
- Telegraph
Is it time to forgive kamikaze pilots? This documentary thinks so
The idea of Second World War kamikaze pilots as brainwashed fanatics, willingly going to their deaths, is a pervasive one. And there is an element of truth in it, because the Japanese population was certainly taught that this was the ultimate, glorious sacrifice. Teachers drummed into primary school children that these 'divine hawks' were to be revered. Yet Kamikaze: An Untold History (BBC Four), a sombre, Japanese-made film which takes a wholly compassionate view, shows the reality. Ordered to carry out suicide missions on the US fleet, or pressured to volunteer, they had little choice but to accept their task in a society where conformity was everything. Behind the last letters home, in which they told their families that they were proud to be dying for their country, lay a truth that could not be spoken. An elderly lady, remembering the older brother whose first combat mission was also his last, said: 'In the end, he gave up and accepted his fate. That's how he must have felt – that it was inescapable.' While the pilots did feel a special kind of pride, that did not mean they were without fear. They hid that fear in the moments before they went into battle. An airman tasked with escorting the squadron towards their target recalls a 'ghastly atmosphere' in the dormitory the night before a mission, 'but when dawn broke and they went to the airfield, they left that all behind and appeared happy. They went cheerfully. They didn't want others to see any self-doubt or distress.' The 90-minute documentary lays out the facts and figures – close to 4,000 pilots died on kamikaze missions, with an average age of 21, some of them the products of elite naval and military academies, others recent university graduates – and explains the strategy. Japan was losing the war but believed that inflicting as much damage as possible would constitute a late show of strength and secure them more favourable terms. An unconditional surrender would damage the Emperor's position. A pilot remembered his squadron being summoned to a briefing room and given the news. 'The commander said the war situation was so bad that we had to conduct kamikaze attacks. He told us that it was our only chance at victory. At that moment, I thought my life was over. They were asking us to sacrifice our lives.' The stories of the kamikaze pilots are told through letters, photographs and the recollections of their relatives. There are other interviews, conducted at least a decade ago, with pilots who were not selected. Some of these were passed over because they had scored highest on tests, and high command did not want to waste the lives of the brightest. Volunteers were asked to indicate in writing how deeply they wished to be a kamikaze: they could say 'desire', 'strongly desire' or 'negative'. A historian looks over these records, and sees that some wrote 'desire' in the smallest script, a desperate way to indicate their reluctance. But very few said no. A man recalled playing rock, paper, scissors with a fellow pilot for the one kamikaze flight leaving that day. He was disappointed to lose. 'Looking back, I can't believe I volunteered,' he said, 'but at the time I felt trapped. Maybe that's the psychology behind suicide. I was suffocating.' An American survivor of a kamikaze attack, who volunteered for the US Navy shortly after Pearl Harbor, is one of the few non-Japanese interviewees. He was aboard the USS Ommaney Bay when it was attacked off the coast of the Philippines in January 1945. 'I don't have no grudge against nobody. They were ordered to go,' he says of the kamikaze. I'd wager that some other US veterans would have been less forgiving, but this is a film in which all the sympathy lies in one place.
