Threads is a 1984 British dystopian apocalyptic war dramatic psychological horror television film directed and produced by Mick Jackson and written by Barry Hines. A dramatic account of the potential medical, economic, social, and environmental consequences of a nuclear war in Britain, it follows two families in Sheffield as a confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union erupts into war and a general nuclear exchange between NATO and the Warsaw Pact.[1]
An international co-production between the BBC, Nine Network, and Western-World Television Inc., the film was shot on a budget of £400,000 (equivalent to £1,290,611 in 2023).[2] It was the first of its kind to depict a nuclear winter and has been cited as the film "which comes closest to representing the full horror of nuclear war and its aftermath, as well as the catastrophic impact that the event would have on human culture".[3] It has been compared to The War Game (1966) and The Day After (1983). It was nominated for seven BAFTA Awards in 1985 and won for Best Single Drama, Best Design, Best Film Cameraman, and Best Film Editor. It is widely regarded nowadays as one of the finest war, dystopian and apocalyptic movies of all time, as well as one of the greatest television movies ever made.
Plot
Soviet troop movements into Iran as shown in a clipping from The Observer early in the film (with occupied Afghanistan in red)
In the English city of Sheffield, young adults Ruth Beckett and Jimmy Kemp plan to marry after learning of Ruth's unplanned pregnancy. Meanwhile, an international crisis develops after the Soviet Union invades northern Iran in response to a United States-backed coup in the country. Daily life in Sheffield continues while an American ultimatum demanding joint withdrawal from Iran expires. After a limited nuclear exchange in Mashhad, armed conflict breaks out between America and the Soviet Union. As Britain prepares for the possibility of nuclear war, society gradually destabilises over the course of two days and violent suppression of anti-war protests takes place across the country. Inhabitants of Sheffield are spurred into panic buying and looting. Sheffield City Council officials take shelter in a makeshift bunker to command the area should central government be destroyed. Ruth's family prepare to use their cellar as a shelter, while Jimmy's family construct a lean-to from mattresses and doors.
Jimmy is arguing with panic-buyers at the joinery with his friend Bob when civil defence sirens sound. Taking cover under a lorry, they see a mushroom cloud in the distance; a nuclear attack on a nearby airbase causes mass destruction to Sheffield, while attacks on other NATO targets cause mass destruction across Britain that kill and injure tens of millions of people. Jimmy attempts to reach Ruth, never to be seen again. His brother Michael is killed in the initial firestorm, while his mother suffers severe burns and his father falls ill from radiation poisoning in the following days. Ruth and her family fare better in their underground shelter, although Ruth's grandmother soon falls ill.
As the Sheffield council's efforts to maintain order fail, they slowly suffocate in their bunker, which is buried under the rubble of Sheffield Town Hall. Meanwhile, Ruth flees her shelter after her grandmother dies, discovering that society has collapsed over the course of nine days. Due to dangers posed by fallout, rescue efforts and attempts to control fires are halted; local authority has broken down, martial law has been implemented and survivors are left to fend for themselves. Ruth visits Jimmy's house, finding his mother's corpse. She takes Jimmy's bird-watching book and searches for him at the local hospital, which is under-equipped and overwhelmed by hundreds of wounded civilians. By the time she returns home, her parents have been killed by looters.
Cast
Paul Vaughan as the Narrator
Karen Meagher as Ruth Beckett
Reece Dinsdale as Jimmy Kemp
David Brierley as Bill Kemp[4]: 186
Rita May as Mrs Kemp, with Dorothy Ford as her stunt double[4]: 158
Nicholas Lane as Michael Kemp
Jane Hazlegrove as Alison Kemp
Henry Moxon as Gordon Beckett[4]: 167
June Broughton as Mrs Beckett
Sylvia Stoker as Granny Beckett
Harry Beety as Clive Sutton (Controller)[4]: 189
Ruth Holden as Marjorie Sutton[4]: 189
Ashley Barker as Bob
Michael O'Hagan as Chief Superintendent Alan Hirst[4]: 191
Phil Rose as Dr Carlton, the Medical Officer[4]: 192
Steve Halliwell as the Information Officer
Phil Askham as Mr Stothard
Anna Seymour as Mrs Stothard
Fiona Rook as Carol Stothard
Joe Holmes as George Langley[4]: 225
Victoria O'Keefe as Jane
Lee Daley as Spike
Marcus Lund as Gaz
Lesley Judd and Colin Ward-Lewis as Newscasters
Anne Sellors as Frightened Woman
Michael Beecroft[5] as Bandaged Traffic Warden
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