The threat of nuclear war has existed ever since the conception of the nuclear bomb, its lingering presence remaining a huge source of anxiety for people across the world. There have been spikes in that anxiety across various decades, whether it be the Cuban missile crisis or the Cold War tension of the 1980s. Film has attempted many times to understand what the experience of a nuclear war will feel like, the shared anxiety proving powerful enough to spawn an entire sub-genre of nuclear war movies.
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Movies addressing the subject of nuclear war have to reckon with the real horror that we have seen committed by nuclear weapons. We know how scary these weapons are and how devastating they can be, so any movie covering the subject will inevitably become somewhat of a horror. There are many films that have dared approach the subject, but there are only a few that come close to truly capturing the nightmare that would be nuclear war. There are no atomic monsters, just the threat of humanity’s end.
10 Threads (1984)
Directed By Mick Jackson
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Threads TV-MAThrillerSci-FiDrama
Threads is a British television film directed by Mick Jackson, depicting the impact of a nuclear war on the city of Sheffield and its residents. Released in 1984, the film follows the lives of two families as they grapple with the immediate and long-term effects of the catastrophic event. The narrative offers a stark and realistic portrayal of the societal breakdown and human suffering caused by nuclear conflict.
Release Date September 23, 1984 Writers Barry Hines Cast Karen Meagher , Reece Dinsdale , David Brierly , Rita May , Nicholas Lane , Jane Hazlegrove , Henry Moxon , June Broughton Runtime 112 Minutes Director Mick Jackson Main Genre Thriller Expand
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Threads is a fascinating exploration of the effects of a nuclear winter upon the city of Sheffield, England. Initially released as a TV movie, it gained a huge amount of attention for the realistic and downright horrifying approach it took to the effects of a war not even involving the UK. It follows a newly married couple as they struggle for survival after a war between the USA and Russia breaks out.
Threads
won four BAFTA awards.
The film is filled with images that have remained seared into the memories of the viewers who saw it upon release. Bandaged faces, shattered families, and homes are rendered to rubble within seconds. It is a story focused on insignificant people and the lives that are torn apart by the effects of war. It was terrifying then, and it will remain that way for years to come.
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9 The Last Island (1990)
Directed By Marleen Gorris
A somewhat forgotten foray into films about nuclear war, The Last Island presents itself as more of a mystery than the previously mentioned Threads. It begins with the passengers of a plane crash waking up on an abandoned island, unsure of what has occurred and whether the world is still there. It plays out almost like a prototype version of Lost, each survivor a stranger and each with their own perspectives on their isolation.
The film mostly revolves around the experiences of Shelagh McLeod’ Joanna, the only young woman left alive. The survivors become increasingly hostile, their desperation to preserve a world that cannot be saved tearing each other apart. It discusses a variety of different topics, such as religion, sexuality, and violence. Though it never received the credit it deserved, The Last Island solidifies the horror of being stranded away from a world on fire.
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8 Fail Safe (1964)
Directed By Sidney Lumet
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Fail Safe Not RatedThrillerDramaWar
Fail Safe is a Cold War thriller directed by Sidney Lumet, featuring Henry Fonda as the U.S. President. The film explores a critical moment when a technical malfunction sends American bombers toward the Soviet Union, raising the specter of a nuclear catastrophe. Walter Matthau co-stars as a government advisor, adding depth to the intense narrative that highlights the precariousness of nuclear diplomacy.
Release Date October 7, 1964 Writers Eugene Burdick , Harvey Wheeler , Walter Bernstein Cast Henry Fonda , Walter Matthau , Fritz Weaver , Larry Hagman , Frank Overton , Edward Binns , Dan O’Herlihy , William Hansen Runtime 112 Minutes Director Sidney Lumet Studio(s) Boum Productions , Mondo Macabro , Baby Cow Productions Distributor(s) Magnolia Pictures Main Genre Thriller Expand
Fail Safe and Dr. Strangelove were both released in 1964, telling similar stories about nuclear bombers accidentally sent toward detonating in Russia. While Strangelove has maintained a hold culturally, Fail Safe has fallen from the public consciousness despite the immense amount of talent involved in the project. Henry Fonda portrayed the president tasked with averting the nuclear war that may at any moment break out.
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The film is dark and has a densely despairing mood, defined by its stark black-and-white cinematography. Sidney Lumet does an amazing job at handling the material, and his experience making 12 Angry Men certainly helps elevate all the sequences focused on conversations. David O’Herliy is fantastic and helps sell the doomed nature that the film makes so gripping. It grows more investing and gripping as it goes on, hurtling toward a mesmerizing and tragic finale.
7 Miracle Mile (1988)
Directed By Steve De Jarnatt
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Miracle Mile (1988) RSci-FiDramaRomanceThrillerComedy
Miracle Mile, directed by Steve De Jarnatt, centers on Harry, who, after meeting the girl of his dreams, receives alarming news of an impending nuclear strike on Los Angeles. The film unfolds over the course of a tense hour as panic ensues and Harry races against time.
Release Date May 19, 1988 Writers Steve De Jarnatt Cast Anthony Edwards , Mare Winningham , John Agar , Lou Hancock , Mykelti Williamson , Kelly Jo Minter , Kurt Fuller , Denise Crosby , Robert DoQui , O-Lan Jones , Claude Earl Jones , Alan Rosenberg , Danny De La Paz , Earl Boen , Diane Delano , José Mercado , Alan Berger , Howard Swain , Raphael Sbarge , Lucille Bliss , Cynthia Phillips , Chad S. Taylor , Edward Bunker , Brian Thompson , Herbert Fair , Tina Webster , Kirby Tepper , Jenette Goldstein , Victoria Powells , Jordana Capra , Bruce Hayes , Richard Biggs , Peter Berg , Chloe Amateau , Alan Dillard , Tracy Britton Runtime 88 Minutes Director Steve De Jarnatt Main Genre Sci-Fi Expand
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After meeting the girl of his dreams, Anthony Edward’s Harry accidentally discovers that a nuclear strike will hit L.A. in less than 70 minutes. The movie is both terrifying and entrancing, never making it clear whether the strike will actually take place. This increases the stakes as characters make choices that, if they survive, will likely haunt them for years to come. It possesses a unique style all its own thanks to the great cinematography and spaced-out feel.
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Tangerine Dream’s score also helps elevate the desolate and despairing tone of the movie, leaving the deserted city streets to feel especially eerie. The elements focusing on Mykelti Williamson are especially despairing and reveal an ugly nature to humanity that exists even before the end of the world. Hope and romance dwindle as the oppressive atmosphere takes hold and the journey heads quickly toward an impressive end.
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6 The Day After (1983)
Directed By Nicholas Meyer
The Day After is like America’s version of Threads, detailing the events leading up to and before the nuclear apocalypse that sends a small Kansas town into chaos. It takes a more grounded approach to nuclear fallout, following Jason Robard’s small-town doctor as he attempts to help those affected. The movie is crushing and approaches slowly toward a critically devastating finale.
Initially aired on TV in 1983, The Day After managed to capture the attention of 36 million households and approximately 100 million people. It was an event and still remains the most-watched TV movie in American history, making clear that it was able to achieve a great deal with its story of human devastation. The movie remains a crushingly depressing watch that reached a great number of people with its anti-nuclear messaging.
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5 On The Beach (1959)
Directed By Stanley Kramer
After a massive nuclear war takes place and leaves the Northern Hemisphere uninhabitable, an American submarine finds itself safe in Australia. The movie deals with characters unable to reckon with the doomed world in which they live, each one attempting to combat their own fears over what they have lost. It is a story about losing hope and attempting to find it again in a world devoid of it. Gregory Peck turned in one of his best performances and is a particular highlight as a naval officer unable to reckon with the possibility that his family may be dead.
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The movie plays out as a human drama about characters unable to change the cards that they have been dealt, even the creators of the bombs having to reckon with what they have done. The maddeningly dangerous grand prix that occurs during the film really defines the atmosphere of the film. Racers aware of their future demise turn the racetrack into a dangerous inferno of fire and twisted metal.
4 When The Wind Blows (1986)
Directed By Jimmy T. Murakami
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When the Wind Blows 16+AnimationDramaWar Release Date February 6, 1987 Writers Raymond Briggs Cast Peggy Ashcroft , John Mills , Robin Houston , James Russell , David Dundas , Matt Irving Runtime 84 Minutes Director Jimmy T. Murakami Main Genre Animation Expand
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When The Wind Blows is an animated movie that details the effects of nuclear war on those people who have so little control that they don’t even understand its effects. Following an aging couple as they attempt to prepare for a nuclear war that is set to take place, given only a few days’ notice to prepare for a war that they can’t even fathom. It was directed by Jimmy T. Murakami, a legend of animation who is considered the godfather of Irish animation, and this is possibly his best work.
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Seeing the couple attempt to rationalize the effects of the nuclear fallout as wartime measures, they are never able to truly grapple with the sickness that begins to consume them. It is a harrowing animation that mixes 2D with stop-motion to create a style quite unique to itself. There is nothing more terrifying than seeing these sweet drawings rendered into gaunt and sickly individuals.
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3 Five (1951)
Directed By Arch Oboler
Considered to be the first film to address a story about the aftermath of a nuclear war, and it certainly proves to be as disturbing an entry as any other. The film follows the seemingly last five survivors of the fallout, one woman and four men, as they attempt to survive. It is heavily despairing and quickly expresses those feelings through the tensions that rise early on in the film. Susan Douglas’ last woman on Earth is pregnant and practically alone thanks to the cruelty of some of the surrounding men.
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It harshly critiques the dog-eat-dog nature of humanity and sees them subjected to their worst impulses. The only survivor of color, played by Charles Lampkin, is subjected to the racist violence of another survivor. It is a darkly violent and cerebral take on humanity reduced to nothing that is sure to leave any viewers despairing.
2 The Day The Earth Caught Fire (1961)
Directed By Val Guest
After simultaneous nuclear tests performed by both the US and Russia accidentally caused a shift in the Earth’s axis, it becomes clear that the planet is hurtling toward the sun. It is a different kind of nuclear disaster, and one caused more by unaware hubris than by malicious intent. Val Guest’s desolate imagery of London and Brighton is greatly effective in helping sell the possibility of what could happen.
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While the disaster is no doubt massive and ever present in the gradual heating of the Earth, the film’s perspective is more focused upon the people unable to take control of the situation. Instead, deciding to take control of their lives and find some sort of hope that they may never experience again. Edward Judd, Janet Munro and Bill Maguire are excellent and help to keep alive any hope.
1 Testament (1983)
Directed By Lynne Littman
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In his review of Testament, Roger Ebert wrote that “it is not a science-fiction movie”. This quote manages to exemplify with few words how powerful Lynne Littman’s movie is. Detailing the events following numerous nuclear blasts across the east and west coast, Testament follows a suburban town as it proceeds to fall into despair. It is a subtle approach to the ways in which humanity attempts to cling to normalcy despite the aggressive changes that have begun to take hold.
Jane Alexander was nominated for an Oscar for her role in
Testament.
The movie is filled with dour and ominous moments, but constantly engaging thanks to Jane Alexander’s performance, which manages to crack some optimism through the darkness. It is not a movie about chaos and the way the world may spin out of control, but it is a movie about cherishing what little we have. Testament is still yet to receive the credit it deserves, but it will always be there as a reminder of how humanity can eke out even the smallest amount of hope.
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