The War Game
- 1966
- 48m
IMDb RATING
8.0/10
7.4K
YOUR RATING
A docudrama depicting a hypothetical nuclear attack on Britain.A docudrama depicting a hypothetical nuclear attack on Britain.A docudrama depicting a hypothetical nuclear attack on Britain.
- Won 1 Oscar
- 5 wins total
Dave Baldwin
- Schoolmaster
- (uncredited)
- …
Kathy Staff
- Interviewee
- (uncredited)
Peter Watkins
- Documentist
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaDespite being produced by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), the film was banned from television. The official reason was violence and depiction of human suffering, but others hinted that the real reason was because it went against the official government line concerning the survivability of a nuclear attack. The ban didn't forbid cinematic distribution, so the film had a wide theatrical release and won four major film awards.
- GoofsLight can be seen reflecting off a woman's "broken" teeth.
- Quotes
Scientist: Technically and intellectually, we are living in an atomic age. Emotionally, we are still living in the Stone Age. The Aztecs on their feast days would sacrifice 20,000 men to their gods in the belief that this would keep the universe on its proper course. We feel superior to them.
- Alternate versionsSome prints replace the stills of Lyndon B. Johnson and Alexey Kosygin with stills of the White House and the Red Square
- ConnectionsFeatured in Peter Watkins Reflects on 'The War Game' and the Media (1983)
- SoundtracksStille Nacht, heilige Nacht (Silent Night, Holy Night)
(uncredited)
Music by Franz Xaver Gruber
Lyrics by Joseph Mohr
Played on phonograph at Dover refugee compound
Featured review
Now THIS is a horror film!
I just saw this for the first time and more than once while watching it I felt my body go ice cold. This was surely THE DAY AFTER of its time. Presented in a matter-of-fact documentary style it shows people blissfully ignorant of what could happen in the event of a nuclear attack. Sure enough, quicker than you can say "On The Beach" an attack comes and the lives of the people who couldn't care less a moment before are changed forever.
Some scenes are still truly jolting. Looters trying to get away with the only thing of value left in the world, tinned food, are gunned down by expressionless British police. A man displays a shotgun and declares there is only room in his shelter for his family and he will not hesitate to shoot his neighbours if they try to get in. A doctor laments that severely injured people are taken to a "dying room" and left to perish without care or pain killers. Bodies are stacked like logs for mass cremation. Shell shocked survivors are so traumatised they just sit and stare. This movie runs only 48 minutes but you will be aware of every second!
This movie was made in 1965, the year I was born, so I cannot say I understand what the people of that era must have felt but after seeing this I have a rough idea of the mindset of the public in those Cold War days.
After seeing those US Government produced movies telling people to just hide in their basements for 2 week; after which the U S of A will not only have won a nuclear war but will have put the world back into apple pie order THE WAR GAME is the cinematic equivalent of a sucker punch to the jaw. Watch this film, and then TRY to sleep!
Some scenes are still truly jolting. Looters trying to get away with the only thing of value left in the world, tinned food, are gunned down by expressionless British police. A man displays a shotgun and declares there is only room in his shelter for his family and he will not hesitate to shoot his neighbours if they try to get in. A doctor laments that severely injured people are taken to a "dying room" and left to perish without care or pain killers. Bodies are stacked like logs for mass cremation. Shell shocked survivors are so traumatised they just sit and stare. This movie runs only 48 minutes but you will be aware of every second!
This movie was made in 1965, the year I was born, so I cannot say I understand what the people of that era must have felt but after seeing this I have a rough idea of the mindset of the public in those Cold War days.
After seeing those US Government produced movies telling people to just hide in their basements for 2 week; after which the U S of A will not only have won a nuclear war but will have put the world back into apple pie order THE WAR GAME is the cinematic equivalent of a sucker punch to the jaw. Watch this film, and then TRY to sleep!
Helpful•613
- reptilicus
- May 10, 2003
- Permalink
Details
- Runtime48 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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