A 1966 docu-drama deemed 'too horrifying for TV' by the BBC and banned for almost 20 years is now available on BBC iPlayer. 'The War Game', written and directed by Peter Watkins, depicts the brutal aftermath of a nuclear attack on the UK in stark documentary style, narrated by newsreader Michael Aspel.
The film, which won the 1967 Oscar for Best Documentary Feature, was not broadcast on television until 1985, though it was shown in cinemas in the 1960s. It begins with rising East-West tensions, a state of emergency, and evacuations, before showing the moment of missile strikes and the ensuing chaos. Scenes include doctors shooting patients beyond help, police executing agitators, and a blinded boy screaming in pain.
Watkins used everyday people and nondescript locations in Canterbury to heighten realism, avoiding Hollywood glamour. The film has a 93 per cent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with reviewers calling it 'effectively scary and unsettling even today' and 'hard-hitting stuff'. However, some critics have dismissed it as 'scaremongering propaganda'.
Comparisons with the 1984 TV film 'Threads', which graphically depicts a nuclear attack on Sheffield, are inevitable. While 'The War Game' is less graphic, its bleakness is unrelenting, with one scene showing a traumatised boy saying he does not 'want to be nothing' when asked about his future.
