History Film / TheWarGame

The film's intention was to realistically portray the effects of a nuclear attack on Britain, and to demonstrate how utterly ineffective the actual UK Government plans then in place were with regard to preparing the country for survival and rebuilding after such an attack. That the plans ''were'' so ineffective is largely because, in reality, it would have been totally impossible to save even half of the country's population from death in the event of even the most conservative nuclear strike; the contemporary USA calculated that even she (the world's no. 1 economy) did not have the medical supplies and facilities to treat those wounded in a single attack upon a city such as Detroit. Given her inability to protect her citizens in the event of an actual strike, and to forestall the constant fear and paranoia that public knowledge of this would bring, successive British governments decided to keep secret the details of the 1955 Strath Report and its recommendations, and to [[UsefulNotes/UltimateDefenceOfTheRealm focus the UK's limited resources on nuclear deterrance]]. As they saw it, the ''only'' nuclear strike that the British people could hope to survive was one that never came.

Originally created to be shown by Creator/TheBBC, it was banned from television after being determined to be "too horrifying for the medium of broadcasting". However, the film did receive a limited theatrical release (and remains the only film to win an MediaNotes/AcademyAwardForBestDocumentaryFeature while being a work of fiction) and was finally shown on television in its entirety in 1985, as part of a week-long BBC programming block commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings.

Originally created to be shown by Creator/TheBBC, it was banned from television after being determined to be "too horrifying for the medium of broadcasting". However, the film did receive a limited theatrical release (and remains the only film to win an UsefulNotes/AcademyAwardForBestDocumentaryFeature while being a work of fiction) and was finally shown on television in its entirety in 1985, as part of a week-long BBC programming block commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings.

* DeliberatelyMonochrome: Mainly because British television didn't get colour until a few years later.

* PrecisionFStrike: One man whose house is billeted to house displaced refugees quietly utters "Fucking hell," which is quite shocking for the time the film was made.

* ManOnFire: Shown several times during the firestorm that results from the attack.

Originally created to be shown on Creator/TheBBC, it was banned from television after being determined to be "too horrifying for the medium of broadcasting". However, the film did receive a limited theatrical release (and remains the only film to win an UsefulNotes/AcademyAwardForBestDocumentaryFeature while being a work of fiction) and was finally shown on television in its entirety in 1985, as part of a week-long BBC programming block commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings.

-->'''American Nuclear Strategist:''' In the next world war, I believe that both sides could stop before the ultimate destruction of cities so that both sides could retire for a period of ten years or so of post-attack recuperation, in which world wars four to eight could be prepared.

* FailedFutureForecast: Perhaps one of the few examples where this was ''thankfully'' played straight. The film predicts that, due to the proliferation of nuclear arms, the events that took place would occur by 1980.

Originally created to be shown on Creator/TheBBC, it was banned from television after being judged to be "too horrifying for the medium of broadcasting". However, the film did receive a limited theatrical release (and remains the only film to win an UsefulNotes/AcademyAwardForBestDocumentaryFeature while being a work of fiction) and was finally shown on television in its entirety in 1985, as part of a week-long BBC programming block commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings.

The film's intention was to realistically portray the effects of a nuclear attack on Britain, and to demonstrate how utterly ineffective the actual UK Government plans then in place were with regard to preparing the country for survival and rebuilding after such an attack. That the plans ''were'' so ineffective is largely because, in reality, it would have been totally impossible to save even half of the country's population from death in the event of even the most conservative nuclear strike; the contemporary USA calculated that even she (the world's no. 1 economy) did not have the medical supplies and facilities to treat those wounded in a single attack upon a city such as Detroit. Given her inability to protect her citizens in the event of an actual strike, and to forestall the constant fear and paranoia that public knowledge of this would bring, successive British governments decided to keep secret the details of the 1955 Strath Report and its recommendations, and [[UsefulNotes/UltimateDefenceOfTheRealm focus the UK's limited resources on nuclear deterrance]]. As they saw it, the ''only'' nuclear strike that the British people could hope to survive was one that never came.

The film's intention was to realistically portray the effects of a nuclear attack on Britain, and to demonstrate how utterly ineffective the actual UK Government plans then in place were with regard to preparing the country for survival and rebuilding after such an attack. That the plans ''were'' so ineffective is largely because, in reality, it would have been totally impossible to save even half of the country's population from death in the event of even the most conservative nuclear strike; the contemporary USA calculated that even she (the world's no. 1 economy) did not have the medical supplies and facilities to treat those wounded in a single attack upon a city such as Detroit. Given her inability to protect her citizens in the event of an actual strike, and to forestall the constant fear and paranoia that public knowledge of this inability would bring, successive British governments decided to keep the details of the 1955 Strath Report and its recommendations secret and [[UsefulNotes/UltimateDefenceOfTheRealm focus the UK's limited resources on nuclear deterrance]]. As they saw it, the ''only'' nuclear strike that the British people could hope to survive was one that never came.

The film's intention was to realistically portray the effects of a nuclear attack on Britain, and to demonstrate how utterly ineffective the actual UK Government plans then in place were with regard to preparing the country for survival and rebuilding after such an attack. That the plans ''were'' so ineffective is largely because, in reality, it would have been totally impossible to save even half of the country's population from death in the event of even the most conservative nuclear strike; the contemporary USA calculated that even she (the world's no. 1 economy) did not have the medical supplies and facilities to treat those wounded in a single attack upon a city such as Detroit. Given her inability to protect her citizens in the event of an actual strike, and to forestall the constant fear and paranoia that public knowledge of its lethality would bring, successive British governments decided to keep the details of the 1955 Strath Report and its recommendations secret and [[UsefulNotes/UltimateDefenceOfTheRealm focus the UK's limited resources on nuclear deterrance]]. As they saw it, the ''only'' nuclear strike that the British people could hope to survive was one that never came.

* JustBeforeTheEnd: The film opens 2 days before the nuclear attack.

The film's intention was to realistically portray the effects of a nuclear attack on Britain, and to demonstrate how utterly ineffective the actual UK Government plans then in place were with regard to preparing the country for surviving and rebuilding after such an attack. That the plans ''were'' so ineffective is largely because, in reality, it would have been totally impossible to save even half of the country's population from death in the event of even the most conservative nuclear strike; the contemporary USA calculated that even she (the world's no. 1 economy) did not have the medical supplies and facilities to treat those wounded in a single attack upon a city such as Detroit. Given her inability to protect her citizens in the event of an actual strike, and to forestall the constant fear and paranoia that public knowledge of its lethality would bring, successive British governments decided to keep the details of the 1955 Strath Report and its recommendations secret and [[UsefulNotes/UltimateDefenceOfTheRealm focus the UK's limited resources on nuclear deterrance]]. As they saw it, the ''only'' nuclear strike that the British people could hope to survive was one that never came.

* AnyoneCanDie: Played straight.

The film's intention was to realistically portray the effects of a nuclear attack on Britain, and to demonstrate how utterly ineffective the actual UK Government plans then in place were with regard to preparing the country for surviving and rebuilding after such an attack. That the plans ''were'' so ineffective is largely because, in reality, it would have been totally impossible to save even half the UK's population from death in the event of even the most conservative nuclear strike; the contemporary USA calculated that even she (the world's no. 1 economy) did not have the medical supplies and facilities to treat those wounded in a single attack upon a city such as Detroit. Given her inability to protect her citizens in the event of an actual strike, and to forestall the constant fear and paranoia that public knowledge of its lethality would bring, successive British governments decided to keep the details of the 1955 Strath Report and its recommendations secret and [[UsefulNotes/UltimateDefenceOfTheRealm focus the UK's limited resources on nuclear deterrance]]. As they saw it, the ''only'' nuclear strike that the British people could hope to survive was one that never came.