When the Wind Blows (1986 film)

Last updated

When the Wind Blows
When the Wind Blows 1986.jpeg
Directed by Jimmy T. Murakami [1]
Written by Raymond Briggs
Based on When the Wind Blows
by Raymond Briggs
Produced by John Coates [1]
Starring
Edited byJohn Cary
Music by Roger Waters
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • 24 October 1986 (1986-10-24)(United Kingdom)
  • 25 July 1987 (1987-07-25)(Japan)
  • 11 March 1988 (1988-03-11)(United States)
Running time
84 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Box office$5,274 [2]

When the Wind Blows is a 1986 British adult animated disaster film directed by Jimmy Murakami based on Raymond Briggs' graphic novel of the same name. The film stars the voices of John Mills and Peggy Ashcroft as the two main characters and was scored by Roger Waters. The film recounts a rural English couple's attempt to survive a nearby nuclear attack and maintain a sense of normality in the subsequent fallout and nuclear winter. [3]

Contents

Plot

Jim Bloggs and his wife Hilda are an aging couple, living in an isolated cottage in rural Sussex, in southeast England. Jim frequently travels to the local town to read newspapers and keep abreast of the deteriorating international situation regarding the Soviet–Afghan War, which is threatening to escalate into an all-out nuclear conflict between the Western Allies and the Soviet Union. Hearing a radio news report stating that a war may be only days away, Jim follows the instructions outlined in the government-issued Protect and Survive pamphlets to build a fallout shelter, including covering the windows with white paint and readying sacks to lie down in when a nuclear strike hits. Despite apprehension, Jim and Hilda are confident they can survive, as they did the Second World War, and that a Soviet defeat will ensue.

As a radio transmission warns of an imminent ICBM strike, the couple rush to their shelter, just escaping as distant shock waves batter their home. They emerge after a few nights to find that all utilities, services and communications have been destroyed but with a misunderstanding of why their usual services are not functioning, with Jim speculating that most have temporarily ceased due to "wartime measures". Jim and Hilda remain stoic and try to resume their daily routine, preparing tea and dinners on a camping stove, noting numerous errands they will have to run once the crisis passes, and trying to renew their evaporated water stock with rainwater. Fallout dust is visible in the air throughout the house. Jim believes that a rescue operation will soon be launched to help civilians. They venture outside where radioactive ash has blocked out the sun and caused heavy fog. They are oblivious to the dead and dying animals strewn across the landscape, the destroyed buildings of the nearby town and the scorched vegetation outside their cottage. Their initial optimism eventually begins to fade due to the prolonged isolation, lack of food and water, growing radiation sickness, and absence of communication from the authorities.

Jim worries that the Soviet military will soon invade, experiencing a vision where a Soviet soldier breaks into their house. Hilda, whose symptoms are worsening, encounters a rat in the dried toilet, which traumatises her. Coupled with her worsening symptoms - bloody diarrhea, bleeding gums - she begins to lose hope. Jim tries to comfort her, still optimistic that he may be able to get medications for her from the chemist. After a few days, the Bloggs are practically bedridden, and Hilda is despondent when her hair begins to fall out. Jim clings to his belief that emergency services will eventually arrive, but they never do. Near death, Hilda suggests they lie down in the paper sacks. Jim, now resigned to their fate, agrees. As they crawl into the sacks Jim tries reciting prayers, including Psalm 23, but, forgetting the lines, starts to read "The Charge of the Light Brigade", whose militaristic and ironic undertones distress the dying Hilda, who weakly asks him not to continue. Finally, Jim's voice mumbles away into silence as he finishes the line, "...rode the Six Hundred..."

Outside the shelter, the smoke and ash-filled sky begins to clear, revealing the sun rising through the gloom. As the credits end, a Morse code signal taps out "MAD" - mutual assured destruction.

Cast

Production

The film was Briggs' second collaboration with TVC, after their efforts with a special based on another work of his, The Snowman , in 1982. It was distributed by Recorded Releasing in the UK, and by Kings Road Entertainment in the United States. A subsequent graphic novel by Briggs, Ethel and Ernest (1998), makes it clear that Briggs based the protagonist couple in When the Wind Blows on his own parents.

When the Wind Blows is a hybrid of traditional and stop-motion animation. The characters of Jim and Hilda Bloggs are hand-drawn, as well as the area outside of the Bloggs' house, but their home and most of the objects in it are real objects that seldom move but are animated with stop motion when they do. The stop motion environments utilised are based on the style used for the Protect and Survive public information films. "Protect And Survive" is also featured as the booklet that Jim takes instructions from to survive the nuclear attack.

The soundtrack album features music by David Bowie (who performed the title song), Roger Waters, Genesis, Squeeze, Hugh Cornwell and Paul Hardcastle.

Reception and legacy

When the Wind Blows received positive reviews, currently having an 88% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 8 reviews. [4] Critic Barry Lappin called it "Absolutely brilliant.... It was very subtly done but the message more than gets through well". He explained that the scenes are "more than touching" and encouraged people to watch it to the very end.

Colin Greenland reviewed When the Wind Blows for White Dwarf #85, and stated that "The story of Jim and Hilda Bloggs preparing for the Bomb and trying to get back to normal afterwards is heavy-handed, especially at the end, and would have been better shorter; there are odd continuity problems between the pictures and the dialogue. But it is powerful, ludicrous and shocking. It gets to you. As it ought to." [5]

Soundtrack

Originally, David Bowie was supposed to contribute several songs to the soundtrack for the film, but he decided to pull out so he could focus on his upcoming album Never Let Me Down , and instead only submitted the title track. Roger Waters was brought in to complete the project instead. [6]

When the Wind Blows
RogerWaters WTWB.JPG
Soundtrack album by
Released16 May 1986
RecordedWinter 1985
Length84 minutes
Label Virgin Records
Producer Roger Waters
David Bowie
Hugh Cornwell
Peter Hammond
Paul Hardcastle
Squeeze
Roger Waters chronology
The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking
(1984)
When the Wind Blows
(1986)
Radio K.A.O.S.
(1987)
Singles from When the Wind Blows
  1. "When the Wind Blows"
    Released: 27 October 1986
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [7]

Track listing

All tracks written by Roger Waters and performed by Waters and The Bleeding Heart Band except where noted. On some versions of the album, the Roger Waters tracks are all put into one 24:26 song. The lyrics to the closing song, "Folded Flags", feature a reference to the song "Hey Joe" in the lines "Hey Joe, where you goin' with that gun in your hand?" and "Hey Joe, where you goin' with that dogma in your head?" [8]

  1. "When the Wind Blows" (lyrics: Bowie; music: Bowie, Erdal Kızılçay) – 3:35
  2. "Facts And Figures" (Hugh Cornwell) – 4:19
    • Performed by Hugh Cornwell
  3. "The Brazilian" (Tony Banks, Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford) – 4:51
  4. "What Have They Done?" (Chris Difford, Glenn Tilbrook) – 3:39
  5. "The Shuffle" (Paul Hardcastle) – 4:16
    • Performed by Paul Hardcastle
  6. "The Russian Missile" – 0:10
  7. "Towers of Faith" – 7:00
  8. "Hilda's Dream" – 1:36
  9. "The American Bomber" – 0:07
  10. "The Anderson Shelter" – 1:13
  11. "The British Submarine" – 0:14
  12. "The Attack" – 2:53
  13. "The Fall Out" – 2:04
  14. "Hilda's Hair" – 4:20
  15. "Folded Flags" – 4:51

Personnel

The Bleeding Heart Band

Home media

The film was released on VHS in the United Kingdom by CBS/Fox Video after its theatrical run, and later on laserdisc. After a short theatrical run in the United States in one theatre and grossing $5,274 at the box office in 1988, it was released on VHS by International Video Entertainment and on laserdisc by Image Entertainment. It was released on DVD in 2005 by Channel 4, with 0 region coding: the official UK DVD is still PAL format. The film was re-released on DVD in September 2010, again by Channel 4, it is formatted in NTSC and All region coding. In the United States it was released on Blu-ray on 11 November 2014 by Twilight Time in a limited edition of 3000, [9] and in the United Kingdom, a dual-format release containing both the DVD and Blu-ray version was released on 22 January 2018 by the BFI. Severin Films released another Blu-ray and a DVD of the movie in the United States through their Severin Kids label on 21 April 2020. [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Threads</i> (1984 film) 1984 British-Australian apocalyptic war drama television film

Threads is a 1984 British apocalyptic war drama television film jointly produced by the BBC, Nine Network and Western-World Television Inc. Written by Barry Hines and directed and produced by Mick Jackson, it is a dramatic account of nuclear war and its effects in Britain, specifically on the city of Sheffield in Northern England. The plot centres on two families as a confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union erupts. As the nuclear exchange between NATO and the Warsaw Pact begins, the film depicts the medical, economic, social, and environmental consequences of nuclear war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuclear fallout</span> Residual radioactive material following a nuclear blast

Nuclear fallout is residual radioactive material propelled into the upper atmosphere following a nuclear blast, so called because it "falls out" of the sky after the explosion and the shock wave has passed. It commonly refers to the radioactive dust and ash created when a nuclear weapon explodes. The amount and spread of fallout is a product of the size of the weapon and the altitude at which it is detonated. Fallout may get entrained with the products of a pyrocumulus cloud and when combined with precipitation falls as black rain, which occurred within 30–40 minutes of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This radioactive dust, usually consisting of fission products mixed with bystanding atoms that are neutron-activated by exposure, is a form of radioactive contamination.

<i>The Atomic Cafe</i> 1982 documentary film

The Atomic Cafe is a 1982 American documentary film directed by Kevin Rafferty, Jayne Loader and Pierce Rafferty. It is a compilation of clips from newsreels, military training films, and other footage produced in the United States early in the Cold War on the subject of nuclear warfare. Without any narration, the footage is edited and presented in a manner to demonstrate how misinformation and propaganda was used by the U.S. government and popular culture to ease fears about nuclear weapons among the American public.

<i>Labyrinth</i> (1986 film) 1986 film by Jim Henson

Labyrinth is a 1986 musical fantasy film directed by Jim Henson with George Lucas as executive producer. Based on conceptual designs by Brian Froud, the film was written by Terry Jones, and many of its characters are played by puppets produced by Jim Henson's Creature Shop. The film stars Jennifer Connelly as 16-year-old Sarah and David Bowie as Jareth, the Goblin King. In Labyrinth, Sarah embarks on a quest to reach the center of an enormous, otherworldly maze to rescue her infant half-brother Toby, whom she wished away to Jareth.

<i>The Snowman</i> 1982 British animated television film

The Snowman is a 1982 British animated television film and symphonic poem based on Raymond Briggs's 1978 picture book The Snowman. It was directed by Dianne Jackson for Channel 4. It was first shown on 26 December 1982, and was an immediate success. It was nominated for Best Animated Short Film at the 55th Academy Awards and won a BAFTA TV Award.

<i>The Great Adventure of Horus, Prince of the Sun</i> 1968 Japanese film

The Great Adventure of Horus, Prince of the Sun is a 1968 Japanese anime fantasy adventure film. It is the directorial feature film debut of Isao Takahata and was also worked on by Hayao Miyazaki. Horus marked the beginning of their partnership that would last for the next 50 years across numerous animation studios.

Protect and Survive was a public information campaign on civil defence. Produced by the British government between 1974 and 1980, it intended to advise the public on how to protect themselves during a nuclear attack. The campaign comprised a pamphlet, newspaper advertisements, radio broadcasts, and public information films. The series had originally been intended for distribution only in the event of dire national emergency, but provoked such intense public interest that the pamphlet was published, in slightly amended form, in 1980. Due to its controversial subject, and the nature of its publication, the cultural impact of Protect and Survive was greater and longer-lasting than most public information campaigns.

<i>Superman</i> (1940s animated film series) Series of animated short films

The Fleischer Superman cartoons are a series of seventeen animated superhero short films released in Technicolor by Paramount Pictures and based upon the comic book character Superman, making them his first animated appearance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raymond Briggs</span> English illustrator (1934–2022)

Raymond Redvers Briggs was an English illustrator, cartoonist, graphic novelist and author. Achieving critical and popular success among adults and children, he is best known in Britain for his 1978 story The Snowman, a book without words whose cartoon adaptation is televised and whose musical adaptation is staged every Christmas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duck and cover</span> Suggested method of personal protection against the effects of a nuclear explosion

"Duck and cover" is a method of personal protection against the effects of a nuclear explosion. Ducking and covering is useful in offering a degree of protection to personnel located outside the radius of the nuclear fireball but still within sufficient range of the nuclear explosion that standing upright and uncovered is likely to cause serious injury or death. In the most literal interpretation, the focus of the maneuver is primarily on protective actions one can take during the first few crucial seconds-to-minutes after the event, while the film of the same name and a full encompassing of the advice also cater to providing protection up to weeks after the event.

The four-minute warning was a public alert system conceived by the British Government during the Cold War and operated between 1953 and 1992. The name derived from the approximate length of time from the point at which a Soviet nuclear missile attack against the United Kingdom could be confirmed and the impact of those missiles on their targets.

<i>When the Wind Blows</i> (comics) 1982 graphic novel by Raymond Briggs

When the Wind Blows is a 1982 graphic novel, created by British artist Raymond Briggs, commonly known for its critiques against government issued preparations for nuclear war. Utilizing a cartoonish design, this graphic novel follows a retired couple, Jim and Hilda Bloggs, and their journey through surviving a nuclear attack on Britain launched by the Soviet Union. The novel was later adapted for different entertainment types including an animated film, radio play, and stage play.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment</span> Walt Disney Company subsidiary

Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc. is the home entertainment distribution arm of the Walt Disney Company. The division handles the distribution of Disney's films, television series, and other audiovisual content across digital formats and platforms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">When the Wind Blows (song)</span> Song by David Bowie

"When the Wind Blows" is a 1986 song from the soundtrack of the film of the same name, performed by David Bowie and written by Bowie and Erdal Kızılçay. It was released as a single in October 1986 and released digitally in 2007.

<i>Father Christmas</i> (1991 film) 1991 British animated television film

Father Christmas is a 1991 British animated short film which adapts two books written by Raymond Briggs – Father Christmas and Father Christmas Goes on Holiday. Produced by Blooming Productions Ltd. at TVC London for Channel 4 Television Company Ltd., in association with Palace Video and GAGA Communications, the film premiered on Channel 4 on Christmas Eve 1991 in Britain, and was the second animated adaptation of Briggs' work made for the channel, following the 1982 animated short The Snowman. The film stars Mel Smith as Father Christmas and was dedicated to the late animator John McGuire.

Winter is a Silly Symphonies animated Disney short film. It was released on October 30, 1930, by Columbia Pictures.

<i>Batman: The Dark Knight Returns</i> (film) 2012 two-part animated film directed by Jay Oliva

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns is a two-part direct-to-video adult animated superhero film, an adaptation of the 1986 comic book The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller and is set in the same continuity as Batman: Year One. It was directed by Jay Oliva, who worked as a storyboard artist on Man of Steel, Under the Red Hood, Year One and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Several other Batman veterans were also involved in the film. Part 1 was released on September 25, 2012, and Part 2 was released on January 29, 2013. A deluxe edition combining both films was released on October 8, 2013. Part 1 is the 15th film, and Part 2 is the 16th film, of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies.

<i>The Story of Wish You Were Here</i> 2012 British film

The Story of Wish You Were Here is a television documentary about the making of Pink Floyd's 1975 album Wish You Were Here. After being shown on a few television channels, such as BBC Four, it was released on 26 June 2012, on DVD and Blu-ray.

<i>Roger Waters: Us + Them</i> 2019 British film

Roger Waters: Us + Them is a 2019 British concert film and live album by English musician Roger Waters, founding member of Pink Floyd. The film was directed by Waters and Sean Evans, and captures a truncated performance from Waters' tour of the same name. This is the second film where both Waters and Evans are involved, their first being Roger Waters: The Wall.

References

  1. 1 2 "When the Wind Blows". British Film Institute . Archived from the original on 13 July 2012. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  2. "When the Wind Blows (1988) - Box Office Mojo". 22 February 2014. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014.
  3. Lenburg, Jeff (2009). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons (3rd ed.). New York: Checkmark Books. p. 241. ISBN   978-0-8160-6600-1.
  4. When the Wind Blows , retrieved 15 January 2019
  5. Greenland, Colin (December 1987). "2020 Vision". White Dwarf (85). Games Workshop: 6.
  6. O'Leary, Chris (2019). Ashes to Ashes The Songs of David Bowie 1976-2016. Repeater Books. ISBN   9781912248308.
  7. "Allmusic review".
  8. "When The Wind Blows lyrics". Roger Waters International Fan Club. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  9. "When the Wind Blows Blu-ray Release Date November 11, 2014" via www.blu-ray.com.
  10. When the Wind Blows Blu-ray , retrieved 9 November 2019