Threads and The Day After came out in 1984 and 1983 respectively. Both were made for TV movies that look at the somber subject of what happens to life as we know it after a nuclear war.
Threads is a British Film and focuses on characters set in England. The Day After was a US made film and it focuses on American characters.
So which is a better nuclear war film? Is Threads better or is The Day After Better?
I saw The Day After for the first time, along with 100 million other Americans, in 1983. I remember being riveted to the screen. The topic of Nuclear war, while always frightening, was especially scary in the early eighties when the cold war still held the strong possibility of a nuclear conflict. I have seen the film a couple of times since then and remember it quite well.
I thought it was a good anti-war film in that it really made me fear war and the possible outcomes. That said, I must admit that every time I watch this film, there is something a little too cozy about it. Yes, the outcome of nuclear war in this film is horrible, but the way it is shown in The Day After it wasn’t quite as bad as I thought. I admit, I feel a little weird stating it this way and there are probably better ways to put it, but The Day After was kind of wimpy compared to the British film, “Threads”
The made for TV British film “Threads” did not feel like television movie at all. It felt like a film you could see in movie theaters anywhere. The subject of the film was very well thought out. All order is lost. The devastation is awful and very believable. This film really scares you.
I won’t say too much about threads here. I wrote a complete review of Threads here
Threads is a much better film than The Day After. Threads has better acting, more realistic, feels more like a theater movie than a made-for-TV flick.
Just before watching the film Threads, I saw another very interesting short, mockmentary style film called “The War Game” It won a Best Documentary award when it came out in the sixties. It’s a bold film that pairs well with Threads. Check out my review of The War Game here…