The War Game (1965)

The War Game is a 1965 television film on nuclear war. Written, directed, and produced by Peter Watkins for the BBC's The Wednesday Play strand, its depiction of the impact of Soviet nuclear attack on Britain caused dismay within the BBC and in government. It was scheduled for transmission on 6 August 1966 (the anniversary of the Hiroshima attack) but was not transmitted until 1985, the corporation publicly stating that "the effect of the film has been judged by the BBC to be too horrifying for the medium of broadcasting". It was widely viewed before its BBC debut on video and in art-house cinemas, often using prints provided by Watkins, and the film won the Academy Award for Documentary Feature in 1966.


* Synopsis:


Made in black and white with a running time of just under fifty minutes, The War Game depicts the prelude to and the immediate weeks of the aftermath to the Soviet nuclear attack against Britain. A Chinese invasion of South Vietnam starts the war; tensions escalate when the U.S. authorises tactical nuclear warfare against the Chinese, although the Soviet and East German forces threaten to invade West Berlin if the U.S. does not withdraw that decision. The U.S. does not acquiesce to Communist demands, and occupies West Berlin; two U.S. Army divisions attempt to fight their way into Berlin, but the Russian and East German forces defeat them in battle. The U.S. President launches a pre-emptive, NATO tactical nuclear attack. A limited nuclear war erupts between the West and the East; missiles strike Britain.


The chaos of the prelude to the attack, as city residents are forcibly evacuated to the country, leads to the story's centre in Rochester, Kent, which is struck by an off-target missile aimed at Heathrow airport. Key targets in Kent are RAF Manston and the Maidstone barracks, which are mentioned in scenes showing immediate effects of the attack. The results of that missile's explosion are the instant blinding of those who see the explosion, the resultant firestorm caused by the heat wave, and the blast front; later, the collapse of society, because of radiation sickness, psychological damage, and destroyed infrastructure; the British Army burns corpses, while police shoot looters during food riots.