When the Wind Blows
1986 · Movie · 84 min · ★ 7.5 · 83% critics
An elderly British couple follows government pamphlets to prepare their home for an imminent nuclear attack, trusting that familiar wartime spirit and simple precautions will see them through. As the crisis arrives, their everyday routines and hopeful outlook collide with a harsher reality, turning their quiet domestic world into a tense, heartbreaking struggle to cope.
Based on When the Wind Blows
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Details
- Years
- 1986
- Release date
- 1986-10-24
- Language
- English
- Runtime
- 84 min
- Max quality
- HD
- Critic score
- 83/100
- TMDB rating
- 7.5/10 (335 votes)
About
You’ll likely connect with this if you want an intimate, unsettling anti-war story that mixes ordinary home life with mounting dread, in the vein of Threads; Not for you if you want upbeat pacing or a comforting watch.
Pros: emotionally powerful; darkly thought-provoking; memorable atmosphere | Cons: very depressing; talk-heavy pacing; characters feel naive
Themes
- husband wife relationship
- countryside
- nuclear war
- england
- world war ii
- based on comic
- based on graphic novel
- nuclear fallout
- adult animation
- isolated house
- radiation sickness
- bomb shelter
- +1 more
Awards & recognition
- Annecy Cristal — a Feature Film · 1987
- Annecy Cristal — a Feature Film · 1987 · nominated
Cast & crew
John Mills
as Jim Bloggs (voice)
Peggy Ashcroft
as Hilda Bloggs (voice)
Robin Houston
as Radio Announcer (voice)
- JR
James Russell
as Russian submariner (voice)
David Dundas
as Additional Voices (voice)
- MI
Matt Irving
as Additional Voices (voice)
Bernard Montgomery
as Self (archive footage)
Harry S. Truman
as Self (archive footage)
Joseph Stalin
as Self (archive footage)
Winston Churchill
as Self (archive footage)
Directed by Jimmy T. Murakami