The War Game (1965) Directed by Peter Watkins

No way this fake documentary would had ever got made had the cold war never gone on around its time. It's a fake documentary, shot as a real one, in which a scenario is presented what might happen when England is struck by nuclear missiles.

None of this ever happened during the cold war, so it's hard to say how accurate this movie was being. It could all have happened like presented in this fake documentary but then again it also could all had happened in a totally different way. It really mostly plays on the peoples fears and paranoia of the time this movie got shot. It shows some of the worst case scenario's, without providing any answers how to survive a nuclear attack. Basically the documentary says; you're going to die fast or you are going to die slow but you are going to die anyhow. I don't think I would had liked watching this back in 1965, had I been around, around that time. It's like it's prepare it's viewers for the inevitable, while today we of course all know none of this, thank goodness, ever happened.

So in a way this fake documentary really is some propaganda but in todays light that also still makes this an interesting watch. It's interesting to see how much fear for an event like presented in this movie there was and what people's views on a nuclear war were and how they were preparing themselves for it. Both normal civilians but also some scientist and other experts (all played by actors by the way) give their views and opinions on things.

It aren't really any of the actors (they are all awful) or the dialog and presented 'facts' that impress and make this an effective watch. It simply are all of its images. It really all got shot like this was a normal and real documentary, which makes some of the images work out as shocking and confronting. This is really the movie its biggest power and is also what still makes it something effective to watch this present day.

Not as good or effective as the other, later, BBC nuclear holocaust production "Threads" but it's still a good and interesting watch, in todays light.

7/10