Rent When the Wind Blows (1986)
3.9 of 5 from 107 ratings
1h 20min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- Jim and Hilda Bloggs (voiced by Sir John Mills and Dame Peggy Ashcroft) are a middle-aged couple, who believe that the British government is in control as they prepare for Nuclear War. When the countdown begins, they roll up their shirtsleeves and follow government guidelines that were actually distributed to households around Britain in the 1970s. They paint their windows white, build a fortress of doors and pillows, take the washing in and put away two packets of ginger nuts, one tin of pineapple chunks and a good supply of tea. This cautionary tale is both humorous and macabre in its consideration of one of the most horrific possibilities of modern life.
- Actors:
- Winston Churchill, Bernard L. Montgomery, Joseph Stalin, Harry S. Truman
- Directors:
- Jimmy T. Murakami
- Producers:
- John Coates
- Voiced By:
- Peggy Ashcroft, John Mills, Robin Houston, James Russell, David Dundas, Matt Irving
- Writers:
- Raymond Briggs
- Studio:
- Channel 4
- Genres:
- Anime & Animation, Comedy
- Collections:
- A Brief History of Old Age on Screen: Part 1, Getting to Know..., Getting to Know: John Mills, A Brief History of Film...
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 22/01/2018
- Run Time:
- 84 minutes
- Languages:
- English LPCM Stereo
- Subtitles:
- English Hard of Hearing
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Full Screen 1.37:1
- Colour:
- Colour
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- Audio commentary with first assistant editor Joe Fordham and film historian Nick Redman
- Jimmy Murakami: Non Alien (2010, 77 mins): feature-length documentary about the film's director The Wind and the Bomb (1986, 25 mins): the making of When the Wind Blows, featuring interviews with producer John Coates, director Jimmy T. Murakami and writer Raymond Briggs
- Interview with Raymond Briggs (2005, 14 mins): the author discusses When the Wind Blows and other works
- Protect and Survive (1975, 50 mins): public information film designed to be broadcast when a nuclear attack was imminent
- Isolated music and effects track
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Reviews (2) of When the Wind Blows
A snapshot of its time - When the Wind Blows review by LC
I expect this film had much more impact on release, when people were living under the daily threat of nuclear holocaust. Watching it for the first time now, I'm not entirely sure how well it holds up. It's nicely made, and obviously well-meaning, but the actual storyline is so thin it's barely there, with this clearly being more of a political warning of the time than a rounded drama.
1 out of 2 members found this review helpful.
Interesting Adult Animation - When the Wind Blows review by GI
Whilst this very moving film is about nuclear war it has in many ways a contemporary resonance with the coronavirus pandemic. When The Wind Blows seeks to show that government 'advice' and instruction is often ill-thought out, designed as a placatory placebo or just downright useless. This is a serious British animation film with some dark humour centred around the, now, infamous Protect & Survive booklet issued to the public to prepare them for the possibility of a nuclear attack. Peggy Ashcroft and John Mills provide the voices for the two characters Hilda and Jim. A retired couple who have moved to the country. They are a typical naive English pair who believe what they read in the papers and tend to see authority as there for their ultimate good. With warnings of East/West tensions Jim follows the booklets instructions and prepares their humble house ready for an air attack and the fallout. He tries to laugh off the booklets contradictions such as removing the doors to build a shelter (which he does) but also to close all the doors to limit the spread of fire! It's here that you can observe the relevance today in the strangely contradictory advice given around the pandemic restrictions. As a film this is a tender and touching story of a very identifiable married pair who view the world and the past through rose tinted spectacles with their fond memories of the blitz and of a time of community coming together as they see it in the Second World War. Hilda is more concerned with Jim using her best cushions for the shelter than the implications of the attack. Ultimately when the attack comes Jim and Hilda are ill prepared for survival because of the lack of information and to that end the film is touched with sadness. This is emphasised by the style of animation and story from Raymond Briggs (who also wrote The Snowman) which combined together gives the film a quaintness and very English quality. Interesting to know that when the film was first released the government of the day was determined the film shouldn't be shown in schools. It was and today it's definitely a film that children should see.
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.