WHEN THE WIND BLOWS (1986)
Label: Severin Kids!
Region Code: Region-FREE
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 86 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Full Frame (1.33:1)
Director: Jimmy Murakami
Voice Cast:Peggy Ashcroft, John Mills, Robin Houston
Synopsis: “There have been enough post-holocaust nuclear winter films to constitute a genre” says Time Out, “but there has never been anything quite like this.” Three decades after it first shattered audiences worldwide, Severin Kids is proud to present the animated classic about an elderly couple – voiced by Academy Award winners Sir John Mills and Dame Peggy Ashcroft – attempting to survive the aftermath of a nuclear war. Directed by Jimmy T. Murakami (HEAVY METAL, BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS), adapted by Raymond Briggs from his acclaimed graphic novel, and featuring an original score by Roger Waters with title song by David Bowie, experience what Rock! Shock! Pop! calls “a fascinating achievement in filmmaking, and one that remains timeless more than 30 years after its creation.”
When The Wind Blows (1986) is based on Raymond Briggs' graphic novel of the same name, and it depicts the quiet life of an aging working class British couple, James (voiced by John Mills, The Quatermass Conclusion) and Hilda (voiced by Peggy Ashcroft, The 39 Steps), who live in a little cottage in the British countryside. Their seemingly idyllic Golden Years are thrown into chaos as the threat of the nuclear-Armageddon becomes reality as tensions with the Soviet Union mount.
As the couple gather round the dinner table they read the newspaper and listen to the radio as both trumpet warnings of an imminent missile attack, inspiring James to pick-up some government pamphlets which give instructions on how citizens can protect themselves in the event of a nuclear attack. Per the government's instructions
James sets about painting the windows of the cottage white to deflect heat from a nuclear blast, removing interior doors from their hinges and using them to build a lean-to shelter in the very center of the house, padded with comfy couch cushions. Hilda thinks all these preparations are a bit useless, but it becomes clear that neither of them quite realize what their potentially in for. The couple nostalgically talk about the blackouts and the Nazi blitzkriegs they endured in their youth, but their expectations are outdated. Their naivete leans on the simple side, but their not stupid folks, they just don't seem to have a full appreciation of the current situation versus what they survived during the last great war.
Eventually a Radio 4 DJ announces that the nuclear ICBM's have been launched by the Russians, revealing that they have only about three minutes to act. Surviving the initial blast due to James preparedness the startled couple subsist in the coming days on the supplies they gathered, acting very chin-up as they ponder who won the war and how much longer till emergency services respond to the situation. They curiously fantasize about fighting off a Russian soldier and continue to compare their current situation to the blitzkrieg and blackouts of the second world war. Eventually their supplies dwindle and they venture outside to scrounge, having a conversation bout what exactly does "nuclear fallout" look like, unaware that it is all around them, and gathering contaminated rain water to make pots of tea, unwittingly furthering their deterioration from radiation sickness.
It's a heart wrenching watch as the aging couple carry-on as best they can, believing that things will soon turn for better, but seemingly oblivious or in straight-up denial to the destruction all around them. As they continue to deteriorate from the effects of radiation sickness, something they aren't even aware of, they begin to notice their gums begin bleeding, the arrival of painful skin lesions, and their hair falling out, until eventually finding themselves completely bedridden and at death's door.
The way it all comes to an ends had me streaming eye-stinging tears, it was so beautiful and deeply saddening at the same time, but also infused with a bit of dry British humor and a misplaced chin-up optimism. This is a film that I would put right up there with gut-punch animation classics like Watership Down (1978) and The Plague Dogs (1982), stuff that as a kid turned me absolutely inside out. It also has a kinship with the nuclear nightmare Threads (1984), and then throw in any lingering worries you might have about the welfare of your aging family members, it all adds up to a powerful watch.
Audio/Video: When The Wind Blows (1986) arrives on Blu-ray from Severin framed in the original full frame (1.33:1) aspect ratio. There's no information about this being a new scan of the elements so I will assume this is sourced from the same master as previous Blu-rays released both here in the U.S. and U.K.. There's a natural looking layer of film grain present, and the colors of the charming animation style look great in HD, having a slight watercolor quality about it. It mixes in some grainy looking live-action stock footage as well at what looks to be live-action miniature stuff incorporated into it, it's a great looking presentation.
Audio comes by way of English DTS-HD MA mono with optional English subtitles. The charming English dialogue sounds great, it's a quiet sort of presentation punctuated by some louder action during the atomic blast. The music for the film is great, we get a fantastic David Bowie title track, and songs from both Genesis and the Squeeze, plus a score from Pink Floyd's Roger Waters and The Bleeding Heart Band. Apparently the former release from Twilight Time had a siblance issue, no such issues were noted during my viewing, it sounded great. We also get the option to view the film with an isolated
DTS-HD music score, which I am enjoying right now while righting this review.
I do not own any of the other HD releases to compare, but from what I have read the extras appear to the same as the previous U.K. Blu-ray, beginning with an audio commentary with the First Assistant Editor Joe Fordham and the late Nick Redman of Twilight Time, it's a good listen with Fordham offering plenty of insight into not just into the editing of the film but the animation and construction of miniatures.
We also get the 88-min doc Jimmy Murakami: Non-Alien (2010) examining the life of the late Jimmy Murakamai, with the director going deep into his backstory with he and his family being interred at a Japanese internment camp in California after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and how that shaped his life.
We also get a 24-min vintage documentary The Wind and The Bomb: The Making of When The Wind Blows (1986) with author Raymond Brigg, producer John Coates, special effects director Steve Weston, art director Errol Bryant, and Jimmy Murakami that gets into the genesis of the film from graphic novel to animated film. Additionally there's a 14-min interview with author Raymond Briggs as he discusses the graphic novel and it's inspiration, including his own parent's influence on the simple main characters.
The 23-min Protect and Survive is a public service film designed to be broadcast when a nuclear attack seemed imminent, which is a frightening proposition. Watching it I wished the elderly couple from the main feature had the benefit of seeing it though, but if I was a kid and saw this on the TV I would have been beyond frightened! we also get a pair of theatrical trailers for the film.
The single disc release arrives in a black keepcase with a single-sided sleeve of artwork featuring the original movie illustration , the disc itself features the same key art. Inside there's postcard sized insert with directions on how to make a fall-out shelter with in accordance with the film.
Special Features:
- Jimmy Murakami: Non Alien – Feature Length Documentary About the Film’s Director
- The Wind and The Bomb: The Making of When The Wind Blows (1986)(25 min)
- Audio Commentary with First Assistant Editor Joe Fordham and Film Historian Nick Redman
- An Interview with Raymond Briggs (14 min)
- Protect and Survive: Public Information Film Designed to be Broadcast When a Nuclear Attack Was Imminent (23 min)
- Isolated Music and Effects Audio Track
- Trailers (5 min)
When The Wind Blows (1986) is a wonderful animated film, the subject matter is absolutely frightening but it's beautifully animated and addresses a nightmare nuclear situation with subtlety, but that doesn't make it any less soul-destroying. I watched this with my teen kids a few days, and we're still talking about today, it got under their skin, and mine too, highly recommended.
