The War Game (Peter Watkins, 1966) is a British pseudo-documentary film which depicts a hypothetical nuclear war and the proceeding repercussions. The film caused a significant amount of distress within the BBC and it was soon deemed to be “too horrifying” for a general audience. The film was later televised in July 1985 during the week before the 40th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing.
During this ‘worst-case scenario’, the UK has declared a state of emergency after the Soviets threaten to invade West Berlin if the US does not revoke their decision to employ nuclear warfare. Ration cards and hazard booklets are soon distributed to the public and an emergency siren system is tested. Soon enough, a Soviet thermonuclear warhead airbursts 6 miles outside of Manston Airfield and the effects of the nuclear bomb are viscerally displayed to the viewer through the use of extremely graphic imagery.
The War Game wavers between being an observational documentary and a participatory documentary. In some scenes, the actors on-screen acknowledge the presence of the camera and in others, the camera appears to be invisible. Through this, a ‘fly on the wall’ style of filmmaking is employed, thus placing these parts of the film under the observational mode. The fact that each situation depicted is entirely fictional and each of the characters are actors, suggests that the film can be categorised as a participatory documentary. This is aptly utilised by Watkins in order to immerse the viewer within the imaginably dystopian reality of the near-future.
Receiving a 93% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and winning the 1967 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, critics praised the film for being “remarkab[ly] authentic” – despite being shown to the public almost 20 years after production.
Although I didn’t get much enjoyment out of The War Game, I greatly appreciated it for its frightening level of genuineness presented throughout its 45 minute runtime. It’s no surprise that this film wasn’t aired publicly in 1965.
Overall, I would rate The War Game ★★★.
Otis Morley’s A-Level Film Studies Blog 