Although When the Wind Blows opens with a rousing ditty by none other than David Bowie himself, you can forget any tight-trouser magic dancin’ from this lil’ nuclear number…
Geezers James (John Mills) and Hilda spend their old days doin’ old people shit in their cozy abode in the British countryside. What kind of old people shit you may ask? Why reading the newspaper, listening to the radio… hey, speaking of this mass media, James decides he should pick up some pamphlets regarding how to save one’s ass when the nukes come raining down as the international outlook is looking rather cloudy… mushroom cloudy, as that aforementioned media let’s us know!
After reading those loony leaflets, James goes about following all of the patently ridiculous plans detailed within and ends up fuckin’ up their house but good. Long story short, the bombs fall, the advice was right shit, and our heroes realize surviving may have been quite the elephant sized fuck-up!
As you can tell by all of the choice swears above, this is the newest addition to Severin’s Severin Kids label of fucked up films any child would go running away from with wild, terror-induced abandon… unless they were massively chill… I don’t know… I do know these films, and in-particular this one, are a sight to behold for lovers of bizarre cinema.
Based on Raymond Briggs’ graphic novel of the same name (Briggs provided the film’s screenplay as well), When the Wind Blows is one hell of a bummer, but my lord is it entertaining and filled with surprising heart and humor among the encroaching horror. The cast is excellent, the visuals simple and charming… when they aren’t nightmare fuel (this is a mixed-media animated picture by the by), and the score by Roger Waters (and songs by the aforementioned Bowie and Genesis) is fantastic… seriously this film is a masterpiece, but it’s pervasive sadness may turn some viewers off… I mean, it ain’t Threads at least…
So along with the absolutely devastating feature, our putrid pals at Severin have included an excellent selection of bonus features on this Blu-ray release. Included are: a fascinating feature length documentary about the Film’s Director, Jimmy Murakami, a “making of” feature, an ultra-informative audio commentary with first assistant editor Joe Fordham and film historian Nick Redman, an interview with Briggs, an actual public information film designed to be broadcast when a nuclear attack was goin’ down (the info here is about as rock solid as the crap in those fuckin’ pamphlets James has such a boner for), an isolated music and effects audio track (trust me, this is an amazing way to view this flick), and trailers.
Grim, sad, occasionally humorous, always sincere… and above all; unforgettable, When the Wind Blows is a must see picture filled to bursting with heart-wrenching drama mixed with a horror I pray we never endure.
