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Frame from Threads (1984) ORIGINAL TRAILER [HD 1080p] Plays via YouTube's privacy-enhanced embed

Threads (1984) ORIGINAL TRAILER [HD 1080p]

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5 HN users recommended this video5 months2019–2024 score 6.5
Years with an HN recommendation, 2007–2026

HN commenters use it to point people to Threads, which they call the most harrowing depiction of nuclear war and say should be mandatory viewing.

The original trailer for Threads, the 1984 British TV film depicting the aftermath of a nuclear attack on Sheffield. The trailer hints at the film's bleak tone.

“should be mandatory viewing for all people in positions of power” (HN, 2021)

3 strong recommendations · 2 recommendations · Other

5 Hacker News comments

From the HN archive; up to 20 kept per video, favoring different commenters. Recommendations first.

@29athrowaway Jan 2023 Strongly recommends
on HN thread Nuclear explosion impact on humans indoors
You should watch Threads (1984), the most messed up film ever made, produced in part by the BBC [this video] (trailer only) It's about the lives of average people before, during and after a fictional nuclear attack in the UK.
Fictional nuclear attack in the UK seen through ordinary lives.
@willprice89 Oct 2023 Strongly recommends
on HN thread What a third world war would mean for investors
Of all post-nuclear-apocalypse stories I've seen or read, I think the movie Threads (1984) ( [this video] ) does the best job hammering home just how miserable and hopeless life will be for everyone except a tiny fraction of lucky and privileged survivors. Maybe those are the people who will still be worrying about investments after WW3...
Conveys how miserable post-nuclear life would be.
@davidwtbuxton Nov 2019 Recommends
on HN thread Beria and the Beautiful Game
Also Threads, from the same era, incredibly bleak depiction of British society in the aftermath of a nuclear attack. [this video] (For those who haven't seen it, it is grim, but gripping.)
Bleak depiction of British society after a nuclear attack.
@aspenmayer Jun 2024 Recommends
on HN thread British Nuclear Warning System
Threads (1984) [link] [link] Even the trailer is harrowing with audio alone: [this video] The part where the audio seamlessly transitions from screams into screeching wind, wails, and explosions was chillingly well done in the most dramatic way. If you like Threads, check out Children of Men, which is also disturbingly realistic and also set in UK.
Trailer is harrowing through its audio alone.

Video list and Hacker News comment labels from HackerTube (prompted by @karpathy), released under ODC-By 1.0, built on the open-index/hacker-news archive. Hacker News data is provided by Y Combinator; comments remain the work of their authors. Video titles, channel names and thumbnails belong to their creators and are shown via YouTube. HackerTube Watch is an unofficial edition. Data export of 2026-10-31.

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