When the Wind Blows | |
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The DVD Cover for When The Wind Blows |
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Directed by | Jimmy Murakami |
Written by | Raymond Briggs (also graphic novel) |
Starring | Sir John Mills Dame Peggy Ashcroft |
Music by | Roger Waters David Bowie |
Distributed by | United Kingdom: Recorded Releasing United States: Kings Road Entertainment Japan: Nippon Herald Films/At Entertainment |
Release date(s) |
United Kingdom: July 25, 1987[1][2] |
Running time | 80 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
When the Wind Blows is an animated film originally released in the United Kingdom in 1986. The film is based on Raymond Briggs' graphic novel of the same name. The film was directed by Jimmy Murakami and it stars the voices of John Mills and Peggy Ashcroft.
The film was Briggs' second collaboration with TVC, after their efforts with a special based on another work of his, The Snowman, in 1982. It was distributed by Recorded Releasing in the UK, and by Kings Road Entertainment in the United States. A subsequent graphic novel by Briggs, Ethel and Ernest (1998), makes it clear that Briggs based the protagonist couple in When the Wind Blows on his own parents.
When the Wind Blows is a hybrid of drawn animation and stop-motion animation. The characters of Jim and Hilda Bloggs are drawn, but their home and most of the objects in it are real objects that seldom move but are animated with stop motion when they do.
The soundtrack album features music by Roger Waters and David Bowie (who performed the title song), Genesis, Squeeze and Paul Hardcastle.
Contents |
When the Wind Blows depicts a nuclear attack on the UK by the Soviet Union from the viewpoint of a retired couple, Jim and Hilda Bloggs. The Bloggs live in rural Sussex and are confused regarding the nature and seriousness of their situation. This confusion is sometimes used to generate gentle comedy as well as darker elements. As the film progresses, things become steadily more hopeless as the couple suffer from the effects of radiation sickness. The film ends on an extremely bleak note, with them praying in their fallout shelter as death approaches.
At the very end of the closing credits, a morse code can be heard, spelling "MAD".
When the Wind Blows | ||||
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Soundtrack album by Various artists, and Roger Waters & the Bleeding Heart Band, | ||||
Released | 16 May 1986 | |||
Recorded | Winter 1985 | |||
Genre | Progressive rock | |||
Length | 45:36 | |||
Label | Virgin | |||
Producer | Roger Waters, David Bowie, Hugh Cornwell, Peter Hammond, Paul Hardcastle & Squeeze | |||
Various artists, and Roger Waters & the Bleeding Heart Band, chronology | ||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [3] |
All tracks written by Waters and performed by Waters and The Bleeding Heart Band except where noted. On some versions of the album, the Roger Waters tracks are all put into one 24:26 minute song. The lyrics to the closing song, "Folded Flags", feature a reference to the song "Hey Joe" in the lines "Hey Joe, where you goin' with that gun in your hand?" and "Hey Joe, where you goin' with that dogma in your head?"[4]
The film was released on VHS in the United Kingdom by CBS/Fox Video after its theatrical run, and later on laserdisc. After a short theatrical run in the United States in one theatre and grossing $5,274 at the box office in 1988, it was released on VHS by IVE and on laserdisc by Image Entertainment. It was released on DVD in 2005 by Channel 4, with 0 region coding: the official UK DVD is still PAL format. The film was recently re-released on DVD in September 2010, again by Channel 4, and is available on Amazon.com, it is formatted in NTSC and All region coding.
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