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Description

Disc 2 contains the film The War Game plus the set's bonus materials: an introduction by filmmaker Alex Cox, a commentary by film critic Kim Newman and filmmaker Sean Hogan, interviews and video essays, the trailer, and Peter Watkins' short films The Diary of an Unknown Soldier and The Forgotten Faces. In 1965, Peter Watkins recruited 350 amateur actors, drew on direct quotes from civil defense manuals, and used newsreel-like recreations to craft a BBC documentary drama depicting a nuclear attack on Great Britain. The network condemned the finished film as "too horrifying" and refused to broadcast it; it went on to receive a special award at the 1966 Venice Film Festival and win the 1967 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, though the BBC did not air it until three decades later.

Description

Peter Watkins' stark depiction of what a nuclear attack on England would look like caused a sensation when it was banned as too graphic and horrifying. It helped ignite the public debate over nuclear weapons and went on to theatrical success on both sides of the Atlantic. Despite winning an Oscar, two BAFTA awards and a Special Prize at the Venice Film Festival, The War Game went unseen on British television for more than 20 years.