10 More Apocalypse Horrors That Broke All The Rules
5. The War Game
The War Game is a 1965 faux-documentary depicting the events of a Soviet nuclear bomb being dropped on the UK and its fallout which, of course, never actually happened.
However, that didn't stop it doing the most rule-breaking thing imaginable by winning the Best Documentary Oscar in 1967, enough that the Academy responded by changing the eligibility for documentaries in this category - that is, they couldn't be pure fiction anymore. Imagine that.
Its Oscar win is nothing if not a testament to the film's stirring effectiveness, presented quite impeccably as a combination of dramatic narrative footage and meticulously constructed fake-doc material.
It quite chillingly confirms those most uncomfortable but necessary of truths which remain evident today - the government isn't prepared for nuclear warfare, and the general public is absolutely clueless.
The doc caused enough concern that the BBC ultimately pulled it before its planned 1965 TV debut, and it remained unaired on British airwaves for 20 years until 1985.
It is, therefore, the near-literal definition of an apocalyptic movie which cut too close to home, almost entirely removing the barrier of narrativity between itself and the audience.