 Despite having been produced by the British Broadcasting Corporation  (BBC), the film was banned from television broadcast. The official  reason was for violence and depiction of human suffering, but others  hinted that it may have been because it went against the official  government line concerning survivability of nuclear attack. While  the ban forbade television broadcast, it did not forbid cinematic  distribution. Because of this loophole, the film was given wide  release in theatres, and won four major film awards.