“Martin Rosen’s eloquent, wondrous film offers a deceivingly simple yet powerful view of a war-ridden rabbit society.” - Chris Cabin, Slant Magazine
“Loaded with character, and it has the relentless momentum of a good war movie.” - David Ansen, Newsweek
“Its characterizations, its dedication to detail and to mood, and its uncompromising violence all mark it as something that was rare back in 1978, and remains rare even today: an animated feature meant first and foremost for an adult audience. - Tasha Robinson, The Dissolve
Friday, June 12, 8:45 p.m. & Wednesday, June 17, 6:00 p.m. | With this passion project, screenwriter-producer-director Martin Rosen brilliantly achieved what had been thought nearly impossible: a faithful big-screen adaptation of Richard Adams’s classic British dystopian novel about a community of rabbits under terrible threat from modern forces. With its naturalistic hand-drawn animation, dreamily expressionistic touches, gorgeously bucolic background design, and elegant voice work from such superb English actors as John Hurt, Ralph Richardson, Richard Briers, and Denholm Elliott, WATERSHIP DOWN is an emotionally arresting, dark-toned allegory about freedom amid political turmoil.
Awards & Nominations
Nominee - 1979 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation
Bleak Week (Animated!) | June 12–17, 2026
In partnership with the American Cinematheque and Music Box Theatre, we are thrilled to participate in Bleak Week: Cinema of Despair. Given animation’s limitless potential to inscribe the darkest of worlds, the Siskel's iteration of Bleak Week focuses on animated films. Join us for this very special showcase of six movies from around the globe featuring a broad range of animation techniques for a communal (and hopefully cathartic) movie-watching experience like no other.
The Film Center is ADA accessible. This presentation will be projected without open captions. The theater is hearing-loop equipped. For accessibility requests, please email filmcenter@saic.edu