Recently I mentioned to somebody about the movies I grew up with, during the era of the Cold War and the threat of Nuclear Armageddon seeming to be overhead at all times. And I remembered such films as Threads (a great BBC movie from 1984) and The Day After (a much lesser movie from the US in 1983). But then I remembered others, including my favorite War Games (favorite because they stopped the war from happening in the first place, and ended with the great moral: A strange game. The only winning move is not to play. How about a nice game of chess?) But that got me thinking of others during that era. Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb (the inspiration for my avatar actually) and the electrifying Fail Safe (which was orignally done for free on broadcast TV, so popular it was made into a theatrical movie with most of the same cast, then repeated on TV in 2000). And looking back, the era was really full of them. From Mad Max and A Boy and His Dog, to the Planet of the Apes series and Dam-nation Alley. And even our music of the era was full of such references. 99 Luftbaloons, I Melt With You, Burning Down The House, The End Of The Innocence, Don't Dream It's Over, Land Of Confusion, Two Tribes, and Let's Dance). Looking back, it is like no part of our culture was safe from such references. What does everybody else think of these now, looking on them 20+ years later? I know that growing up with influences like these I was left with a life-long horror of such weapons. Am I the only one like this, or do others feel the same horrors I do when considering such a scenario? And also, it is a sign of sickness that I actually own so many of these on DVD? I own every one of those movies I have mentioned, as well as a great many others (The Atomic Cafe, Trinity and Beyond, Broken Arrow, Red Dawn, Terminator, The Sum of All Fears, and others).
I'm somewhat older than you, I only mention that to place myself, for example, I was 12 and living in the UK during the Cuban Missile Crisis and recall strongly the mood at the time. But I am with you on the interest in film that looks at the possibilities of WWIII and its aftermath. You've cited some of my favourite films. You missed one though, I think. The BBC film from 1965 "The War Game" - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_War_Game - which was a sort of precursor to "Threads", itself an excellent film of the genre. It's not sickness, more an awareness of what war might mean if it happens again on a global scale. The chickenhawks just don't understand what could occur.
It doesn't come on often but it stars George Segel, it's called "King Rat"-it's about a Allied prison camp in Indonesia. Other than that I thought the made for TV special about Eisenhower prior to D-Day with Tom Selleck and "Private Ryan" were very realistic.
you forgot about Billy Joel's addition... [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2a2SS0zqmzk"]We Didn't Start the Fire by Billy Joel - WITH LYRICS - YouTube[/ame] and 1990's By Dawn's Early Light... [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=punqdlHMDjo"]By Dawn's Early Light - The End - YouTube[/ame]
There also was the silly movie "Defcon-4"... You mention (*)(*)(*)(*)ation Alley... I saw that one in the theator. The best part is the dude that get eaten by cockroaches... One film that I like is: The Gladiators
Some more come to mind: The movie version of the "the Postman" which I read the book, but never saw the movie. And of course the recent "The Road"- which I read the book but didn't see the movie. The "Road" was an astonishly bleak version of the postapocalyptic world, which anyone who wants to get a feel of what a nuclear winter might 'feel' like, should read.
I remember seeing "On the Beach". I was a teenager and not very aware so I didn't realize it was simply leftist propoganda to support the scientific concensus that nuclear war was inevitable. Fortunately, I grew up and even noticed that we didn't have a nuclear war despite what the scientists guaranteed.
"Leftist" propaganda? Seriously there were plenty of conservatives who felt certain that a nuclear war was inevitable- matter of fact if you check out who was buying fall out shelters, it wasn't likely to be the poetry reading beatniks of the era. I myself am rather pleased that we never have had a nuclear war, and I think in part, the books and movies that portrayed a world destroyed helped keep the jingoistic suggestions to use nuclear weapons in check. (Such as MacArthur's suggestion to close off the North Korea border by a line of nuclear explosions.) That and the concept of MAD- as mad as it sounds- worked.
I read the book also many years ago. Then later on saw the movie. Sadly, the two have almost nothing to do with each other. However, if you take the first half of the novel, you have most of the movie. No augments, no super computers in tanks of liquid nitrogen inside of Faraday Cages. But I think what is left is pretty good. I suggest watching the movie. I saw it when it came out, and have long been a fan of it. And it is surprising the number of people who I have showed it to over the years who comment it was pretty good also, nowhere near as bad as the reviewers made it out to be. Interestingly enough, even David Brinn (the author of the novel) commented on this on his web site. http://www.davidbrin.com/postmanmovie.htm
I never read the book. But I have seen both the original Henry Fonda version (it was required viewing when I was in Junior High), as well as the George Clooney remake (which I actually ordered from the UK on DVD, it was not available in the US for years). It's interesting looking back now how movies like this were at one time almost required viewing in schools. At around the same time I also had to watch Future Shock, The Rise and Fall of the Great Lakes and Paddle To The Sea. And the images in those films also was rather disturbing in other ways.
There's a movie I remember when I was younger.... The plot involved a high-schooler who steals Plutonium from a "neighborhood" refinery...the nuclear scientist is played by John Lithgow. So this kid makes a home-made nuclear bomb to call attention to this plutonium refinery in the neighborhood which the Dept. of Defense is being hush-hush about. Apologies, can't remember the name of the movie...somewhat forgettable plot, but the notion of home-builit nuclear weapons seemed to instill the first idea in the public's mind that maybe we should be careful about making so much weapons grade Plutonium or it could turn up in the wrong hands. The film had a decidedly anti-government, anti-military message.
On the Beach is excellent since the human race dies, Virus the Japanese film has a nuclear war after a virus wipes out almost all of humanity save those in Antarctica which was freaky both sides had automatic launch systems up and there was an Earthquake off on Washington D.C., Dr. Strangeglove is a classic and who can forget A Boy and His Dog a low budget movie.
Ahh, The Manhattan Project, I remember that one. Saw it on video a year or so after it was made. In many ways, the Keanu Reeves movie Chain Reaction reminded me a bit of that, if it was made as an action-adventure movie.
Don't ask me how I thought of this one, but another came to mind today that most have probably forgotten. Crack in the World. This is more of a science fiction movie, where a scientist decides he can create limitless energy by tapping into free geothermal energy. So they launch a missile upside down into the planet, and detonate a nuclear bomb in the center. What results is a crack that eventually goes all the way around the world. I was probably 7 or 8 when I saw this on TV, and it has always stuck with me. First for the image of the rocket being fired into the earth, and then at the end a man and woman standing on the edge of the Earth, as the other half goes spinning off into space. Not really WWIII, but definately Post-Apocalyptic. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHtZ6Ixeqvs"]Crack in the World Trailer - YouTube[/ame] http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8720806257609918145#
On The Beach is not even close to being scientifically possible. The television movie "The Day After" is pretty accurate.
Very interesting- so the part that was left out was the very part of the book that I felt didn't fit in. I will have to watch the movie now. I like David Brinn's other SciFY books and recommend them. Have you by any chance read any of S.M.Stirling's "Dies the Fire" novels- which are a different apocalyptic genre- I like his style of writing, and his vision reminds me of Brinn's.
Good job, that's the movie. He replaces the stolen plutonium with green shampoo...at that point it started to get ridiculous.
