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The China Syndrome (1979)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Release Date:
16 March 1979 (USA)
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Tagline:
Today, only a handful of people know what it means... Soon you will know.
Plot:
A reporter finds what appears to be a cover-up of safety hazards at a nuclear power plant. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Nuclear Power
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Reporter
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Television
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Cameraman
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Cover Up
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Awards:
Nominated for 4 Oscars.
Another 6 wins
&
13 nominations
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NewsDesk:
(8 articles)
DGA Board Member Kim Kurumada Dies
(From The Wrap. 22 November 2009, 1:49 PM, PST)
Movie Maverick Melnick Dead At 77
(From WENN. 15 October 2009, 12:16 PM, PDT)
(From The Wrap. 22 November 2009, 1:49 PM, PST)
Movie Maverick Melnick Dead At 77
(From WENN. 15 October 2009, 12:16 PM, PDT)
User Comments:
Still Relevant After (Nearly) 25 Years
more (73 total)
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only) | Jane Fonda | ... | Kimberly Wells |
 | Jack Lemmon | ... | Jack Godell |
 | Michael Douglas | ... | Richard Adams |
 | Scott Brady | ... | Herman De Young |
| James Hampton | ... | Bill Gibson |
| Peter Donat | ... | Don Jacovich |
| Wilford Brimley | ... | Ted Spindler |
 | Richard Herd | ... | Evan McCormack |
| Daniel Valdez | ... | Hector Salas |
| Stan Bohrman | ... | Pete Martin |
 | James Karen | ... | Mac Churchill |
| Michael Alaimo | ... | Greg Minor |
| Donald Hotton | ... | Dr. Lowell |
| Khalilah Ali | ... | Marge |
| Paul Larson | ... | D.B. Royce |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
122 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Metrocolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
UK:PG |
Australia:PG |
Canada:PG |
Argentina:13 |
Chile:14 |
Finland:K-12 |
Norway:12 (original rating) |
Norway:15 (re-rating) |
Sweden:11 |
USA:PG |
West Germany:12 |
Singapore:PG |
Netherlands:AL
Filming Locations:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
All of the music in the film, including the title song "Somewhere In Between" by Stephen Bishop, comes from normal sources of music within the film: car radios, barroom jukeboxes, television commercials, etc. There is no traditional "soundtrack" of music that the audience can hear but the characters cannot.
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Goofs:
Continuity: When Jack sets down his coffee cup, just after the earthquake, the handle points towards the edge of the counter. In the close up the handle points to the corner.
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Quotes:
Evan Mc Cormack:
Scram the son of a bitch.
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Movie Connections:
Featured in AFI's 100 Years... 100 Thrills: America's Most Heart-Pounding Movies (2001) (TV)
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Soundtrack:
Somewhere in Between
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FAQ
How does the movie end?Is this movie based on a novel?
How much sex, violence, and profanity are in this movie?
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This is *not* a great film about nuclear power. It plays too fast and loose with reality for that--especially in a cringe-inducing scene where two scientists describe the consequences of a reactor accident. The catastrophic damage they describe is (even opponents of nuclear power would agree) a worst-case scenario, not the inevitable result of a breakdown in the reactor cooling system. Three-Mile Island suffered such a breakdown, and the surrounding "area the size of Pennsylvania" remained habitable.
That said, this *is* a great (and surprisingly subtle) film about complex technological systems, how they fail, and how the organizations that manage them go awry. Subtle? Well: 1) Jack Godell, the whiste-blowing hero, is a flawed and self-doubting normal human being rather than a crusader in shining armor; 2) His co-workers at the plant (as opposed to the "suits" they work for) are sympathetic working-class guys who gripe (as does everybody now and then) about burdensome government regulations and the clueless public; 3) The flaws in the plant are subtle, not glaring. The film, in other words, plays a lot fairer than you'd expect given its reputation (and pedigree).
Does this film have a definite whiff of late-70s, post-Watergate America about it? Sure. Does it have a political edge? Yes. For all that, though, it's still (sadly) relevant--our technology, and the people who are supposed to make it work, still fail us. See the movie, then skim the recent (August 2003) report on the Columbia disaster; the more things change. . .