The Atomic Cafe (1982)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Directors:

Jayne Loader
Kevin Rafferty

Release Date:

29 October 1982 (Finland)

Genre:

Documentary | Horror

Plot:

Disturbing collection of 1940s and 1950s United States government issued propaganda films designed to reassure Americans that the atomic bomb was not a threat to their safety.

Plot Keywords:

Atomic Bomb | Propaganda | Film Clip | Nuclear Attack | Fear

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Lloyd Bentsen	...	Himself (archive footage) (as Rep. Lloyd Bentsen)
W.H.P. Blandy	...	Himself - Commander of the Bikini Test (archive footage) (as Vice Admiral W.H.P. Blandy)
Owen Brewster	...	Himself (archive footage) (as Sen. Owen Brewster)
Dwight D. Eisenhower	...	Himself (archive footage)
Frank Gallop	...	Newsreel Narrator (voice) (archive footage)
Lyndon Johnson	...	Himself (archive footage) (as Sen. Lyndon B. Johnson)
Maurice Joyce	...	Newsreel Narrator (voice) (archive footage)
Nikita Khrushchev	...	Himself (archive footage)
Brian McMahon	...	Himself (archive footage) (as Sen. Brian McMahon)
Seymour Melman	...	Himself - Columbia University (archive footage) (as Prof. Seymour Melman)
George Molan	...	Himself (archive footage) (as Cpl. George Molan)
Richard Nixon	...	Himself (archive footage)
Val Peterson	...	Himself - Director of Civil Defense (archive footage) (as Gov. Val Peterson)
George Portell	...	Himself (archive footage) (as Tech Sgt. George Portell)
George Putnam	...	Newsreel Narrator (voice) (archive footage)
Ronald Reagan	...	Himself (archive footage)
Ethel Rosenberg	...	Herself (archive footage)
Julius Rosenberg	...	Himself (archive footage)
Mario Salvadori	...	Himself - Columbia University (archive footage) (as Prof. Mario Salvadori)
Lewis Strauss	...	Himself - Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission (archive footage) (as Lewis L. Strauss)
Paul Tibbets	...	Himself (archive footage)
Harry S. Truman	...	Himself (archive footage) (as President Harry S Truman)
James E. Van Zandt	...	Himself (archive footage)

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:G | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:11 | UK:12 | USA:Not Rated | Singapore:PG

Company:

The Archives Project

Quotes:

Civil defense film: Be sure to include tranquilizers to ease the strain and monotony of life in a fallout shelter. A bottle of 100 should be sufficient for a family of four. Tranquilizers are not a narcotic, and are not habit-forming.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "SexTV: Erotic Manga (#5.9)" (2003)

Soundtrack:

When They Drop The Atomic Bomb

fascinating

For anyone who enjoys a real sense about times in history that they have not lived through, this is an excellent film. I had no idea how the dawning of the atomic age changed American culture. For an interesting continuance of the paranoid atomic era, check out Bowling for Columbine. Both Atomic Cafe and Bowling for Columbine discuss the "Culture of Fear" that is America.

Some of the content in the Atomic Cafe is completely shocking, which serves its purpose as a poignant exposé into one of the darker periods of America's (if not the world's history). A must see. You'll be glued to the screen. 10/10