The Day After (1983) (TV)

Director:

Nicholas Meyer

Writer:

Edward Hume (writer)

Release Date:

20 November 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

The day before. The day of. The Day After.

Plot:

A graphic, disturbing film about the effects of a devastating nuclear holocaust on small-town residents of eastern Kansas.

Plot Keywords:

Kansas | Fallout | Nuclear War | Nuclear Holocaust | Catastrophe

Awards:

Won 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 3 wins & 10 nominations

Cast

Jason Robards	...	Dr. Russell Oakes
JoBeth Williams	...	Nurse Nancy Bauer
Steve Guttenberg	...	Stephen Klein (as Steven Guttenberg)
John Cullum	...	Jim Dahlberg
John Lithgow	...	Joe Huxley
Bibi Besch	...	Eve Dahlberg
Lori Lethin	...	Denise Dahlberg
Amy Madigan	...	Alison Ransom
Jeff East	...	Bruce Gallatin
Georgann Johnson	...	Helen Oakes
William Allen Young	...	Airman Billy McCoy
Calvin Jung	...	Dr. Sam Hachiya
Lin McCarthy	...	Dr. Austin
Dennis Lipscomb	...	Reverend Walker
Clayton Day	...	Dennis Hendry

Runtime:

127 min | USA:120 min (TV)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:14A | Australia:PG | South Korea:All | Netherlands:12 | Finland:K-14 | France:-12 | Norway:12 (1984) | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | UK:12 | USA:Unrated | West Germany:12 (w) | Singapore:PG | Brazil:18

Filming Locations:

Harrisonville, Missouri, USA

Company:

ABC Circle Films

Trivia:

The premiere of this TV movie was a major media event. No sponsors bought commercial time after the point in the movie where the nuclear war occurs, so the last half of the show was aired straight through, without commercials.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the nuclear strike, the flag outside the Dahlberg farm is being blown by a breeze from the left side of the screen but the debris is blowing in from the right.

Quotes:

Joe Huxley: You know what Einstein said about World War III? He said he didn't know how they would fight World War III, but he knew how they would fight World War IV: With sticks and stones.

Movie Connections:

Features "Ri¢hie Ri¢h" (1982)

A very controversial, but excellent film

This film originally aired as a TV movie back in 1983 in the United States. It depicts the effects of nuclear war on the citizens of the Kansas City area. In the film, during the actual attacks, a lot of raw footage of nuclear blasts and explosions is used, but no computer enhanced special effects were needed in this film to get the point across. The point, being of course, that nuclear war is horrible. The movie was aired to show leaders of nations in the world what would happen if nuclear war was ever waged. When this film was first aired, Cold War tensions were high and the fear of nuclear war was very imminent. Though the events in the film are very powerful, a disclaimer at the end of the movie even tells the viewers that the events depicted in the film are far less worse then what would actually take place in a real nuclear war.

I feel that the plot was created well. The film shows what happens before the attacks, the actual attacks and then what happens after the attacks. The attacks were not shown too soon after the movie began but well into the movie and built up enough to show a lot of drama. The acting is very good, in my opinion. The late Jason Robards plays the lead role and a few other familiar faces take part as well (Steve Guttenburg, John Lithgow). The writing is fair, but not bad for a made-for-TV movie.

Overall, the movie is very excellent and places itself very positively in my book. It was a very controversial film for its time and it did scare the hell out of many people (truthfully, it did shake me up a little the first time I saw it). It's really not for the kids, even though it was a TV movie, because the scenes of the nuclear blasts and radiation sickness aren't very light.