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Silkwood (1983)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Release Date:
14 December 1983 (USA)
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Tagline:
On November 13, 1974, Karen Silkwood, an employee of a nuclear facility, left to meet with a reporter from the New York Times. She never got there.
Plot:
The story of Karen Silkwood, a metallurgy worker at a plutonium processing plant who was purposefully contaminated, psychologically tortured and possibly murdered to prevent her from exposing blatant worker safety violations at the plant. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
Nominated for 5 Oscars.
Another 2 wins
&
7 nominations
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NewsDesk:
(19 articles)
Their Best Role: Meryl Streep
(From Cinematical. 18 November 2009, 9:02 AM, PST)
Before There Were Websites... (Pt 1)
(From FilmExperience. 8 September 2009, 12:30 PM, PDT)
(From Cinematical. 18 November 2009, 9:02 AM, PST)
Before There Were Websites... (Pt 1)
(From FilmExperience. 8 September 2009, 12:30 PM, PDT)
User Comments:
Considering the time period, a pretty good film.
more (54 total)
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only) | Meryl Streep | ... | Karen Silkwood |
 | Kurt Russell | ... | Drew Stephens |
 | Cher | ... | Dolly Pelliker |
 | Craig T. Nelson | ... | Winston |
 | Fred Ward | ... | Morgan |
 | Diana Scarwid | ... | Angela |
 | Ron Silver | ... | Paul Stone |
 | Charles Hallahan | ... | Earl Lapin |
| Josef Sommer | ... | Max Richter |
| Sudie Bond | ... | Thelma Rice |
| Henderson Forsythe | ... | Quincy Bissell |
 | E. Katherine Kerr | ... | Gilda Schultz |
 | Bruce McGill | ... | Mace Hurley |
 | David Strathairn | ... | Wesley |
| J.C. Quinn | ... | Curtis Schultz |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
131 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Australia:M |
Iceland:16 |
Singapore:NC-16 |
Argentina:18 |
Chile:18 |
Finland:K-12 |
Sweden:11 |
UK:15 |
USA:R |
West Germany:16
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
Lily Tomlin auditioned for the role of Dolly.
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Goofs:
Continuity: When men looking for radiation search the house, Karen and Dolly are questioned and Dolly is taken away. Soon afterward, in a close shot of Karen, Dolly is in the background.
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Quotes:
Karen Silkwood:
I remember in high school her saying, 'Now what'd you want to take that science class for? There's no girls in that science class. You take home ec, why don't you? That's the way to meet the nice boys.' 'Mom,' I said, There ain't no boys in home ec. The boys are in the science class.' She hated when I said, 'Ain't.'
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Movie Connections:
Referenced in "Psych: There Might Be Blood (#3.6)" (2008)
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Soundtrack:
Pretty Little Horses Lullaby
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FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (54 total)
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| The Plutonium Incident | The China Syndrome | Serpico | Syriana | Saboteur |
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I took the time to register with IMDB just to present a more accurate review of this movie than the person that wrote that the movie was a joke. While not one of the best movies of its type, it's still pretty well done. The story moves along well....clues are dropped throughout the movie to show the possible conspiracy at work. I would consider "The Insider" as one of the better movies of this type that was made in recent years, and even that movie shows traces of having evolved from movies like Silkwood.
I find most movies of this type that were done in the 80s as generally pretty cheesy. Silkwood does a pretty good job of "not being too cheesy". And if there is any trace of "cheesiness" (if you will), it's represented in the way that the townspeople react to Karen Silkwood. And the reactions worked for me, because when I think of how seriously people reacted to issues like nuclear or toxic contamination back in the late 70s/early 80s, there was a lot less info available. Nowadays in the "Oprah" and "11 o'clock news warnings" generation, where there's something new that we should be cautious of everyday, these types of stories are much more believable.
Meryl Streep (as expected) far outshines the rest of the cast. Kurt Russell turns out a pretty nice performance. Cher's performance was ok. I think at the time she probably received a lot more recognition for this role because it began to show her range. But she's been better in subsequent roles.
All in all, Silkwood is a movie that doesn't suprise or open the eyes of all the conspiracy- conscious people that are alive in 2003, but it does provide a touching story about a town that was dealing with the prospect of having to choose between the risk of toxic infection and their livelihood. But the real story here is about the one woman that cared enough to dig a little and ask a few questions and the danger that developed from taking a stand. 8 out of 10.