Testament (1983)

Director:

Lynne Littman

Writers:

Carol Amen (story)
John Sacret Young (screenplay)

Release Date:

December 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

It happened in an instant. The televisions went blank, the radios - silent. The cities were gone, the future abandoned. And the only thing they have left to hold onto, is the people they love.

Plot:

Nuclear war in the United States is portrayed in a realistic and believable manner. The story is told...

Plot Keywords:

Nuclear | Nuclear War | Futuristic | Family Relationships | Apocalypse

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 4 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Jane Alexander	...	Carol Wetherly
William Devane	...	Tom Wetherly
Rossie Harris	...	Brad Wetherly (as Ross Harris)
Roxana Zal	...	Mary Liz Wetherly
Lukas Haas	...	Scottie Wetherly
Philip Anglim	...	Father Hollis Mann
Lilia Skala	...	Fania Morse
Leon Ames	...	Henry Abhart
Lurene Tuttle	...	Rosemary Abhart
Rebecca De Mornay	...	Cathy Pitkin
Kevin Costner	...	Phil Pitkin
Mako	...	Mike
Mico Olmos	...	Larry
Gerry Murillo	...	Hiroshi
J. Brennan Smith	...	Billdocker

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG | Hong Kong:IIA | Sweden:11 | Finland:K-12 | Norway:15 | UK:PG | USA:PG | West Germany:12 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Sierra Madre, California, USA

Company:

American Playhouse

Trivia:

Film debut of Lukas Haas.

Quotes:

Scottie Wetherly: Tell it to stop.
Carol Wetherly: I can't.

Movie Connections:

Features One Froggy Evening (1955)

Soundtrack:

Hello! My Rag Time Gal!

I saw this once 20 years ago; I've never forgotten it.

It's been TWENTY YEARS (!) since I've seen this movie in a theatre, and I've never yet forgotten it. If any movie can be said to be life-changing, this is it. TESTAMENT was first shown in theatres, and the film's power became front page headlines for quite some time. People were crying in theatres, and article after article told of how this extremely powerful film affected people. This was not hype; the emotional strength of this movie is genuinely powerful.

For myself, I held back as best I could from crying in the theatre (me being a 23 year old guy seeing it with two (married) friends). But the effect on me was apparently visible immediately: when I walked out of the theatre and passed thru the line of people waiting for the next showing, a woman, who was laughing with her friends, happened to look at me and her face went completely serious. I very nearly hugged her right there, this stranger. When I got home, I cried for about two hours. The film's themes affected my, at the time, concerns about love, relationships, and such like.

One scene I'll never EVER forget, the most devastating: the 13-ish year old daughter asks her mother, "What's it like?" MOTHER: "What's what like?" DAUGHTER: "Making love." The mother (Jane Alexander -- my God, what a performance!) tells her in a very frank and beautiful speech, and the daughter caps off that scene with a devastating remark that just kills you and got my tears flowing (I probably couldn't hold back at that point).

Before making TESTAMENT, director Lynne Littman had made only documentaries, so maybe that "realism" style added to the power and believability of this movie. One of my all time favorite supporting actors is in this film, and he does a fantastic job: Mako. He and the young retarded (Down Syndrome?) boy who plays his son make a phenomenal team. They're my favorite characters: so full of innocence, father so full of love, strength and pain. Agh... my god my god... what a movie. Whew.