From my favorite movies..

Captivating movie !

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

The film is interesting to watch as a film for that age and might be a good companion film for "Red Dawn" for those who want to relive those nail biting times of the red scare.The film follows a number of subplots so we can all find a character that middle America could identify with. My favorite was Jason Robards as the plain ole country heart surgeon making sure his patients get their ice cream. After those big bad commie missiles strike...we get a few seconds of flames and skeletons...everyone goes to their own hole in the ground to survive, or not. The film at the end claimed the intent was to promote world peace by scaring the bejesus out of us.What we must remember is that during this time there was a major Pentagon budget fight as Reagan insisted on getting Star Wars at all costs. The film caused great debate and was critically acclaimed, winning 2 Emmys. John Lithgow, JoBeth Williams and Amy Madigan were relatively newcomers to the film industry.Since the downfall of the Soviet Union and the discovery of the fact the Soviets were never a real threat, the entertainment value of the film has become one of camp value, of a scared "duck and take cover" population whose fears were totally unwarranted and kept pumped up to pump dollars into the military industrial complex...or so it seemed.

30-odd years on this is still an immensely powerful and thought-provoking film. As one reviewer put it: "one of the most horrific non-horror films ever made". I couldn't agree more. Yes, it's crudely made (by today's standards), it's "only" a television film and it's heavily flawed in various aspects (which have already been covered), but it has never really lost its relevance. In fact, in light of the current political situation in eastern Europe it has gained renewed relevance, since we currently find ourselves in essence in exactly the same sort of conflict portrayed in the film. Has it actually ever really gone away?The Day After is one of those films that has largely been forgotten. Perhaps because people nowadays don't consider nuclear warfare a threat anymore or because it wasn't a typical Hollywood blockbuster. I don't know anybody who's watched it in the last 20-25 years and I've never heard anybody mention it in that same period of time. It's an enormously underrated film that portrays the horror of nuclear warfare and its consequences in a very realistic way, despite having been made in the early 80's; its bleak atmosphere only emphasising this.I have my doubts as to whether the outcome of the current eastern European crisis will be the same as in the film, since the people in charge are much more aware now of the consequences of nuclear warfare, but everybody would benefit from watching this film (again), especially since the nuclear weapons haven't altogether disappeared since then - they are still very real. America and Russia (and their allies) still have enough nuclear weapons to destroy the entire world ten times over, and some would argue that there is no point in having nuclear weapons if you didn't intend to use them ... at some point.Perhaps we should all reacquaint ourselves with the horrors of nuclear warfare (and watching this film would be a small step in the right direction) in the hope that it will make it less likely that anybody will ever even think about using nuclear weapons ever again.

Nicholas Meyer directed this landmark TV movie that set ratings records 30 years ago. Story follows the events leading up to and beyond as tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union escalate out of control for various reasons, which lead to one or the other side launching its nuclear missiles, devastating both sides in nuclear fallout. The lucky ones die immediately(vaporization) the survivors must continue on amidst a ruined landscape and creeping radiation sickness, not to mention rampant anarchy. Set in the town of Lawrence, Kansas, this film is a most thoughtful examination of what could really happen in such a circumstance, even if characterization gets lost in the big picture. Not a masterpiece, but still holds up today.

The Day After is a movie that I had trouble getting out of my mind. It's full of realistic nightmarish images that chilled me to the bone. This is NOT a pleasant film. This is about devastation and nuclear destruction, and it's not very fun to watch. It doesn't have the budget to pull off stuff like many disaster movie do, but this one doesn't need it. I was scared enough as it was. That is one of my biggest fears in life, a nuclear holocaust. I was first exposed to this movie when I was younger, and it scared the living wits out of me. Even after multiple viewings, it's still an extremely harrowing experience which is tough to endure. Jason Robards is excellent as the lead. He did a really good job as the every day man. Steve Guttenberg & Jobeth Williams do well in their respective roles and add great depth to the proceedings. My only real complaint is that sometimes the pacing is a tad off, but I get why they did it. They wanted to augment the feeling of dread Final Thoughts: it's hard to write a review for this one without spoiling it, but this is a powerful film for a movie made for Television. If you can find it, seek it out. It'll stick with you7.4/10