Probably not the best time to rewatch "The Day After"

[gatorboy]

But I stumbled across it at a local DVD store and bought it Sunday night. I watched it Monday and realized that we are in those times again.
We are controlled by a President that prides himself as the Protector but has only created more hostility in the world. The "Axis of Evil" is not backing down. If anything, Bush has fueled their hatred for us. North Korea is gaining ground on their nuclear weapons program and see's Bush as a real threat. They wil not back down to this man. Bush ignores true diplomacy so he can swagger across the world stage, ignorant to the destruction he leaves.
Because of this man, we are probably closer to "mushroom clouds" then we have been in a long time.

[bbernardini]

1. It's out on DVD?!?

I've always wanted to see it.

[phantom power]

2. Everyone should see it.

Although you may wish you hadn't.

[eek]

6. Oh HELL no! That movie scarred me for life.

Ditto with many of my friends who were in highschool late 70's early 80's.

Nuke fear, Doomsday was heavily on us.

Remember that the Rooskis were still our sworn enemy, the Afghanistan War was on and on and on*, No Nukes , Atomic Cafe,
Silkwood, Three Mile Island.
Even in the music we were into had apocalyptic songs:
Vapours
Stranglers
Clash
Little Steven etc etc

Ronald Ray gun.

But that movie. Gadzooks but it scared the bejabbers out of us and still does.
We still bring it up getting all "yah-ah-ah!"
The banality of the buildup..the way it came seemingly come out of nowhere and from places you weren't expecting . The small alliances gathering together , escalating.

Ugh - and when it went off..as I recall, it was depicted much better than a current movie would have: without a bunch of overblown music letting you know soomething was gonna happen, dragging it out...

It just went off.
Like would maybe happen in real life.

brrrr - I was one worried kid.
Glad everything's so different no.. DOH!


*and look how well the war in Afghanistan did us! Gave our current arch enemy the best training and materials any terrorist could want!


PS: Anyone else who had seen The Day After freak out for a sec when the San Fran earthquake hit in '89 or so?
Everyone in the world is watching the baseball game t all of a sudden, the picture fritzes and goes static .

[lazarus]

3. Bah

that film was crap.

For real terror, check out the British version, "Threads". Now THAT was a nuclear holocaust film that makes an impact.

[gatorboy]

4. I couldn't find Threads on DVD.

But I have to admit, that film was beyond depressing.

"The Day After" went into the after effects of nuclear war just weeks after a hit. "Threads" took it further and showed the effects, months, years down the line.

Make it a Blockbuster night and watch both! That'll get you out registering voters!

[ProfessorGAC]

5. We Have A Winner

That movie was 100x The Day After. The ending is a very depressing 20 minutes. But, very well made, and pretty frightening.
The Professor

[lazarus]

7. The part that got me

was when the bombs first went off, and one of the characters (a Brit) simply said something like, "They finally did it."

This was in 1985, I think, that I saw it. I was in the military in England, and that scene (and the whole film, really) marks the point where I started on the road to being a liberal. It made me see that America's actions affected the WHOLE WORLD, and that many people resented us (and the Soviets) because the smaller nations were essentially pawns.

That was a real epiphany for me.

[gatorboy]

8. Didn't the BBC produce a documentary called "The War Game"

That was banned for several years for being a bit too real for comfort?

[lazarus]

9. I have to see that!

Just checked it at IMDB:

"Despite having been produced by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), the film was banned from television broadcast. The official reason was for violence and depiction of human suffering, but others hinted that it may have been because it went against the official government line concerning survivability of nuclear attack. While the ban forbade television broadcast, it did not forbid cinematic distribution. Because of this loophole, the film was given wide release in theatres, and won four major film awards."

Poop, I just checked Netflix, neither this nor Threads is on DVD.

[jjanpundt]

13. Saw this film at a theater

in early 70s I think -- all I can remember is that it was very well made and was absolutely terrifying. I felt the film should be shown to everyone -- in schools, on TV, everywhere. It was a much better film than Day After.

[newyawker99]

20. Hi jjanpundt!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[ProfessorGAC]

10. I Believe The Line Was "They've Bleedin' Done It."

That line sticks in my head. I could be wrong, but it's definitely what i remember.
The Professor

[lazarus]

11. that resonates

that could well be the line.

Chilling in its resignation and contempt and fear, all mixed together, wasn't it?

[ProfessorGAC]

16. Right You Are!

The Professor

[skygazer]

12. Was that the one

Which ended with the young girl giving birth to a deformed, radiation mutated baby? God! That scared the crap out of me - in essence it was the end of human life on earth and the life they were scratcing out after the attack wasn't much to begin with.

If that's the one, yeah, it was MUCH better than The Day After.

[Tummler]

15. Yeah, that's the one

The first generation born after the nukes is severely retarded, unable to learn more than a few words, and useful only for menial tasks.

The film makes it clear that there will be no second generation.

Specifically, one of the retarded young girls (the daughter of the film's central character) is raped while wrestling with a young boy over some precious morsels of food. She can't be older than 13 or 14. In the last scene of the film, we see her desperately seeking medical attention at a place that passes for a hospital. She gives birth to something that is unseen but unspeakably monstrous: all we are shown is a bloody mess wrapped in a towel. The "baby" isn't crying. The new mother sees the thing and opens her mouth to scream, but that's the last image we see. Before she can make a noise, we cut to a black screen with the title "Threads" and then the credits.

[Tummler]

14. "Threads" was available on a U.K. (PAL-formatted) DVD

I think it's out of print, but you may be able to find a copy on the used market or remaining in the retail chain (i.e., .uk DVD websites). If you can play PAL-formatted DVDs, it's well worth it.

As others have said, Threads makes The Day After look like an afterschool special. As a fan of horror movies and extreme cinema, I think Threads is easily the most horrifying movie ever made. It's a two-fisted punch to the gut. The first is the shocking imagery: the nightmarish post-attack firestorm, the effects of radiation poisoning in the short and long term, a woman cradling her incinerated infant, rats used as currency, etc. The second is the broader depiction of civilization's decline: the reduction of Britain to medieval population levels, the descent into near-savagery, the loss of most medical/industrial/agricultural technology, and finally, irreparable harm to the gene pool which dooms the human race.

It's hard to fathom that this film was made for television.

The War Game is also available on a U.K. (PAL-formatted) DVD. It's a short pseudo-documentary about a limited nuclear attack on Britain. It's not as powerful as Threads but is still worth a look.

[jayfish]

17. May Also Want To Try "By Dawns Early Light".

This is an HBO movie made in 1990. Not really a holocaust (there is a nuclear detonation) film but it shows how things can spiral out of control in the age of nuclear weaponry. If I remember correctly, the guy who is "acting President is a shoe in for *.

Jay

EDITED FOR CONTENT

[Media_Lies_Daily]

19. I saw that one, too....horror based on the stark reality of nuclear war.

[Tummler]

18. "Testament" is coming to DVD (in the U.S.) on December 7

I've never seen it. I can't imagine it's even remotely as nightmarish as Threads, but I'll check it out anyway.

Testament: http://imdb.com/title/tt0086429/

Threads: http://imdb.com/title/tt0090163/

The War Game: http://imdb.com/title/tt0059894/

[Ravenseye]

21. War Day

Anyone read the book War Day? by Whitley STreiber and James Kunetka. Follows two guys wandering around post-war america. Not as scary or horrific as the movies (didn't see Threads....sounds interesting) but really well done IMHO.