Time is Running Out ...

Washington, D.C. • January 23, 2020:  The Doomsday Clock was reset to just 100 seconds before midnight -- the closest we have ever been to the complete and total annihilation of the earth (well, at least metaphorically).

The Doomsday Clock has been maintained since 1947.

All is not lost, yet! In fact, the Clock hand has been moved away from midnight almost as often as it was moved closer. The threat of nuclear destruction might seem too big for us to handle, but the Clock isn’t used as a scare tactic, rather it is used to get people talking.

Likewise, movies can also get us talking about the possibility and prevention of nuclear destruction … before time runs out! 

Most people are familiar with the classic nuclear destruction movies such as: The Day After

Fail Safe

Dr. Strangelove

On the Beach

War Games; and Crimson Tide. 

However, there are lesser-known nuclear destruction movies worthy of your time. Most are available on YouTube, Vimeo, or the Internet Archive at no cost.

My Top Ten Lesser-Known Nuke Movies

 

1. Threads (1984) @ Internet Archive (archive.org) 💥💥💥💥💥

Documentary style account of the terrifying consequences of nuclear warfare upon an unsuspecting world. Set mainly in Sheffield, England during the height of the Cold War, “Threads” follows two families and other citizens, as they deal with the absolute destruction of their society and the eventual long running effects of nuclear war on civilization.  

 

2. By Dawn’s Early Light (1990) on YouTube 💥💥💥💥

Based on the 1983 novel “Trinity's Child,” by William Prochnau. It is one of the last films to depict the events of a fictional World War III before the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. It tells the story of the crew of a nuclear bomber attacking the Soviet Union while the President of the United States tries desperately to regain control of his military after his helicopter crashes during a limited nuclear exchange.

3. Kuroi Ame/Black Rain (1989) on YouTube, Japanese w/English Subtitles💥💥💥💥

The story of the aftermath of the Hiroshima bombing, based on Masuji Ibuse's novel. Survivors make their way through the ruins of Hiroshima, just after the atomic bomb has dropped. Five years later, in a village containing many of the bomb survivors, they must deal with the legacy of the atomic bomb.

4. The War Game (1965), @ Internet Archive (archive.org), Academy Award Winner 💥💥💥💥

A docudrama about nuclear war and its aftermath in and around a typical English city. Although it won an Oscar for Best Documentary, it is fiction. It was intended as an hour-long program to air on BBC but it was deemed too intense and violent to broadcast. It went to theatrical distribution as a feature film instead. Low-budget and shot on location, it strives for and achieves convincing and unflinching realism.

5. Der Dritte Weltkrieg/World War Three (1998)– on YouTube, German w/English subtitles 💥💥💥💥

It depicts what might have transpired if, following the overthrow of Mikhail Gorbachev, Soviet troops, under orders from a new hard-line regime, had opened fire on demonstrators in Berlin in the fall of 1989 and precipitated World War III. The film mixes real footage of world leaders and archive footage of combat exercises and news events, with newly shot footage of citizens, soldiers and political staff. 

6. Countdown to Looking Glass (1984) on YouTube 💥💥💥

Docudrama uses fictional reports of a crisis in the Middle East, which leads to a nuclear confrontation between the US and the USSR. "Looking Glass" is the code word for the Strategic Air Command's control plane which is to be used in the case of nuclear war. 

7. Deterrence (1999) Buy or rent on YouTube, I borrowed the DVD from the Jacksonville Public Library  💥💥💥

The President is on the campaign trail to be re-elected. On a stop in Colorado, he is suddenly snowed in and he and his entourage are forced to take shelter in a small diner. There the President learns that Iraq has invaded Kuwait and slaughtered hundreds of American soldiers. Setting up temporary communications, the President announces that he will launch a nuclear attack on Iraq immediately if the country does not withdraw. 

8. Barefoot Gen (1983) on YouTube, Japanese w/English subtitles 💥💥💥

This animated version of the autobiographical manga by Keiji Nakazawa is a disturbing story about the effect of the atomic bomb on a boy's life and the lives of the Japanese people. 

9. Special Bulletin (1983) on YouTube 💥💥💥

A TV reporter and cameraman are taken hostage on a tugboat while covering a workers strike. The demands of the hostage-takers are to collect all the nuclear detonators in the Charleston, SC area so they may be detonated at sea. They threaten to detonate a nuclear device of their own if their demand isn't met.  

10. Colossus Forbin Project (1970) on Vimeo 💥💥

Thinking this will prevent war, the US government gives an impenetrable supercomputer total control over launching nuclear missiles. Shortly after being turned on, it detects the existence of Guardian, the Soviet counterpart, previously unknown to US Planners. Both computers insist that they be linked and each side agrees to allow it. As soon as the link is established the two become a new Super computer and threaten the world with the immediate launch of nuclear weapons if they are detached. 

Must Watch Documentary: Rich Hall’s Red Menace on YouTube💥💥💥💥

Miscellaneous:
[EAS] 8:17 A Real Time Nuclear Attack Simulation on YouTube 💥💥💥- Simulated Emergency Alert System broadcast of a nuclear attack, 8 minutes, 17 seconds.

The Last Broadcast on YouTube 💥💥💥- A radio play which reflects the chilling possibility of what could have happened if the superpowers of the world decided to go nuclear during the Cold War. Emphasis on “radio” play, hence the oldies music and commercials from the 1980’s. 

Fodder for Mystery Science Theater 3000 (so bad, they’re “good”)
All are on YouTube:

Atomic Attack Motorola Television Hour (1954)
Day the World Ended (1955)
Rocket Attack USA (1961)
This Is Not a Test (1962)

In 2007 the Bulletin for Atomic Scientists added climate change and disruptive technologies to nuclear risk as indicators for setting the hands on the Doomsday Clock. Since the nuclear risk has decreased, perhaps we will be watching more movies about rising sea levels and cyber attacks on our power grids! 😬

 In the meantime, I'll keep running ...