The China Syndrome (1979)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

James Bridges

Writers:

Mike Gray (written by) &
T.S. Cook (written by) ...

Release Date:

16 March 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Thriller | Drama

Tagline:

Today, only a handful of people know what it means... Soon you will know.

Plot:

A reporter finds what appears to be a cover-up of safety hazards at a nuclear power plant.

Plot Keywords:

Nuclear Power | Reporter | Cameraman | News | Cover Up

Awards:

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 6 wins & 13 nominations

Cast

Jane Fonda	...	Kimberly Wells
Jack Lemmon	...	Jack Godell
Michael Douglas	...	Richard Adams
Scott Brady	...	Herman De Young
James Hampton	...	Bill Gibson
Peter Donat	...	Don Jacovich
Wilford Brimley	...	Ted Spindler
Richard Herd	...	Evan Mc Cormack
Daniel Valdez	...	Hector Salas
Stan Bohrman	...	Pete Martin
James Karen	...	Mac Churchill
Michael Alaimo	...	Greg Minor
Donald Hotton	...	Dr. Elliott Lowell
Khalilah Ali	...	Marge
Paul Larson	...	D.B. Royce

Runtime:

122 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:PG | Australia:PG | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 | Norway:12 (original rating) | Norway:15 (re-rating) | Sweden:11 | USA:PG | West Germany:12 | Singapore:PG | Netherlands:AL

Filming Locations:

1000 N. Crescent Drive, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

IPC Films

Trivia:

California Gas & Electricity (CG&E) in the film is a thinly veiled reference to Pacific Gas & Electricity, (PG&E) which operates the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant in San Luis Obispo County, California.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the United States, there are two main types of commercial power reactors: PWR (Pressurized Water Reactor) and BWR (Boiling Water Reactor). In the scene where Gibson is explaining the basic workings of the plant to Kimberly Wells, the diagram on the board shows the former type, PWR. This is shown by the two loop system in which the water is pumped through the reactor under high pressure to prevent boiling, and then through a steam generator, or boiler, to create steam for the turbine using clean secondary water. In subsequent scenes, the dialog of the characters in the control room seems to suggest that they are dealing with a BWR system, where water is allowed to boil in the reactor vessel and steam is directly piped to the turbine, with no steam generator. Godell is concerned by the high water level in the reactor reaching the steam lines, of which there are none on a PWR reactor vessel. As well, in the action hearing later, the investigator talks about how the operators began cutting off feedwater and releasing steam in order to lower the reactor water level, which would only happen on a BWR.

Quotes:

Jack Godell: I know the vibration was not normal.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Simpsons: Marge's Son Poisoning (#17.5)" (2005)

Soundtrack:

Somewhere in Between

Crackerjack thriller!

Intelligent, nail-biting drama came out of nowhere in 1979 and soon was on the cover of every newspaper in America (when life imitated the film). A nuclear power plant employee in Southern California is threatened by superiors when he decides to go public with the real story behind an accident at the plant. Ostensibly a stuck valve problem, a TV news-crew's film shows that it was an accident verging on disastrous proportions--and worse, that safety conditions are being scrubbed to save millions of dollars, a cover-up that endangers everyone's lives. The movie occasionally gets too technical (especially in the second-half) and could use more human interplay, however the performances by Jack Lemmon, Jane Fonda (as a puff-piece news-woman in the right place at the right time), and Michael Douglas (as a freelance cameraman) are superb. The throwaway bits involving nuclear protesters is both entirely accurate and bitterly satirical, and the news-biz (with its corporate structure and vapid yes-men) is vividly captured. ***1/2 from ****