A reporter finds what appears to be a cover-up of safety hazards at a nuclear power plant.
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Title: The China Syndrome (1979)
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Jane Fonda | ... | ||
| Jack Lemmon | ... | ||
| Michael Douglas | ... | ||
| Scott Brady | ... | ||
| James Hampton | ... | ||
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Peter Donat | ... | |
| Wilford Brimley | ... | ||
| Richard Herd | ... | ||
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Daniel Valdez | ... | |
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Stan Bohrman | ... | |
| James Karen | ... | ||
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Michael Alaimo | ... | |
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Donald Hotton | ... | |
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Khalilah Ali | ... | |
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Paul Larson | ... | |
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Plot Summary
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Plot Synopsis
See All (140) »
Storyline
While doing a series of reports on alternative energy sources, an opportunistic reporter Kimberly Wells witnesses an accident at a nuclear power plant. Wells is determined to publicise the incident but soon finds herself entangled in a sinister conspiracy to keep the full impact of the incident a secret. Written by Dave Jenkins <david.jenkins@smallworld.co.uk>
Plot Keywords:
radiation | power plant | geiger counter | power | nuclear power plant |Taglines:
Today, only a handful of people know what it means... Soon you will know. See more »Parents Guide:
View content advisory »
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See full technical specs »
Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
16 March 1979 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Das China-Syndrom See more »Company Credits
Show detailed
company contact information
on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
MonoColor:
Color (Metrocolor)Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1
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Bill Gibson: I wouldn't count on it.
Evan Mc Cormack: I'm counting on you to take care of the God damn press. Now you do your Job, and let me do mine.
Bill Gibson: Yes sir.
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
California Gas & Electric (CG&E) in the film is a thinly veiled reference to Pacific Gas & Electric, (PG&E) which operates the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant in San Luis Obispo County, California. See more »Goofs
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. See more »Quotes
Evan Mc Cormack: ...and let this lunatic wipe out a billion dollar investment? At least this buys time; it will take the press an hour to get here.Bill Gibson: I wouldn't count on it.
Evan Mc Cormack: I'm counting on you to take care of the God damn press. Now you do your Job, and let me do mine.
Bill Gibson: Yes sir.
See more »
As someone who lives a sneeze away from TMI, I can tell you how this movie was received in my area...people were terrified.
The administrators at TMI were hardly forthcoming about the situation. Some of the advice we got now seems laughable; I was in HS at the time, and for our protection, the teachers closed all the windows...wow. My one social studies teacher went to see the movie, and when they got to the part about the meltdown destroying an area the size of PA, he said that people started screaming.
So this movie is pretty surreal for me; it seems that it was only dumb luck that kept the plant from a meltdown. Every now and then I drive past it, and it still seems as sinister as it did then. Watching "The China Syndrome" seemed like watching the local news.