The China Syndrome (1979)

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

Director:

James Bridges

Writers:

Mike Gray, T.S. Cook,

Stars:

Jane Fonda, Jack Lemmon, Michael Douglas

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 7 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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 McCormack
Daniel Valdez	...	Hector Salas
Stan Bohrman	...	Pete Martin
James Karen	...	Mac Churchill
Michael Alaimo	...	Greg Minor
Donald Hotton	...	Dr. Lowell
Khalilah Ali	...	Marge
Paul Larson	...	D.B. Royce

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.

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Plot Keywords:

power | nuclear power plant | nuclear power | reporter | control | 

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Taglines:

People who know the meaning of "The China Syndrome" are scared. Soon _you_ will know.

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 March 1979 (USA)

Also Known As:

El síndrome de China

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Gross:

SEK 8,390,477 (Sweden)

Company Credits

Production Co:

IPC Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

First of two back-to-back consecutive films playing a television journalist character for actress Jane Fonda who would do the same in her next movie The Electric Horseman. Fonda prepared for her role in The China Syndrome by going the rounds with Californian women television reporters.

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Goofs

When a reactor is "SCRAM"ed it does not initiate the use of massive cooling systems. The SCRAM process is the rapid (4 second or less) insertion of the control rods into the core which shuts the reactor down by absorbing the neutrons. If the control rod SCRAM fails, then the reactor can be SCRAMed by using a neutron absorbing liquid injected into the core from pressurized tanks (no pumps.) Also, in addition to the cooling pumps, there is an Emergency Core Cooling System which injects a large amount of cooling water into the core if the primary colling system fails.

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Quotes

Bill Gibson: Mr. Mc Cormack I can't take responsibility for this.
Evan Mc Cormack: What's your alternative? Let this maniac wash 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 goddamn press. Now you do your job and I'll do mine.
Bill Gibson: Yes sir.

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Connections

Referenced in Murphy's Romance (1985)

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Soundtracks

"Somewhere in Between"
by Stephen Bishop

User Reviews

About the media as much as nuclear power

Centrally focused on the nuclear power industry, James Bridges's film contains a subtext indicting the news media, particularly television. His story leaves no room to doubt that there is a nexus between the moguls of the two industries which influences the way stories are, first, treated and, secondly, presented.

He may exaggerate to make his point, but he makes it so prominent that its place cannot be overlooked in examining the whole of the film.

Bridges also knows Hitchcock's trick of frustrating the audience with the passage of time. When Kimberly's crew is waiting at a public hearing for Jack to arrive with evidence, the performance of the enviro-protesters with their neat clothes, neat black gags and silent protest is as excruciating as nails scraping a blackboard. The audience is more anxious than the characters for an arrival to put an end to it.