IMDb > The Day After (1983) (TV)
The Day After
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The Day After (1983) (TV) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
6.8/10   4,905 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 10% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Nicholas Meyer
Writer:
Edward Hume (writer)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Day After on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
20 November 1983 (USA) more
Genre:
Drama | Sci-Fi more
Tagline:
The day before. The day of. The Day After. more
Plot:
A graphic, disturbing film about the effects of a devastating nuclear holocaust on small-town residents of eastern Kansas. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
Won 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 3 wins & 10 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(29 articles)
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 (From BuddyTV. 18 November 2009, 2:05 AM, PST)
User Comments:
A lesson with images more (134 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Jason Robards ... Dr. Russell Oakes

JoBeth Williams ... Nurse Nancy Bauer

Steve Guttenberg ... Stephen Klein (as Steven Guttenberg)

John Cullum ... Jim Dahlberg

John Lithgow ... Joe Huxley
Bibi Besch ... Eve Dahlberg
Lori Lethin ... Denise Dahlberg

Amy Madigan ... Alison Ransom

Jeff East ... Bruce Gallatin
Georgann Johnson ... Helen Oakes

William Allen Young ... Airman Billy McCoy
Calvin Jung ... Dr. Sam Hachiya

Lin McCarthy ... Dr. Austin
Dennis Lipscomb ... Reverend Walker
Clayton Day ... Dennis Hendry
more
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Additional Details

Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parents
Runtime:
127 min | USA:120 min (TV)
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
1.33 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono
Certification:
Canada:14A | Australia:PG | South Korea:All | Netherlands:12 | Finland:K-14 | France:-12 | Norway:12 (1984) | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | UK:12 | USA:Unrated | West Germany:12 (w) | Singapore:PG | Brazil:18
Filming Locations:
Harrisonville, Missouri, USA more
Company:
ABC Circle Films more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Director Nicholas Meyer so battled with network censors and the US government over the content, namely the graphic violence, of this film, he quit the production during the editing stages and threatened to petition the DGA to have his name removed from the film. While he did eventually relent and return to the production, he vowed to never work in the medium of television again. more
Goofs:
Continuity: The younger looking red-collared silo-officer wears the name "Krause" on his uniform, but after the missile launches, Billy McCoy and his comrades talk about the two men in the capsule of the Oscar Base as "Starr and Boyle". more
Quotes:
Dr. Russell Oakes: You know what's coming next, don't you?
Nurse Nancy Bauer: Been trying not to think about it.
Dr. Russell Oakes: We may be the only operating hospital within 100 miles.
more
Movie Connections:
Featured in "The 100 Most Memorable TV Moments" (2004) more

FAQ

Is this any relation to the recent blockbuster, 'The Day After Tomorrow?'
more

User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
75 out of 83 people found the following comment useful.
A lesson with images, 9 February 2005
9/10
Author: sparks401 from United States

I was a naval aviator deployed aboard the USS Ranger (CV-61) when I first saw this film. The show had aired back in the States some time before the film reels (this was before video tape decks were commonplace) were flown out to our Battle Group, so we knew that the telecast had had a big impact on the American public before we had the chance to view it.

That didn't matter. The film had as great, and possibly even more of, an impact on those of us out on the "tip of the spear" as it did on those back home. The military characters seen in the film were not actors -- they were contemporaries of ours, some even familiar faces -- so we felt a true connection to the story. The tension between the US and the Soviet Union was real and nobody knew better than we how nasty things could get in a short period of time. Even as we watched the film over the ship's closed circuit television system, Soviet military units were intent on locating and targeting our Battle Group. Our job, our daily routine, was part of the story, which emphasised the point that we were responsible for keeping the peace and to not allow events to escalate as we all feared could happen.

The reaction I remember most from this film was worry for family back home. -SPOILER- The one airman who left the silo area to reach his family before the missiles arrived displayed a sentiment that we all felt. No one aboard our ship would shirk his duty, but we all understood the sentiment that once duty is done, family is foremost in mind.

The argument could be made that the film was rife with error, but I maintain that it ultimately succeeded in what it was designed to do...make people seriously consider the consequences of nuclear war. That point was not lost on those of us aboard the Ranger at the time. While I watched the film again just recently (21 years after the first viewing), the lesson was still not lost. We may or may not be vulnerable to such a massive strike as what was feared back in the 1980s, but nuclear terror is still a very real possibility. It is as imperative now, as it was then, that we ensure that this type of calamity is never visited upon anyone, especially those about whom we love and care.

Yes, better special effects would make from some jaw-dropping images, but would that improve upon the film's message? In my opinion, no.

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That night's 'Viewpoint' broadcast thegalaxybeing
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This movie traumatized me as a child seph82
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Who was the man... SpaceAgeAristocrat
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