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Testament
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Testament (1983) More at IMDbPro »

Photos (see all 4 | slideshow)

Overview

User Rating:
7.4/10   2,129 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 5% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Lynne Littman
Writers:
Carol Amen (story)
John Sacret Young (screenplay)
Contact:
View company contact information for Testament on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
December 1983 (USA) more
Genre:
Drama | Sci-Fi more
Tagline:
It happened in an instant. The televisions went blank, the radios - silent. The cities were gone, the future abandoned. And the only thing they have left to hold onto, is the people they love. more
Plot:
Nuclear war in the United States is portrayed in a realistic and believable manner. The story is told... more | add synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 4 nominations more
NewsDesk:
DVD releases for Tuesday, November 4th, 2008
 (From QuietEarth. 3 November 2008, 10:26 AM, PST)

User Comments:
Devastating more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Jane Alexander ... Carol Wetherly

William Devane ... Tom Wetherly
Rossie Harris ... Brad Wetherly (as Ross Harris)
Roxana Zal ... Mary Liz Wetherly

Lukas Haas ... Scottie Wetherly
Philip Anglim ... Father Hollis Mann

Lilia Skala ... Fania Morse
Leon Ames ... Henry Abhart
Lurene Tuttle ... Rosemary Abhart

Rebecca De Mornay ... Cathy Pitkin

Kevin Costner ... Phil Pitkin

Mako ... Mike
Mico Olmos ... Larry
Gerry Murillo ... Hiroshi
J. Brennan Smith ... Billdocker
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Additional Details

Runtime:
90 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono
Filming Locations:
Sierra Madre, California, USA

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Film debut of Lukas Haas. more
Quotes:
Father Hollis Mann: I'm sorry I'm late. Let's begin.
Carol Wetherly: Not yet!
Father Hollis Mann: God said...
Carol Wetherly: [hysterical] Forget God! No one is touching him! No one is burying him until I find his bear! Do you hear me? You understand?
[Carol runs back to the house, pause]
Father Hollis Mann: ...whosoever believeth in me shall never die.
more
Movie Connections:
Featured in Testament at 20 (2003) (V) more
Soundtrack:
This Is It more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
29 out of 35 people found the following comment useful:-
Devastating, 5 October 2003
9/10
Author: David H. Schleicher from New Jersey, USA

This small film from 1983 might actually be more emotionally devastating than "Schindler's List" because it presents us with a horrific "what-if" scenario that I imagine scared the be-jesus out of viewers in the Cold War era that it was made and will send shivers down the spine of anyone who watches it today. The threat of nuclear holocaust may not be so looming now, but the threat of bio-terrorism or any other level of terrorist attack or all out war is very real in the post 9/11 era. This film is so stark and intimate that it really doesn't matter what these people are dying from (it could just as easily be biological warfare as it is nuclear fallout). I was so deeply effected by this film's portrayal or one family in one small California town getting cut off from the rest of civilization (which we can only assume is in the midst of WWIII) and slowly falling apart while one by one loved ones succumb to nuclear radiation that I couldn't watch it all. I had to flip the channels to watch a few minutes of "The Simpsons" before I turned back to watch the end. This is possibly the most depressing film ever made. Jane Alexander running frantically around the house searching for her youngest son's favorite stuffed animal and refusing to bury his body (wrapped in bedsheets) in the backyard until she found it is so heartbreaking that it made me sick. As such, this is the film that every politician the world over should watch before declaring any kind of war. War is not about winning or losing or politics or doing what it right, war is about the death of our children. Everyone needs to be reminded of that before making the war cry. In the end we all die.

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