"Amerika" (1987) TV mini-series

Director:

Donald Wrye

Writer:

Donald Wrye (writer)

Release Date:

15 February 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Fantasy

Tagline:

1997. The world is different. The dream is the same. Let freedom ring.

Plot:

America has been bloodlessly taken over by the Soviet Union, leading to slave-labor camps for some,...

Plot Keywords:

Intentionally Misspelled Title | Soviet Invasion | TV Mini-Series

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 4 nominations

Cast

Kris Kristofferson	...	Devin Milford
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Graham Beckel	...	Clayton Cullen
Wayne Best	...	Cliff
Richard Blackburn	...	KGB Agent
Pete Boughn	...	High School Principal
Lara Flynn Boyle	...	Jacqueline 'Jessie' Bradford
Richard Bradford	...	Ward Milford
Turner Stephen Bruton	...	Enos
Sheila Lynn Buckley	...	Modern Dance Judge
George Buza	...	Rick
Ivan Dixon	...	Dr. Alan Drummond
Steve Drury	...	Scott
Deanna Dunagan	...	Betty Milford
David Ferry	...	Laird
Dorian Harewood	...	Jeffrey Wyman
Mariel Hemingway	...	Kimberly Ballard
Hanna Hertelendy	...	Gerta
Marcel Hillaire	...	Dieter Heinlander
Wendy Hughes	...	Marion Andrews
Patricia Idlette	...	Melanie Blackstone
Marek Krawczyk	...	Mental Hospital Patient
Christine Lahti	...	Alethea Milford
Piotr Lysak	...	Mikhail
Keram Malicki-Sánchez	...	Young Caleb
Joseph Moser	...	Puncher (as Joe Moser)
Armin Mueller-Stahl	...	General Petya Samanov
Sam Neill	...	Colonel Andrei Denisov
Cindy Pickett	...	Amanda Bradford
Ken Pogue	...	Sittman
Kelly Proctor	...	Billy Milford
Ford Rainey	...	Will Milford
Don Reilly	...	Justin Milford
Allan Royal	...	President (as Alan Royal)
Mag Ruffman	...	Sally, VFA
Reiner Schöne	...	Major Helmut Gurtman
Kurt Schweickhardt	...	Gary Milford
Peg Sheldrick	...	Dierdre's Mother
Timothy Skulish	...	Body Guard
Errol Slue	...	Reverend Blackstone
Sherry Smith	...	Louise
Sam Stone	...	Rebel
Toby Tarnow	...	Helen
Barbara Tirrell	...	Esther
John Towey	...	Herb Lister (as John Madden Towey)
Robert Urich	...	Peter Bradford
Vlasta Vrana	...	Sergei
Jason Wild	...	Youth Communist Leader

Runtime:

870 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-12

Filming Locations:

Cobourg, Ontario, Canada

Company:

ABC Circle Films

Trivia:

The UNSSU compound raided in the movie was at an abandoned building outside of Lincoln, Nebraska. It stood on the grounds of a Nebraska state surplus site and remained in its "UNSSU" scheme (including large red lettering, white paint and burn marks) for many years until its demolition in August 2007.

Quotes:

Devin Milford: I'm not going to accept the breakup of America. I'll resist with my spirit; I'll resist with my life. I can resist because I've found the love of my children; the possibility that their lives are more important than my own. I'll live through my children - through whatever good and true things I might have taught them, or the legacy of fear I might have left them. Each of us will find our best selves, or our worst selves - and in finding that, immortality.

Fascinating idea, but what happened?

"Amerika" had potential, but squandered it in a storyline that made no sense and in characters that made even less sense.

I watched this miniseries when it was broadcast, and taped it thinking it would be something worth keeping. I've never been inclined to view those tapes, because the non-sequitors were annoying the first time through.

This was a dreadful production. It isn't obscure because it was controversial, it's obscure because it's dreadful. The Russians are in charge, but why does that mean there is no running water? I kept waiting for the story to go somewhere, for Kris Kristopherson to start acting (never happened!), for some character, somewhere to make me care what happened to them.

This miniseries is not a suppressed gem. It's a well-ignored waste of time, talent, and potential.