On the Beach (2000) (TV)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Russell Mulcahy

Writers (WGA):

Nevil Shute (novel)
John Paxton (1959 screenplay)

Release Date:

28 May 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Sci-Fi

Plot:

Well, the world has finally managed to blow itself up. Only Australia has been spared from nuclear destruction...

Plot Keywords:

Australia | Breeze | Remake | Nuclear War | Fictional War

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 7 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Armand Assante	...	Cmdr. Dwight Towers
Rachel Ward	...	Moira Davidson
Bryan Brown	...	Dr. Julian Osborne
Jacqueline McKenzie	...	Mary Davidson Holmes
Grant Bowler	...	Lt. Peter Holmes
Allison Webber	...	Jenny Holmes
Tieghan Webber	...	Jenny Holmes
Steve Bastoni	...	First Officer Neil Hirsch
David Ross Paterson	...	Chief Wawrzeniak (as David Paterson)
Kevin Copeland	...	Sonarman Bobby Swain
Todd MacDonald	...	Radioman Giles
Joe Petruzzi	...	Lt. Tony Garcia
Craig Beamer	...	Crewman Reid
Jonathan Oldham	...	Crewman Parsons
Trent Huen	...	Crewman Samuel Huynh

Runtime:

195 min | 60 min (3 episodes)

Country:

Australia | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Certification:

Australia:MA

Filming Locations:

Flinders Street, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Company:

Coote Hayes Productions

Trivia:

The Los Angeles class submarine in this movie uses a "caterpillar" (silent) drive as was used by the Soviet submarine Red October in The Hunt for Red October (1990).

Goofs:

Factual errors: Before the sub first surfaces, the crew makes a surface radiation measurement. They record a reading of "23 Rads" which they pronounce safe. Radiation measuring equipment generally provides "per hour" readings. An exposure rate of 23 Rads per Hour would in fact be extremely serious - a maximum annual exposure for nuclear power plant workers (5 Rads) would be reached in just 13 minutes, and a sufficient dosage to produce immediate sickness would be reached within 7 hours.

Quotes:

Cmdr. Dwight Towers: I carried warheads on my boat. That is correct. I was damn proud of it too. I served my country the best way I know how. And the only question I ask myself these days and I'm asking it every single millisecond now whatever the hell's left of what I've got...

Movie Connections:

Remake of On the Beach (1959)

Soundtrack:

I Never Cared Before

Shocking. This movie lets you realise that the end of mankind is not unthinkable...

What would I do when I was confronted with my certain death and the end of mankind? That question was getting more and more to me when I watched On The Beach. Very confronting and on the eve of a war in Iraq, not at all unthinkable.

The plot is simple: War has broke out (in this case between the US and China, but it could be Iraq or North-Korea too...) and the US strikes with nuclear weapons. Australia gets spared initially, but its inhabitants face certain death as clouds of radio active fall-out nears. Within two months, no one human will be alive. Unless... There is a chance that some people close to the north pole survived. An American nuclear submarine that survived the war is boarded by an Aussie liaison officer and a cynical scientist, that used to date the sister-in-law of the officer, to search for possible survivors.

Not much action, but for those who like to think while watching a movie, this film will stick to you. There are story lines that resemble soap opera's. That might be true on the surface, but it is completely different when you keep in mind that they all are going to die. You feel the difficulties in the way the characters choose to die.

The movie is played well, directed well and has great photography. The director uses several filming techniques that are rarely used so that the viewer gets time to think about the situation and feel the dilemma of the character.

Unless you cannot bear to be confronted with your own mortality, this is a must-see.