O Sindroma da China (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 & 11 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 'Belinda' Ali	...	Marge (as Khalilah Ali)
Paul Larson	...	D.B. Royce

Storyline

While doing a series of reports on alternative energy sources, a reporter, Kimberly Wells, witnesses an accident at a nuclear power plant. Wells is determined to report 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 plant | radiation | nuclear power | reporter | cover up | 

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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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Did You Know?

Trivia

This is one of only a few American movies where no music is played over the end credits.

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Goofs

In the power generation industry, there are no "floors" but elevations. That is elevation above sea level. So various buttons on an elevator from 1 to 120 would indicate the floor where the elevator stops is so many feet above sea level.

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Quotes

Ted Spindler: He was not a loony. He was the sanest man I ever knew in my life.

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Crazy Credits

The end credits run in total silence.

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Connections

Referenced in Aerial America: Pennsylvania (2012)

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Soundtracks

Somewhere In Between
by Stephen Bishop

User Reviews

Art imitates life

As someone who lives a sneeze away from TMI, I can tell you how this movie was received in my area...people were terrified.

The administrators at TMI were hardly forthcoming about the situation. Some of the advice we got now seems laughable; I was in HS at the time, and for our protection, the teachers closed all the windows...wow. My one social studies teacher went to see the movie, and when they got to the part about the meltdown destroying an area the size of PA, he said that people started screaming.

So this movie is pretty surreal for me; it seems that it was only dumb luck that kept the plant from a meltdown. Every now and then I drive past it, and it still seems as sinister as it did then. Watching "The China Syndrome" seemed like watching the local news.

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Movie Channel [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 October 1979 (Portugal)

Also Known As:

O Síndroma da China

Filming Locations:

Sunset Gower Studios - 1438 N. Gower Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$6,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$51,718,367

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$51,718,367

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures, IPC Films, Major Studio Partners

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1