The Day After (1983)

The effects of a devastating nuclear holocaust on small-town residents of eastern Kansas.

Director:

Nicholas Meyer

Writer:

Edward Hume

Stars:

Jason Robards, JoBeth Williams, Steve Guttenberg

Won 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 4 wins & 10 nominations.

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

Storyline

The frightening story of the weeks leading up to and following a nuclear strike on the United States. The bulk of the activity centers around the town of Lawrence, Kansas.

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Plot Keywords:

fallout | nuclear war | nuclear holocaust | death | air raid siren | 

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Taglines:

The most watched television movie in history. Tonight, relive the story of a day beyond imagining.

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Genres:

Drama | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 November 1983 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Day After

Filming Locations:

De Soto, Kansas, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

ABC Circle Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

127 min 120 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (CFI)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The original title for the movie was "Silence in Heaven", which Meyer preferred to the title ABC selected, "The Day After".

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Goofs

In the original broadcast of The Day After, one of the cast seems to be stifling a laugh. Specifically, when Willie is berating his fellow soldiers about waiting for military helicopters to relieve them of their post he makes the remark "So what are you here guarding? Some cotton pickin hole in the ground with nowhere to go?" In the original TV edit, it's clear that the actor Willie was talking to was stifling a laugh. Indeed, you can see a smile on his face just before the camera cuts away.

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Quotes

Nurse Nancy Bauer: I think you better have a piece of this orange. Might be the last orange you see for... week and a half.

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Crazy Credits

[After movie has ended, before end credits.] The catastrophic events you have just witnessed are, in all likelihood, less severe than the destruction that would actually occur in the event of a full nuclear strike against the United States. It is hoped that the images of this film will inspire the nations of this earth, their peoples, and leaders to find the means to avert that fateful day.

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Alternate Versions

The Brazilian (South American) version is re-edited. Most of the military stock footage is removed, while many of the other scenes are extended. This version is more intense with added scenes of burn and radiation sickness victims.

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Connections

Featured in The Final Sanction (1990)

User Reviews

Appropriately Bleak

I, like many of my age, saw this when it originally aired as a class assignment. It had a great impact on me, as the cold war was still going strong and the threat of a nuclear war was something that people still thought about. The movie may not be the greatest ever made, but the acting is more than adequate, especially from Jason Robards, and the script was far better than any other movies made for television at that time. I recommend it to anyone, even those with a low tolerance for grossness (radiation sickness is shown in progressive stages, and it is not pretty). It's dark, depressing, and if you get into it you will definitely need to follow it up with a musical or cartoons just to lift your spirits again. Still, the subject matter is not something that can be portrayed positively even at a tv-movie level of realism.