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 | radiation | murder | 

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Taglines:

Beyond Imagining...

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Genres:

Drama | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Unrated

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

The movie does not show a nuclear winter. However, the theory of nuclear winter was developed at about the same time that this movie was filmed, and only became known to the general public after The Day After was released.

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Quotes

Denise Dahlberg: Do you know Bruce Gallatin? He... he's a senior.
Stephen Klein: No.
Denise Dahlberg: But... but you're from Lawrence, so maybe Bruce is all right.
Stephen Klein: Well... I don't know what happened to Lawrence. I was close to Harrisonville when it started. There must have been five or six of them to the north, and... a whole string of them to the south.
Jim Dahlberg: They must have hit every missile silo from Sedalia to Eldorado Springs.

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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

Referenced in Anything But Love: The Day After (1991)

User Reviews

My Nuclear War film is better than your Nuclear War film.

I only stopped by to comment on this film after discussing Threads on another board and seeing how much of a beating it The Day After was getting. Having seen this during its premiere and Threads almost a year later I will say this. No matter how poorly the effects or the acting, or how graphic and extravagant the visuals were all these films serve one purpose. To educate us on the value we have as creatures that not only have control over our individual destinies but the destiny of our world and the lesser species. To show us what the cost would be, no matter how graphic and obscene. The Day After, Threads, Testament, The War Game, Failsafe, Wargames, and all the other media programming that has shown us the horror of nuclear war. Each has its strengths and flaws, its highs and lows, but the message inherrently remains the same.

So why is there any discussion of the differences? To debate the flaws and merits of one horror in many variations is pointless, for they are all important, all special and all as relavant today as they were when they were first created. Perhaps we have learned nothing?