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:

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

During the attack sequence, there are several cuts of footage acquired during the U.S. atomic testing that took place in the 1950s. The nuclear yield on these tests ranged from fifteen to forty-seven kilotons. In the early 1980s, the Soviet Union had deployed ICBM forces with multiple warheads that carried hydrogen weapons with a yield between one thousand and five thousand kilotons (one to five megatons).

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Goofs

The deputy silo-officer with the orange ascot wears the name "Krause" on his uniform, but after the missile launches, Billy McCoy and his comrades talk about the two men in the capsule of the Oscar Base as "Star and Boyle".

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Quotes

Newscaster: The looming question is... how far will Warsaw pact forces go? Will the Russians advance straight for the Rhine and defy NATO's declared policy of defense by all means including the use of tactical nuclear weapons? The Defence Department today reported that...
Cynthia: Fantasyland.
Aldo: You think they're making this up? You think this is "War of the Worlds" or something?
Cynthia: Look, did we help the Czechs, the Hungarians, the Afghans *or* the Poles? Well we're *not* gonna nuke the Russians to save the *Germans*! I...

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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 German EuroVideo DVD runs 115 min.

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Connections

Referenced in Eraser (1997)

User Reviews

A good film - critics are missing the point.

I first saw the film as a high school student attending a Department of Defense school in Germany in the early 1980's. The film was shown in school and it scared the bejeeezus out of me and many of my fellow students. We were dealing with Red Army Faction terrorism, car bombs, bomb threats at school and only a few hundred miles from the border to East Germany. The concepts were quite accurate: if the eastern bloc came over the border, then the ONLY NATO response could be to fight a delayed retreat, blowing up roads and bridges as the US and Nato forces were pushed back and most of Germany would have fallen to the Eastern Bloc before any offensive action could have been taken. The scenario leading to the nuclear attacks are quite real and plausible.

The critics say the film was not graphic enough (they prefer things like Threads) or too graphic (prefering more subtile films like Testament ). There is no need to be totally graphic and accurate in portraying the events. Yes, we know it would be worse. But the goal is not to gross everyone out. We want younger audiences to see the film too - and that would never happen with something like theads. Likewise, a mored emotional but action lacking film would not draw in the audiences. The purpose was to 'get the point accross' and I think it did that very successfully - bad acting, flubbed lines, stock footage and all. It showed enough of the circumstances surrounding the events for those who had some education in things could recognize issues and say,"Yes thats right" while not being overly graphic so that only adults could see it.

If you want to see an action movie about nuclear war or you want to see a touchy-feely emotional treatment of the losses due to war - this film is not for you. The purpose of this film is to show what nuclear war may be like (in a very superficial way) and to remind everyone that it must NEVER happen again. Back in the early 1980's with the Soviets under a rotating leadership of old hardliners and the US with Ronny talking smack - the threat was very real and the reality check this film delivers was needed. It doesn't play as well in the year 2002 - but you must remember when a film was made when you see it.