A State of Emergency (1986)

A nuclear physicist concludes that constant nuclear testing will bring about the apocalypse, so he attempts to warn US and USSR officials, as well as contact a Portuguese women who claims Virgin Marry warned her about this in 1911.

Director:

Richard C. Bennett

Writers:

Ray Cunneff, Tom Guggino

Stars:

Martin Sheen, Peter Firth, Tim Pigott-Smith

Cast

Credited cast:
Martin Sheen	...	Dr. Alex Carmody
Peter Firth	...	Dr. Kenneth Parrish
Tim Pigott-Smith	...	Father Joe Ryan
Frances Tomelty	...	Jackie Hampton
Kenneth Haigh
Dudley Sutton	...	Soviet professor
Bobby Sherman
Fionnula Flanagan	...	Diane Carmody
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Valerie Braddell
Judith Burnett
Ramon Estevez	...	Brian Carmody
Peggy Frankston
François Guétary
Daniel Wozniak	...	Uri

Storyline

A nuclear physicist concludes that constant nuclear testing will bring about the apocalypse, so he attempts to warn US and USSR officials, as well as contact a Portuguese women who claims Virgin Marry warned her about this in 1911.

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Plot Keywords:

reference to the virgin mary | religion | warning | pacifism | nuclear war | 

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Taglines:

A chain reaction. Only he can stop it. Tomorrow's dawn is in his hands.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

November 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

Chain Reaction

Filming Locations:

New Mexico, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

EsStar Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Goofs

At 13:18 when Dr Carmody is about to reverse out of his driveway returning to the laboratory, (after Dr Parrish's revelation of the results of his experiment to the media), a dog can be clearly seen outside the hedges, in the front of the lawn. A second later the dog is gone.

User Reviews

unforgettable

I heartily concur with the previous review.

This film was shown to me in class, it moved all of us very much and at the time was available on video, so I think most of us made the effort to see it again.

Martin Sheen carries this simple film along with a great cast, it is one of the more exceptional films exploring a world on the edge of a nuclear apocalypse. Designed to be quite convincing and very moving.

This film is nowhere to be seen now. If you find it suddenly on your TV, do make the time to sit down and remember the Reagan era when the Cold War still threatened our world. It is an idea so remote only twenty years later.

The ending is extremely moving, I don't want to give anything away but my class was on the edge of their seats as the tension is built superbly. As a Martin Sheen film you can expect a poignant purpose to the story not unlike Wall Street, but far less clichéd than other 'Nuclear' movies.