Miracle Mile (1988)

A young man hears a chance phone call telling him that a nuclear war has started and missiles will hit his city in 70 minutes.

Director:

Steve De Jarnatt

Writer:

Steve De Jarnatt

Stars:

Anthony Edwards, Mare Winningham, John Agar

2 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Anthony Edwards	...	Harry Washello
Mare Winningham	...	Julie Peters
John Agar	...	Ivan Peters
Lou Hancock	...	Lucy Peters
Mykelti Williamson	...	Wilson (as Mykel T. Williamson)
Kelly Jo Minter	...	Charlotta (as Kelly Minter)
Kurt Fuller	...	Gerstead
Denise Crosby	...	Landa
Robert DoQui	...	Fred the Cook (as Robert Doqui)
O-Lan Jones	...	Waitress
Claude Earl Jones	...	Harlan
Alan Rosenberg	...	Mike
Danny De La Paz	...	Transvestite
Earl Boen	...	Drunk Man in Diner
Diane Delano	...	Stewardess

Storyline

A young man meets and falls in love with a young woman at the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles. This area is known as Miracle Mile, and the whole movie takes place there. They make a date, which he misses, and while he is searching for her, he accidentally finds out that we (the United States) are about to start a nuclear war with the Soviet Union. He frantically searches for her so that they can escape Los Angeles.

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Plot Keywords:

nuclear war | la brea tar pit | los angeles california | musician | trumpet | 

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Taglines:

There are 70 minutes to the end of the world. Where can you hide?

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 May 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

70 minutos para huir

Filming Locations:

Pan-Pacific Auditorium - 7600 W. Beverly Boulevard, Fairfax, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,700,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$341,401, 21 May 1989, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$1,145,404

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hemdale,Miracle Mile Productions Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The real life Johnie's Coffee Shop, actually located on the Miracle Mile neighborhood of Los Angeles, ceased functioning as a real restaurant in the late 1990s. However, the building was never demolished, continued to be used from many other films and was designated a historical landmark in 2013. It is now rented primarily for film and television productions as well as for pop-up shops and similar temporary functions. The building again gained notoriety in 2016 as a campaign headquarter for US presidential candiante Bernie Sanders.

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Goofs

That waitress at the restaurant tells Harry that Julie is in the 351 building on Fuller, but Harry goes to 535 S Curson.

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Quotes

Harry Washello: [on police radio] Hello what are the latest on the evacuation plans?
Radio Cop: Please identify yourself.
Harry Washello: This is Mr. Peters with the Atomic Energy Commission.
Radio Cop: What?
Harry Washello: We have a Code Arthur situation, haven't you been informed?
Radio Cop: We have nothing at all in the headquarters, sir. What's the source of your information?
Harry Washello: [puts radio down] They don't know yet!
Wilson: Is that what it is? A meltdown?
Harry Washello: Yeah, it is.

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Crazy Credits

Dedicated to Doctor Biobrain

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Connections

Features Cosmos (1980)

User Reviews

The best real-time thriller ever made

Miracle Mile is one of my favourite films -I know it has its rough edges but I fell in love the first time I saw it at the University of Portsmouth film society ten years ago. I can't quite understand why though.

It belongs to the genre of suspense films called real-time thrillers -Hitchcock's Rope and Nick of Time are other examples. These are films which explore the very nature of film as a time-based medium. Usually the device is used in suspense movies, but has become popular recently in art house cinema like Timecode and Russian Ark.

The set-up is simple -after a day when he has fallen in love at first sight, Harry Washello randomly answers a ringing phone at a phone booth. The call is a wrong number from a soldier stationed at a nuclear silo. He is trying to warn his father that a nuclear strike has been launched and the US will be face a retaliatory attack in eighty minutes time. From then on, the action is played out in real time.

Unlike the aforementioned examples and the execrable 24, the real time actually works in Miracle Mile. If you sit through it with a stop watch, it only ever drifts out by a few seconds. The real time is essential to holding suspense and sympathy with the characters. Was the phone call for real? We don't know until an unforgettable moment, when the film becomes a race for survival.

There are some great, truly profound images -such as the dying Wilson scrambling up the down escalator with the body of his sister, or Harry and Julie lost in a department store surrounded by ticking clocks. This attention to detail and the bizarrely dark tone of the film elevate it to cult status. It has a soul and an individuality all of its own -can you imagine an episode of 24 ever being scored by Tangerine Dream?

This is a film about chance -the chance of Harry falling in love that day, the chance of him picking up the phone. The chance that effects us all and how we are at the mercy of it. But ultimately it is a very dark love story and perhaps that's why I like it so very much.