This was solid and, considering its epoch, scary. I remember being a teen when this came up, and with U.S./Soviet relations at a nadir, nuclear war films were just starting to appear on the cinephile's radar once again, after taking a breather from their 60's heyday for the sake of the glut of natural disaster films that hit theatres in the interim. This was one of the first and best, simply because director Nicholas Meyer was so good at sci-fi. I fervently wish he had made a lot more movies.
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The Day After
Overview
In the mid-1980s, the U.S. is poised on the brink of nuclear war. This shadow looms over the residents of a small town in Kansas as they continue their daily lives. Dr. Russell Oakes maintains his busy schedule at the hospital, Denise Dahlberg prepares for her upcoming wedding, and Stephen Klein is deep in his graduate studies. When the unthinkable happens and the bombs come down, the town's residents are thrust into the horrors of nuclear winter.
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Release date
10/12/1983
Votes
452
Popularity
4.8
Jason Robards
Dr. Russell Oakes
JoBeth Williams
Nurse Nancy Bauer
Steve Guttenberg
Stephen Klein
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 Hachya
Lin McCarthy
Dr. Austin
Dennis Lipscomb
Reverend Walker
Clayton Day
Dennis Hendry
Doug Scott
Danny Dahlberg
Ellen Anthony
Joleen Dahlberg
Kyle Aletter
Marilyn Oakes
Alston Ahern
Cynthia
William Allyn
Professor
Antonie Becker
Ellen Hendry
Pamela Brown
Nurse
Jonathan Estrin
Julian French
Stephen Furst
Aldo
Arliss Howard
Tom Cooper
Rosanna Huffman
Dr. Wallenberg
Barbara Harris
TV Host
Bob Meister
Cody
Vahan Moosekian
Mack
George Petrie
Dr. Landowska
Glenn Robards
Barber #2
Tom Spratley
Barber #1
Stan Wilson
Vinnie Conrad
Arthur Ashe
TV Newscaster (uncredited)
Billy Beck
Dying Old Man Squatter (uncredited)
Brian Beltran
College Student (uncredited)
Bill Baker
College Student (uncredited)
Original Soundtrack
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Well worth the view and it's surprisingly hard-hitting, for an American movie. TDA depict the full nuclear exchange between NATO and the Warsaw-pact and how this affect the population in and around Kansas. I think TDA really works better as a pure movie, because it is. Compared to the UK-made "Threads", which is more of a docudrama, TDA sets the scene and develop the characters. Many of the characters also survive the initial attack and we follow them 2-4 weeks after the initial attack. Even though TDA was both politically incorrect at the time and is also pretty bleak and scary, i…
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James Robards is exceptional in this sad nuclear holocaust fable, made for TV but a top notch production in most all respects.
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