The Day After - MGM (Video & DVD)

The most emotional movie I've experienced

The special effects are dated, that aside, one of the most potent movies I've ever seen.
With the increased rise in misinformation about what a nuclear exchange truly entails this is one movie everyone on earth should be forced, at gun point, to watch. There is no excuse for anyone to be ignorant of the most basic of facts about nuclear apocalypse. That anyone thinks it might be survivable is a fool, that some of these are in positions to make decisions or elect leaders to make decisions is apocalyptic, I do not speak in hyperbole here.
This movie, makes the actors seem real, goes through their lives for as long as it takes to make them real, then shows one the teeth of the apocalypse. At the end it is stated that almost total annihilation, sterility and death are the BEST CASE SCENARIO. They see fit to show that it doesn't matter how rich or pious or white you are, that all flesh is grass by the light of a nuclear sunrise.

Was close to home

I saw this movie again on the Sci-fi channel last night. It depicts a time that seems so unreal in retrospect. If you would have told me in 1983 that the world we lived in would be free of the spector of mass nuclear war, I would not have believed it. At the time, myself and I am sure, most everyone assumed that the Soviet Union would always be here and that some day events would spiral out of control to doom us all. I am thankfull that history has evolved in a way that removed the threat from our lives. But at the time, the subject matter of this movie was very plausable and very frightening.

In 1982, I was in the Air Force stationed at Whiteman Airforce Base. It was then the headquarters of the 1st Missle Wing, 150 Minutemen missles controlled by 15 buried launch control facilities. It was my mission to maintain single channel satellite emergency action message links in those
buried launch control facilities. These "EAM" channels were constantly tested but never used since thier sole purpose was to transmit launch commands from the President or surviving "Looking Glass" airborne command post. I spent much time in those buried "vaults" with the 8' thick steel walls. So, the sceens depicting the Oscar facility, really hit close to home. I remembered being 4 stories undergound during exercises many times. These execises could not be distinguished from a real launch sequence, even by the Capsule Jocks. They would close the vault door and instruct us to stop our work and sit quietly on the floor. Sometime the exercise would go on for a couple of minutes, other times it would go on for 10 to 15 minutes. A couple of times, I was sure that it was the real thing and that we were all goners. Thank god it never turned out that way.

A view from Russia - then and now

This scary but so important film was shown once in USSR. The close match in Soviet cinema was the movie "Letters of a dead man" describing the life after the fallout, in the shelters, and again the downfall of almost everything in 'the days after'. But even more scaring were 'nuclear' trainings, teaching films and posters in school. Every new block building was scheduled to have its fallout shelter, and the view of shelter entrances was to remind us every day: this day is possible.

We still live keeping that in mind. May be, inhabitants of all big cities may become blast targets, and maybe, others may be spared. But even more important are the main consequences of the nuclear war: the end of civilization, end of all comfort and peace provided by human society. You may survive in the blast, prepare yourself and your family to live under the ground or somewhere in 'the days after', as in 'Blast from the past' comedy, but the others, less happy survivors will later do the deadly job for the blast. That impressions, and not the 'mushrooms' dominate in 'The day after'.

Thought Provoking, but give it some latitude

I rather enjoy this movie. I first saw it on a TV rerun sometime in tha late 80's. I have both good and bad things to say about it...

First...The bad.. Yes, the special effects were old, but I felt the portrayal of a nuclear exchange was done well for it's time. I remember reading somewhere that if you are out in the open during the initial flash, one would receive a lethal dose of gamma ray radiation, but I'm willing to give the filmmakers leeway for the sake of the story.

I agree with another review that the characters could have been more developed, and I would have liked to have the political circumstances elaborated on. What did the USSR use as an excuse to close off Berlin and invade West Germany? I do remember that the US had increased their troop presence in Europe and the USSR wasn't happy. I think the whole point was that it could be something that escelates from a normal political exchange between the two Superpowers. I still would have preferred more elaboration.

There were also news clips in the background of "East German Defection" from the military. It made it seem like the Soviet forces were surrendering, which was either an attempt to provide the "fog of war" or an uncorrected script line in the editing.

I also didn't feel that the timeline for "leaving the cellar" was realistic. I can't see how the fallout would dissipate that quickly in such a massive exchange. When I read a government report dated in the 1970's on the environmental impact of a nuclear war, I recall a timeline of months, rather than days.

Now...the good:

The tension as the characters attempt to continue with daily life while keeping a watchful eye on the developments in Europe was done well. The panic as the War Alerts went out was well portrayed. I could imagine myself trying to decide what needed to be done and kicking myself for not being ready ahead of time. I do wonder, however, why everyone in the grocery store is actually waiting in line to pay. I would have expected more widespread looting.

Ok, I never thought about where the horses came from, but I'll give the writers and producers some leeway again for the sake of the story. The whole point of the movie is that any exchange would have horrific consequences.

I like to recall the book, Warday, which was written in 1984. It is about a limited nuclear exchange between the USSR and USA. In this book, it takes place in 1988 and is caused by the deployment of SDI. When I care to read Warday (which is a book I highly recommend if you're not bored easily..there's not much action) I usually watch The Day After just before, because I feel it better portrays the 1988 scenario...

I think it's worth watching. I wish the DVD had more extras on it, but I doubt that the filmmakers were thinking that far ahead..."hey, let's keep those deleted scenes for the DVD.." "What's a DVD?" "It'a like a Laserdisc, only smaller..."

Disappointing

This movie was essentially left-wing propaganda ... nothing more.
I thought it would be more entertaining, but it was more fantasy than fiction.

Only the blast scenes were worth watching ...
I bought this movie and became so grossly bored watching it that I still haven't finished it a year and a half later. Don't know if I ever will be interested enough to?