Hey 'coast, your thread in Red Dawn got me thinking about other warpocalypse flicks of the 80s and this one came to mind as one of the better ones. Fancy seeing you already posted here years ago.

I don't remember much about this movie aside from thinking it was a more level-headed treatment of the subject. Less "Us vs. Them" and more about the political string pullers on both sides who make peace impossible. The gut wrenching end with the handshake burned itself into my memory as the image that explains why world peace will never happen. We all lose.

Since then we've been on a geopolitical roller coaster. We went through that brief hopeful period where glasnost seemed to promise an end to the division while Billy Joel showed us Russians like rock n roll just like us. And now we're right back in the thick of a cold war with Putin reviving his old Soviet grievances. It's been a wild ride ending up right back where we started.

I'm thinking it's time to watch this again, along with Dr Strangelove with a hearty Slim Pickens "yeehawwwwww" into oblivion 🤯

Hi, there, rooprect.

You got me-- yes, I definitely have a "thing" for these types of films. And I do consider World War III (1982), to be a film (my rating was 7 out of 10) as opposed to the entertaining but more saccharine movie that was Red Dawn (1984). Much more character development in WWIII, more realistic acting, with villains who were more than just stereotypes. The behind-the-scenes around this film were also shockingly tragic-- the infamous, gruesome death of its original director, Boris Sagal (father of Married With Children's Katey Sagal), and the tragic personal lives of Rock Hudson (died of AIDS) and Brian Keith (suicide). Just a lot of awful stuff surrounding this thought-provoking film. Makes the film all the more bleak with hindsight.

Other 1980s films dealing with the subject:

The Day After (1983)-- this is available for free on youtube, and I've just watched most of it for the first time, though I've known about it for years. No happy ending.

Threads (1984)-- the British equivalent of the above. If you see it, you won't forget it. Beyond bleak.

Amerika (1987)-- U.S. TV miniseries, no nuclear war (though such weapons are used, high up in the atmosphere, to disable American infrastructure), but, sort of like Red Dawn-- but more complete --it deals with the total downfall and occupation of the United States by Soviet troops. I've not actually seen this movie, and might never, as the novelization by Brauna E. Pouns was enough for me. I read it shortly after the movie was shown (which at the time my parents would not let me watch, although they would let me read anything). An interesting thing about the book was that it may have been more popular than the movie-- it was in print and sold in bookstores in the U.S. and Canada long after most people had probably forgotten about the film. Which I think is very unusual for a novelization.

An honorable mention, though it falls outside of the 1980s timeframe-- On the Beach (1959). A fantastic film about the survivors of nuclear war, taking refuge in Australia, contemplating the extinction of the human race. I gave this one a 9.

I've always found it interesting, all these years later, that during the last decade of the Cold War ( 1981 - 1991), that while the USSR was on its last legs, there was a spasm of movies about a final cataclysmic clash between the two superpowers. History sure can be a contradiction.

Nice interacting with you as always, rooprect. :)

@northcoast said:

Hi, there, rooprect.

You got me-- yes, I definitely have a "thing" for these types of films. And I do consider World War III (1982), to be a film (my rating was 7 out of 10) as opposed to the entertaining but more saccharine movie that was Red Dawn (1984). Much more character development in WWIII, more realistic acting, with villains who were more than just stereotypes. The behind-the-scenes around this film were also shockingly tragic-- the infamous, gruesome death of its original director, Boris Sagal (father of Married With Children's Katey Sagal), and the tragic personal lives of Rock Hudson (died of AIDS) and Brian Keith (suicide). Just a lot of awful stuff surrounding this thought-provoking film. Makes the film all the more bleak with hindsight.

Other 1980s films dealing with the subject:

The Day After (1983)-- this is available for free on youtube, and I've just watched most of it for the first time, though I've known about it for years. No happy ending.

Threads (1984)-- the British equivalent of the above. If you see it, you won't forget it. Beyond bleak.

Amerika (1987)-- U.S. TV miniseries, no nuclear war (though such weapons are used, high up in the atmosphere, to disable American infrastructure), but, sort of like Red Dawn-- but more complete --it deals with the total downfall and occupation of the United States by Soviet troops. I've not actually seen this movie, and might never, as the novelization by Brauna E. Pouns was enough for me. I read it shortly after the movie was shown (which at the time my parents would not let me watch, although they would let me read anything). An interesting thing about the book was that it may have been more popular than the movie-- it was in print and sold in bookstores in the U.S. and Canada long after most people had probably forgotten about the film. Which I think is very unusual for a novelization.

An honorable mention, though it falls outside of the 1980s timeframe-- On the Beach (1959). A fantastic film about the survivors of nuclear war, taking refuge in Australia, contemplating the extinction of the human race. I gave this one a 9.

I've always found it interesting, all these years later, that during the last decade of the Cold War ( 1981 - 1991), that while the USSR was on its last legs, there was a spasm of movies about a final cataclysmic clash between the two superpowers. History sure can be a contradiction.

Nice interacting with you as always, rooprect. :)

Nice, I haven't heard of any of those so you gave me some new study material! Actually wait I think I've heard of "The Day After"... Nicholas Meyer, the director who did Star Treks 2,4 & 6 (the even-numbered, aka the good ones lol). I'll probably hit that one right after World War III.

I had no idea about the tragedies that surrounded that one. Wow. I just googled Boris Sagal, that's unbelievable... just a year before the Twilight Zone helicopter disaster. You would've thought they'd implement some better safety protocol.

Anyway, yeah I'm on a bit of an 80s cold war rabbit hole, seeing how current events seem to be cycling back to those days. It's interesting, albeit depressing, to see how timeless these movies are. I wonder if we'll see a decade of new films along the same lines. Zombie apocalypse films held us over thru the 00s & 10s, now it's time for the real deal

@rooprect said:

@northcoast said:

Hi, there, rooprect.

You got me-- yes, I definitely have a "thing" for these types of films. And I do consider World War III (1982), to be a film (my rating was 7 out of 10) as opposed to the entertaining but more saccharine movie that was Red Dawn (1984). Much more character development in WWIII, more realistic acting, with villains who were more than just stereotypes. The behind-the-scenes around this film were also shockingly tragic-- the infamous, gruesome death of its original director, Boris Sagal (father of Married With Children's Katey Sagal), and the tragic personal lives of Rock Hudson (died of AIDS) and Brian Keith (suicide). Just a lot of awful stuff surrounding this thought-provoking film. Makes the film all the more bleak with hindsight.

Other 1980s films dealing with the subject:

The Day After (1983)-- this is available for free on youtube, and I've just watched most of it for the first time, though I've known about it for years. No happy ending.

Threads (1984)-- the British equivalent of the above. If you see it, you won't forget it. Beyond bleak.

Amerika (1987)-- U.S. TV miniseries, no nuclear war (though such weapons are used, high up in the atmosphere, to disable American infrastructure), but, sort of like Red Dawn-- but more complete --it deals with the total downfall and occupation of the United States by Soviet troops. I've not actually seen this movie, and might never, as the novelization by Brauna E. Pouns was enough for me. I read it shortly after the movie was shown (which at the time my parents would not let me watch, although they would let me read anything). An interesting thing about the book was that it may have been more popular than the movie-- it was in print and sold in bookstores in the U.S. and Canada long after most people had probably forgotten about the film. Which I think is very unusual for a novelization.

An honorable mention, though it falls outside of the 1980s timeframe-- On the Beach (1959). A fantastic film about the survivors of nuclear war, taking refuge in Australia, contemplating the extinction of the human race. I gave this one a 9.

I've always found it interesting, all these years later, that during the last decade of the Cold War ( 1981 - 1991), that while the USSR was on its last legs, there was a spasm of movies about a final cataclysmic clash between the two superpowers. History sure can be a contradiction.

Nice interacting with you as always, rooprect. :)

Nice, I haven't heard of any of those so you gave me some new study material! Actually wait I think I've heard of "The Day After"... Nicholas Meyer, the director who did Star Treks 2,4 & 6 (the even-numbered, aka the good ones lol). I'll probably hit that one right after World War III.

I had no idea about the tragedies that surrounded that one. Wow. I just googled Boris Sagal, that's unbelievable... just a year before the Twilight Zone helicopter disaster. You would've thought they'd implement some better safety protocol.

Anyway, yeah I'm on a bit of an 80s cold war rabbit hole, seeing how current events seem to be cycling back to those days. It's interesting, albeit depressing, to see how timeless these movies are. I wonder if we'll see a decade of new films along the same lines. Zombie apocalypse films held us over thru the 00s & 10s, now it's time for the real deal

Here's the Wiki article about 'The Day After'. I remember watching it back in the day & it was pretty depressing. I think I saw 'Threads' but can't remember much about it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_After

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Threads_(1984_film)