3/3 The Day After | 1983 Nuclear War Movie

A 30-minute rework of the 1983 nuclear war film The Day After focused on the documentary aspect of the movie.
The Day After is an American-made-for-TV movie first broadcast on the ABC television network in 1983. More than 100 million people, in nearly 39 million households, watched the initial broadcast. The film hugely impacted US audiences and aired on Soviet state TV in 1987. The Day After is often credited with helping to usher in a period of nuclear arms reduction treaties in the late 1980s and was ranked the highest-rated television film until 2009.
The Day After depicts a scenario of rising tensions along the East-West border of a divided Germany during the latter phase of the Cold War. Relations between NATO and Russia rapidly deteriorate as events spiral out of control leading to armed conflict and nuclear war. The film focuses on Lawrence, Kansas, and Kansas City, Missouri where several family farms sit close to nuclear missile silos. The Day After documents the actual state of nuclear readiness maintained by the US and Russia. Both nations maintain a nuclear triad in constant readiness for thermonuclear war.
The Day After was first conceived by ABC Motion Picture Division president Brandon Stoddard who came up with the idea after watching The China Syndrome. Veteran television writer Edward Hume undertook a massive amount of research on the likely effects of nuclear war and went to work on a script in 1981. Due to the graphic content of the subject matter, however, several drafts were rejected by the network until the characters and plot finally seemed acceptable for a family audience. Most of the actors in The Day After were Kansas City residents recruited from local shopping malls.
Director Nicholas Meyer had just completed Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and wanted to create a film that accurately portrayed the consequences of nuclear war. After wrangling with the US Department of Defence and the ABC censors, Meyer released a compromise version of The Day After for primetime TV screens. According to the message at the end of the film:
‘The catastrophic events you have just witnessed are, in all likelihood, less severe than the destruction that would occur in the event of a full-scale nuclear strike against the United States.
It is hoped that the images of this film will inspire the nations of this earth, their peoples and leaders, to find the means to avert the fateful day.’
The Day After: amzn.to/3jGzX3H
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[@BradFalck-mn3pc]

This movie needs to be broadcast again worldwide

[@101perspective]

Well, it is on the world wide web...lol.

[@pgroove163]

it will be broadcast one day..and live !

[@acebandagedaclown4215]

Peoples attention span is very low. They cant sit and go through a movie. Its all about 5 sec clips.

[@jlgitto]

Yes and with todays graphics

[@davidlibby5430]

I think about this movie 3-4 times a year and think about my grand children. What world they will have to endure. I for one do not wish to survive anything like this.

[@emmettredding1]

Growing up during the cold war I asked my Dad once if we should do anything to prepare for such an event. He said, "Sure, we just need to make sure the truck has enough gas for an hour drive!"...I asked where we would be going, he said, "Ft. Benning, GA"...which was about 50 miles north of us and is one of the largest military bases in the world. Being young and naive I thought he meant we would be safe there....but he immediately clarified that Ft. Benning would most likely be a primary target and we would need to go there to get it all over with!!

[@calebh7902]

Yes he knew what he was talking about, Ft Benning is definitely top on the list of targets, after Washington D.C and our ground base missile silos then the air force bases then Army and Marine Corps... better to just evaporate than stick around and starve to death. Curiosity killed the Cat so I plan on surviving the initial strike even though I know I will regret living.

[@ella5319]

The living will envy the dead.

[@jenniferlopez3554]

@@ella5319 no doubt

[@christianedriesen1624]

Now you make the war in Europe….thanks……

[@ella5319]

@@christianedriesen1624 What do mean by saying that?

[@pbdye1607]

The scariest thing about this movie is that it profiled a *limited exchange* between the US and USSR.

[@Kyle-ms2et]

And with older, less capable weapons.

[@keithbaker944]

I think both sides had more nukes back when this was made then now.

[@DarthVader-1701]

Over 300 missiles means 3000+ warheads hit the US, that's pretty much everything destroyed. Each ICBM has 10 warheads per missile.

[@steveroman3729]

@@keithbaker944 You are massively incorrect if you believe that. The more countries that gain nuclear power, the more nukes needed to fire at those countries if they turn on us. Mutual destruction only works if you have enough nukes for every country that is your enemy, so you can guarantee the number of nukes we have that is publicly listed 1,744 you can multiply that by 10 and you'll have the real number that we have available.

[@Izzyduude]

Both sides agreed to MAD aka Mutual Assured Destruction. Both sides fire an equal amount of missiles so no one can be accused of firing more. It’s a stupid thing to think of since the countries will be destroyed by then.

[@laserfloyd]

The missile sequence absolutely terrified me as a kid. Absolutely no one wins this kind of war. As War Games said, the only winning move is not to play.

[@user-zg8ro4fm7m]

Stalemate 🤨

[@insideoutsideupsidedown2218]

I did not realize the US Air Force had missile silos on the KU campus near the resident halls

[@mtnviper1963]

Also brings to mind what Denzel Washington said in Crimson Tide…”in a nuclear world, the true enemy is war itself”.

[@ccllvn]

@@insideoutsideupsidedown2218 lol

[@EphemeralProductions]

The really shitty thing is that the choice isn’t ours. If the powers that be make the choice to “play”, then we’re stuck dealing with it.

[@robertdavis3433]

I worked as a propmaker on this show in the 80's. I was a member of the consruction crew. The burnt out hospital was a debfunked east L.A. hospital. Instead of building sets, we just tor up the hallways and hospital lighting. Good job to get. Most of my memories of the show are good. Good video from Sacramento

[@Filthy_Larry]

Being a baby daddy is scarier than a nuke war.

[@robertdavis3433]

@@Filthy_Larry be braver than that

[@brfts2001]

@@robertdavis3433 most of this was filmed in the Midwestern college town that I grew up in. So this really hits home for me watching this.

[@robertdavis3433]

@@brfts2001 the construction coordinator "Mort" said Lawrence Kansas was a beautiful city. I have never been there.

[@Hi-lb8cq]

​@@robertdavis3433 it's a small town...mostly filled with college students and during the summer it's hot as hell and rains like crazy...have you ever seen the TV show supernatural???...on the show that's where the Winchester Brothers came from...and during the American Civil War quantrills raiders hit that town and killed alot of people and burned down alot of buildings there too

[@randywatts6969]

“The living will envy the dead….”

[@firemanforever3000]

I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones. Einstien.

[@davidwhitney1171]

As described in a famous,1960s poster usually sold in novelty shops - "In case of Atomic Attack: 1. Stand Still. 2. Bend Over. 3. Kiss Your Ass Goodbye."

[@tomjoad1363]

If you find one you can run a print, this is still today's news.

[@petergunner8666]

We can try it soon

[@leeh.7786]

Lame

[@deavacui2825]

Reminds me of that old song "Protect and Survive" by the band The Dubliners, it's a satire on safety measures (or what was considered that) in case of a nuclear strike. And the final verse ends with essentially the same statement as the one OP quoted. 🤭

[@johncampbell8552]

I remember this being broadcast commercial free for long periods. Rare for network tv . they wanted maximum impact on the audience

[@chrispnw2547]

Would you want to have a happy cheerful ad from your company placed next to this horror of horrors?

[@edstraker8451]

@@chrispnw2547 Yeah. Iodised salt.

[@patrickvanrinsvelt4466]

Now that you mention it, I remember that.

[@geigertec5921]

Imagine inbetween the scene where the bombs we exploding there was a Chuck-E-Cheese ad, and then that ad for Chipsahoy Cookies with the soundtrack from Sing Sing Sing.

[@chrispnw2547]

@@geigertec5921 Or an advertisement about prudent retirement planning 😅😅

[@finscreenname]

My high school history teacher had a map on the wall with different circles on it of all the confirmed USSR targets and blast radiuses from each hit from vaporized to sunburn. Our school and my house were surrounded with 5 targets. We knew, if the bombs went off, we might as well go up to the roof to watch the fireworks instead of the basement bomb shelter. It's funny to know as a young teen that there was no hope if it all went south.

[@Gfysimpletons]

And to think those weapons are 1000x more powerful.. poooooof

[@finscreenname]

@@Gfysimpletons We also never considered the same target getting multiple hits either. Bust up the area with the first one then hit it with a second to turn it all plus more into fallout.

[@patrickvanrinsvelt4466]

I read three articles yesterday: 1-ChatGPT AI, 2-Huge Cyberattack within 2 years, and 3-a laser equipped tank. What are we doing to ourselves?

[@tbd-1]

I was in Marine Corps NBC Warfare advanced training about the time this movie came out and I made a map of my own based on what I learned showing primary, secondary and tertiary targets with blast and fallout radius. It's the fallout that's problematic as it's tricky to predict it with accuracy but generally speaking there are surprisingly large sections of the continental US that would be unaffected beyond the breakdown of society and probable "rule of law". The thinking back then was the first strike would be against military installations on both sides and once they were destroyed there would be little left to attack population centers (secondary targets). That was the core of nuclear deterrent-not Brennan's "mutually assured destruction" but the mutual destruction of each other's ability to carry out further attacks. In reality, a nuclear conflict would probably be a lot more limited in nature than the worst case scenario of nuclear holocaust. Biological and chemical warfare are completely different animals, fortunately. Being inherently unstable it's just as dangerous to the user as the victim and it's not exactly in favor. Just as well-even the nerve agents in development in the 1980s were nearly impossible to defend against. I can't imagine what kind of cocktails they've cooked up since then.

[@RobCummings]

I grew up 60 miles north of NYC. Some nights, I'd look at the city lights, reflected on the undersides of clouds, and imagine a different kind of light -- a flash and then a great wave of light and wind rushing toward me. There's no winning this kind of war. If it happens, you'd be lucky to be killed quickly.

[@ricbroc1860]

I was 23 and in good health when I watched this and today I'm 62 and have a pacemaker.

[@Mardasee]

I need teeth.

[@robbymartin1447]

You're still here and that counts for something. Actually, that's everything really. Best of Luck to you Sir.

[@gregdowd939]

My dogs butt smells like spaghetti

[@xr6lad]

@@gregdowd939that’s because you use it as a dish to eat from. You need to buy some dinner plates.

[@gregdowd939]

​@@xr6ladI guess you didn't get the reference......no worries

[@joeyonikas5366]

I recall This film had a huge impact on President Regan.

[@worldofdoom995]

Yes. He asked a general I think if this is how things would play out. The general said yes. Afterwards Reagan greatly toned down the war rhetoric and opened a more diplomatic approach to the Soviet Union.

[@patricksquinlan1]

The Soviets also watched this movie and had a similar response. Putin, Trump and Biden should all watch it again.

[@GeertWilders-cw8nt]

@@worldofdoom995 Actually the Soviets became "more diplomatic" under Gorbachev, and it wasn't because of this movie but the fact the Soviet Union's economy was crumbling.

[@lemmdus2119]

I remember this movie and I’ll say now what I said in school when asked “I hope to be at or close to ground zero bc I don’t want to live after something like that.”

[@PadyRist01]

You wont be able to anyways. If the nuclear powers today would nuke themselves, with all the thousands of missles and weapons they posses, the nuclear fallout would wipe out almost any living being that survived the explosions. The vast majority of humanity will be perish in the aftermath.

[@johnh2410]

I was a student at the Univ. of Kansas when this movie was filmed on location. Many of my friends were extras in the "walking wounded" scenes. When it premiered, we gathered together to watch it in my dorm and I remember the impact of watching the missile launches was greatly diminished when we saw all the shooting locations around campus. "There's the stadium". "There's our dorm!" "There's Wescoe Hall", etc.

[@elchicano187]

Super cool 👋🏼

[@insideoutsideupsidedown2218]

Interesting seeing the Air Force had missile silos on the KU campus.

[@roccomitchell-wo9qi]

What an experience that must had been

[@BladePocok]

Sunday evening movie night And then the next morning, you had to wake up, get dressed and sit in a seminary like nothing happened.

[@KevinDunne-zc4or]

I remember watching the day after one night,a very well made film,the rocket attacks were possible stock footage of atomic bomb tests in yucca flats navada,I reckon high schools should show this,

[@trebleclef293]

That brother is actually pretty funny. He kind of goes throughout the whole post apocalyptic wasteland like a regular brother.

[@Darwinion]

Actually no. That character totally detracts from the seriousness of the situation. Threads is a much better film in this regard.

[@RXBannedit]

@@Darwinion I can absolutely promise you, that no matter how dire a situation, some people would be cracking jokes

[@calebh7902]

​@@Darwinion anyone who works in traumatic fields like police, firefighters, and soldiers keep a sense of humor through terrible situations

[@DaytonaRoadster]

thats because basketball Americans have simple undeveloped simian minds

[@delanorrosey4730]

He was snorting the irradiated air like it was booger sugar. Even in the 50's, the troops were wearing gas masks (even as they were exposed to radiation from atomic testing.)

[@rdreeves2332]

I had graduated from High School the year before this movie released. I hoped we would have changed by now. This movie should be shown every year until we do grow up as a species.

[@buckshot6481]

My wife moved Her mother in with us , I used to pray for this day.

[@arzaykarzay5884]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@SWLinPHX]

I understand. Suffering is all relative on a personal level.

[@rentonsadboy9366]

😂 nice one

[@leafbranch1872]

l'OL

[@israelruelas5756]

😂😂😂

[@longrider42]

The worst part is, Two way radio communication would not work for some time. Due to the ionizing effect of the bombs and the radiation. I learned this when I got my Ham Radio License. Lets hope this never happens.

[@guytech7310]

Yup, also the lie about NATO missile defense systems would be able to stop nuclear ICBMs. As soon as the NEMP goes off, Radar tracking systems will be in-operative until well after the warheads meet their target since the atmosophere would be full of ionized particles blocking radar signals.

[@EphemeralProductions]

Then how the shit are people supposed to communicate?

[@tim2015]

@@EphemeralProductions 'supposed to communicate'? This film is intended to show that a nuclear-weapons war would destroy our cities, our means of transport and communication, our food chains and supplies (this is more clearly shown in the BBC's 'Threads' documentary) and the radiation fallout (lethal for decades or centuries) would eventually kill all human and animal life.

[@thebatmane2220]

@@EphemeralProductionswe wouldn’t…………

[@EphemeralProductions]

@@thebatmane2220 😢

[@larrybaldwin8325]

I was 15 and watched with my Family, NEVER EVER Saw my Dad CRY Until this Aired! Went to bed Cried and had Nightmares for a Week! Our Whole School talked about it for such a long, long time

[@chrisholland7367]

A year after this was produced the British Broadcasting Cooperation (BBC) aired something similar to this it was called 'Threads ' and it centred around the English city of Sheffield which is in the north of England. Although on a lower budget 'Threads ' had a horrific impact on the British viewing public. I was a teenager when both these made for television films came out. The difference between TDA and Threads is that the British docu drama will take the viewer 10 years into a possible post apocalyptic future in Britain where as TDA finishes as the main character reaches the site of his former home. I would certainly recommend Threads the causes and effect of the story bear certain similarities today's international problems as they did 40 plus years ago.

[@wilhelmhesse1348]

I remember watching this as a kid back in the 80s...more scary than Friday the 13th or any other horror of the times because even as a kid I knew this could actually happen some day.

[@nicholasdickens2801]

The true horror of it is you know what human beings are capable of.

[@sloo6425]

Same here. There were close calls and if it were not for calm heads, it could have happened by accident or by malice of one person.

[@wilhelmhesse1348]

@@sloo6425 very true...and we still aren't out of the woods...nuclear war, not climate change or some over hyped disease remains the biggest threat to humanity and alot of people keep ignoring this fact

[@nikashby6363]

Threads had more of an impact on me

[@feralmale1517]

I was a kid as well and it spooked the crap out of me.

[@realkekec4028]

Politicians will never learn.God help us all.

[@jillhatesbiden7835]

Correction..WE THE PEOPLE will never learn that we need to get rid of politicians and start over

[@jillhatesbiden7835]

We the people will never learn that we don't have to listen to them if people would grow some fucking balls

[@candlestyx8517]

Humans will never learn, greed and the ego wont allow it.

[@flyzart8148]

​@@jillhatesbiden7835ok Karl Marx, what's the plan?

[@tim2015]

I think Putin does learn, and does understand what the real results would be, for Russia as well as the NATO countries. Have you noticed that all his "There will be be serious consequences" kind of talk very carefully avoids committing himself/Russia to using nuclear weapons? Also, he has not ordered any of Ukraine's fourteen atomic energy plants to be destroyed by using 'conventional' bombs and missiles. And has not ordered any attacks on NATO countries who are providing Ukraine with military aid and weapons.

[@EphemeralProductions]

Sad thing is, were any kind of catastrophe like this to happen (nuclear or otherwise) , it would be WAY worse because people are WAY crazier and hotheaded now than they were back then! People would probably not be hesitating to kill other people especially to get their food or supplies. Anyone expecting to protect themselves, their families or their supplies almost SURELY could expect to need to use deadly force to defend it.

[@idecanymoretbh]

I doubt it. People nowadays are more pacifist, for better or worse - IMO, right after a nuclear exchange, we'd see a lot of cooperation since shit would get real and there'd be no time for bickering over national political issues.

[@EphemeralProductions]

@@idecanymoretbh I can only hope.

[@user-pc3eb8gs5y]

Amen 😢

[@theoswald5256]

Korrekt Anarchie wäre an der Tagesordnung 😮

[@neilpountney9414]

@@idecanymoretbh Human instinct to survive would take over. People would kill others to take what they have. As has been said many times over it would be better to die in the blast.

[@ajisenramen888]

No one wins in a nuclear war 😢

[@denisepleines1513]

War is a zero sum game

[@allynflinchbaugh4570]

Cockroaches win.

[@enigmaticbrain1225]

Satan does.

[@vladkutepoff5586]

Если мы не покончим с войнами, то однажды войны покончат с нами.

[@kevsecker3182]

The moment neutrons give up their neutrality.

[@664chrisman]

Actually the special effects for this weren't bad at all, considering it was '83 and a made for TV movie.

[@nicolavivarelli4127]

I was at school at the time and remember very well this movie...fear! Real fear for the end of our world after a nuclear war: no one win ! Masterpiece movie , from Italy 🇮🇹🇺🇲

[@SN-nh6pq]

Better fear it more today than then

[@nicolavivarelli4127]

@@SN-nh6pq yes. But in the 80's and in all the cold war, a nuclear war was very difficult but not impossible ( Corea war, Cuba..). My greetings!

[@Ama-hi5kn]

I was 9 years old when this movie came out. I still remember it to this day. Along with Threads and Testament.

[@rymacreeks2k07]

testament's the one with the sf suburbs right? i think i know the one you're on abt

[@MichaelTanner-kl2qx]

I live in Sheffield,the city Threads was based on,Threads is a lot more truthful and more realistic!!

[@stephanielaurenbounds4958]

SO HARD to believe that this coming 21 November 2023 it will have been FORTY YEARS since “The Day After” first aired on ABC. I was thirteen years old at the time, just one month and two days before my fourteenth birthday.

[@johncaze757]

Why what is going to happen on that date?

[@RennieAsh]

@@johncaze757 it'll be 40 years since it first aired

[@chernovbrichtofen4767]

And 40 years later we’re in the same situation again with the Ukraine War if it escalates

[@chrisj197438]

Why would any country do that now? America has never been weaker and is broke. Most of the population is overweight or unable to fight. If anything another country would release a biological weapon and finish us off. Once that is over they could come in and take over with very little damage to rebuild.

[@miguellarrosaquesada2980]

Esa fecha cumplí 61 años, el 21 de noviembre. Espero cumplir 62. Siempre he pensado que era significativa, pero no apocalíptica. Saludos desde España.

[@BC-iz8gt]

One small planet and everybody has to fight each other just imagine if everybody worked together how we'd be thousands of years more advanced

[@poppyjons56874]

yus indeed but its all down to mans greed is it not eh! ??????? mmmmmmm

[@vasili-zaitsev]

The classic holds its own absolutely but they need a remake with modern cameras and characters to get this point across the masses in todays world, Especially with Liz Truss bluntly saying “im not afraid to use nuclear weapons” clearly the world forgot about this movie

[@jeffreysokal7264]

This movie should be preserved as a documentary for the life ending event to come. It is as real as the inevitable conflict will be.

[@Jonathan_Venus]

There is nothing inevitable. The world has been nuclear for 60 years and still nothing has happened. And capitalism is not eternal, it will be outdated like all previous social systems. The main cause of problems is scarcity. The best solution is to move to an economy of abundance, based strictly on resources, as Jacque Fresco said for example.

[@ange1098]

@@Jonathan_Venuswe’re already at war you just don’t know it yet.

[@DeltaSierra181]

There should be a remake of this, and broadcast over and over!

[@kcatsb6283]

There is. It’s called Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles.

[@zenokarlsbach4292]

And there should be a part four. That war wasn't finished yet(!).🐉

[@klaasover1322]

no worries, you soon will see it live

[@RennieAsh]

They're in the process of re-making it right now

[@tonybigalow3236]

Poland , Belarus, Niger, Taiwan... Those "producer" are ready to writing a new plot.....

[@tiocfaidh28]

'Threads' is so much more realistic and is a well made film. 'Threads' needs to be watched by all. Thank you to Waleed Higgins for highlight these films/movies.

[@craigsimons817]

Agreed. Threads was far superior, The Day After was too melodramatic.

[@tonybigalow3236]

There is the full movie of Threads on KZbin but it's dubbed in italian. Search Ipotesi Sopravvivenza (1984) , if One of you guys is interested to watch or watch again that raw but great movie

[@matthewpaanotorres7309]

In my opinion, I think both films are great at showing the disasters and consequences of using Nuclear Bombs. I still kindly respect your guys opinions.

[@anthonyvaccari4607]

​@@craigsimons817Watched both films but Threads is grim. Can't erase the film from my mind but weirdly still revisit clips on here if I'm having a wank day.

[@CathyKitson]

Threads was made on about a tenth of a budget, but was much, much better. TDA is not a bad movie, but it's just relative.

[@ddz1375]

I jad to watch this movie in 10th grade for homework. I wish that there was an unredacted version on KZbin. There are so many parts of this movie missing. It scared the bejeezus ot of me at 15 yrs old. It is indelibly etched in my memory.

[@darthnickula6705]

after this catastrophic damage im sure what survivors are even left couldn’t give a sh!t about anything the president has to say.

[@darkreigncometh]

Agreed!

[@ActiveAussie2024]

Well, at least the so called "freedom and democracy" is still intact, even when your cities have been levelled and burnt to cinders.

[@good03boy]

The president and government put us through this crisis.

[@martinpalm5]

@@good03boy Biden sure is trying to get us into one.

[@good03boy]

@@martinpalm5 Trump probably would be no different.

[@walterfashing4700]

Reality is that if it really did happen it would be far worse than what this entails.

[@ortho-g9826]

No sun, no breathable air, no food, no water, no heat, no infrastructure, radioactive fallout, black rain, countless mega fires burning for years, nuclear winter, no hospitals, no doctors, plague, cholera and NO HELP COMING ever. That's for starters.

[@gvalley07]

The President's bullshit speech was the most realistic thing in this movie.

[@ActiveAussie2024]

Yeah, imagine your city just got wiped out and your family and friends are all dead, but at least there is still "freedom and democracy" lol.

[@marcwisti338]

Totally agree. "I too, have suffered personal loss." 🤦 Yeah fucktard, you're responsible for letting it get to the point where a full scale launch happened!!

[@kenwelckle367]

Even if president, vice president & essentially members of staff did get to the bunkers, & senators & congressman got to bunker at Green Brier. It wouldn't matter. Once supplies in these bunkers ran out. They would have choice slowly died by radiation or slowly starve to death.

[@pinebarrenpatriot8289]

A movie is the only way Left wing liberals can blame Reagan for war being it was the most peaceful decade in modern American history🙂

[@andrewjones-productions]

@@kenwelckle367 There would be anarchy anyway and the notion of 'government' be completely ignored and forgotten. A new order would appear from amongst the survivors and it wouldn't necessarily be adhering to the previous way of doing things. Therefore, even if the people that were known as president, speaker, senator or whatever were to survive, their titles and job roles likely would not. Everything that was the establishment, will break down and at least for a while be scorned upon and rejected. What would appear afterwards is not guaranteed to be better either. Just look at what Israel is doing in Gaza. It is a good example of how those that suffered incredible suffering and injustice failed to become compassionate and understanding towards others and create a country where repression and injustice has no place. Don't for one minute, think that we would be any different. Even though there are people in Israel and amongst us who are and would still try to hold on to basic human morals.

[@abrahamdozer6273]

I was in the miltary a decade earlier when the Cold War was at it's grimmest peak. We all understood that none of us were going home after a nuclear war and who would want to survive it anyway?

[@stuartsharman3055]

At 8:49 the screeching, pitiful scream of a woman somewhere close in the background was the one sound that turned my blood to ice, when first hearing it at 19yrs old. It still has the same effect on me now. Its echoed in my head nearly 40yrs on...

[@Izzyduude]

I don’t know why people are treating this movie in a way that it isn’t as bleak or depressing as Threads. They are both really the same in terms of hopelessness and knowing that everyone you see surviving the blasts will die soon anyways. No one will make it out alright. There is no turning back and starvation, lack of shelter, medicine, and a whole list of other things would probably make people wish they died in one of the nukes. I think the fact that this movie has big name movie stars in it, John Lithgow, Jason Robards and Steve Gutenberg and Threads had a lot of no name actors made Threads seem grittier, which it was but TDA has a much broader scale as it takes on a whole state of Kansas and it’s destruction while Threads for the most part is shown in one city in England. Both are excellent films and are on par with each other. On a side note, that Presidential address by the President really made him sound like such an asshole. Now to watch Red Dawn! The 1980’s version of course! Wolverines!

[@marcschneider4845]

Apparently, though, watching TDA made Reagan realize that his belligerence could have real consequences and he ultimately came to terms with Gorbachev.

[@spookrockcity]

Threads was way bleaker than this film. It's not even close.

[@paulwarren9927]

Threads was far more graphic. TDA was fine for what it was, but Threads definitely had it beat in brutality department.

[@d.j.8059]

"On a side note, that Presidential address by the President really made him sound like such an asshole." It really was a great scene, the empty platitudes of the speech intercut with all the real death, destruction and despair. Did a great job showing how, in the event of something like this, all the patriotic bluster of "we didn't surrender" and "we hit them too!" is all useless bullshit. The vast majority of the characters that are still alive, even those in supposed "safe" places like the hospital and the science lab, will be dead soon, and they know it.

[@LordLOC]

Back in 83, except for Jason Robards, the movie was mostly unknown actors at the time. John Lithgow had been in a few things obviously, but nothing huge yet if I remember right.

[@willyjoerockhead]

10th grade.. I remember going to school the next day...this kid was in a panic...our teacher was in the airforce prior to teaching and he was calming the student down.

[@myrnaschroder378]

Live 30 miles south of Sedalia MO. Used to have tons of silos around us. They name all these towns around me so this movie, I remember, scared me to death.

[@broonkhavar1461]

I have a very personal connection with this movie. Many of the "town square" scenes (the ones with the central beige courthouse and brick streets) were shot in my hometown, and as a very small child, i can just barely remember being there just off that square one day while they were filming. Mostly what I remember is the sound of all the commotion and screaming as the extras were running around. Later I watched the movie, and found it quite creepy to see places I recognized during scenes of destruction. What really drove it home though, was the fact that at our home, just a few miles outside of town, we lived only 3 miles away from one of those nuclear silos... and we knew if this all kicked off, it - and we - would all be gone. The town too, most likely. So the beginning caption about the movie being 'less severe', was accurate. There wouldn't be survivors, and those that did, would wish they hadn't.

[@marlenobohn3889]

I remember when I was 9 years old, 1985, when this film arrived at the cinema in my city, Ljubljana in Slovenia. We all went to watch and left horrified. Many left before the end of the session. That night I cried in my room and dad came and hugged me, he tried to comfort me by saying that we lived in a neutral country, and that no bomb would fall on us. But I knew they were on the right side of NATO, and on the left side of the Warsaw Pact, and no one would be spared. That same year, Alphaville released "Forever Young" which talked about all of this. I'm glad the war didn't happen!

[@user-gr8zn1yp5l]

It still can and probably will happen. Even the south Pacific ain't safe bc our govt is part of the 5 eyes surveillance pact!!!

[@christopherlussier4383]

If there was ever a re-boot to be made.... this is one of them. I remember when this came out. it seems to me since way back when we have forgotten the consequences and the real outcome.

[@sizzlechest6070]

Never underestimate the ability of the government to destroy the world.

[@jimmyzhao2673]

Careful who you vote for.

[@animeXcaso]

YOU are the government

[@tsunchoo]

Nice edit, I did see the film years ago so I can't be sure what you've done but I think you've made it seem more modern, less 80's tv.

[@pauld7597]

The MAD mutually assured destruction sums up how insane it would be to use them

[@kenwelckle367]

I would love see this movie be remastered with to days special effect.

[@brbrdeng9122]

While this was a great depiction of post nuclear war. Threads tore your heart out harder than Mola Ram from Temple of Doom

[@chrispnw2547]

Threads was a sucker punch to your soul.

[@bobbob-sv4mk]

😂😂😂😂😂

[@tonyburn]

The US did this. The UK did Threads. Both scared the shit out of me. They should show them to the current crop of bozos.

[@TheFiown]

I dread to think what people would do to each other in the name of survival after such an event.

[@kreativekulturetv2488]

The same thing that Europeans have done to others.

[@jimcrawford5039]

Thanks for this Waleed. I am 81 and never did get to see this movie. Must see if anyone has it! Cheers from Australia.

[@martinmusshorn4709]

Still scary to watch now as when it came on tv

[@rickbase833]

40 years ago this movie came out in 1983. Think we'll make it through 40 more?

[@allanzylbert1306]

Unfortunately for our children, No

[@poppyjons56874]

@@allanzylbert1306 no chance we are all doomed down to mans greed mmmmm

[@poppyjons56874]

but some one with one no sorry half a brain cell will use them at some point in time not too distant eh! mmmmmm buy a geiger counter now while they are still available lol lol lol oh for lol eh! mmmm one with a geiger muller tube in it lol

[@user-xh1if2hi2u]

No under china Biden

[@ll3328]

i learned when i first watched this many years ago that it's better to die in the blast, they are the lucky ones, and if you are anywhere near and as soon as you start to see signs of radiation that unless you want to die in pain it's best to find a way to go out on your own terms

[@Shaun-vs7yr]

Yep. As the saying goes, the living will envy the dead.

[@keizomatsuzaki]

even after this movie was publicly broadcasted, an American high school logo is still atomic-blast mushroom defended by townspeople. people never learn and will repeat the same tragedy.

[@MarcGoudreau]

It's important to remember the outcomes of this WWIII scenario, although painting a devastating picture, does even begin to account for the enormous global environmental catastrophes that will follow a full scale nuclear attack. Not even bacteria will grow on this planet after we're through with it :(

[@bulgingbattery2050]

There were multiple moments in the 1980s where this almost happened for real!

[@spanishpropertyconsultants]

More than many people know about

[@bulgingbattery2050]

I'm sure there were many incidents that were hushed-up and only a small handful of people in the world actually know about.@@spanishpropertyconsultants

[@bobrau830]

It nearly happened in 1962

[@user-zg8ro4fm7m]

Based on what information…

[@strangerinthehampton]

When Reagan joked we begin bombing in 5 minutes USSR went on full alert. We found out after they fell. I believe there was a Russian sub commander that didn't launch when it was thought missiles were incoming which was a false report it turned out.

[@paulhart7739]

The president in this movie failed by getting us into a nuclear fight. Then after America got destroyed he still had the nerve to radio the people and speak to them as if he is their leader

[@tayachting6345]

No, the US president was defending democracy from Soviet tyranny. The soviets invaded a US ally.

[@General_Kenobi_212]

​@tayachting6345 Nobody gives a sh*t about politics if the world has ended. To get on the radio and speak about "American pride" when that blind patriotism was a key factor in destroying the world is the height of insult. His own citizens should have mimicked the French Revolution and "Off with his head"

[@develynseether4426]

​@@tayachting6345I guess it depends on your perception. But your response is still more accurate than the idiot OP.

[@lastchance8142]

My 23 y/o daughter says her generation has more stress. I tried to explain to her that in the 70-80s this was what we were worried about every day. She said "it's different" now. Have to agree.

[@samanthadrennan]

Very vivid memories of watching this my freshman year of college with all my dorm. We were in shock

[@br0q]

saw this film when i was 7 or 8. my mother encouraged my brother and i to watch it. we had a fallout plan just like you would have with tornadoes or earthquakes. not gonna lie, scared me shitless.

[@tacticalpossum7090]

"Hey guys I watched this as a senior and it totally changed our outlook. Thats why we gave you several world wars!"

[@Rose-yq5rs]

Gotta control the population some how, i bet you didnt know ww2 Saved the USA mf economy lol :) 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂❤🎉🎉😂🎉❤🎉🎉❤😂❤🎉❤🎉😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@sanlorenzo7896]

A barren and lawless world? No thanks. Rather be taken out from the blast.

[@jack1701e]

I wasn't alive during the Cold War, the wall fell five years before I was born, but seeing this... horrifies me. The world came so close to this, honestly a bit of a miracle we're still here, but I guess we're never really safe from a nuclear war are we? With Russia fighting in Ukraine I guess the tensions just got that bit tighter. I hope we never, ever see another nuke deployed in action. The world's seen two detonated in anger and thousands in testing, lets hope we never see another outside of tv, games and books.

[@MM-vv8mt]

"The Living shall envy the Dead."

[@jefferybrewer2]

This movie set me on my path to prepping when I was 12yr old

[@tiocfaidh28]

We all now have this coming for REAL. It must be stopped NOW!

[@Maxim_Miroshnichenko]

No one will listen to us. Politicians and the military are pushing us towards the abyss.

[@tbd-1]

Welcome to 1950...

[@doneyarts47]

And how would you propose to stop it then? Placards? Stiff letters to your MP? Meh.

[@matt_canon]

They thought the same thing when the movie was made, and twenty-thirty years before it. There is a reason it hasn't happened, and is highly unlikely to happen. Because a nuclear war is against every country's best self-interests. No one wins or profits. No one is going to launch a first strike only to be obliterated in a second strike. The only ones whom would (jihadist suicide bombers) aren't exactly a nuclear power.

[@tiocfaidh28]

@@doneyarts47 Nope, only people in each country making a revolution and establishing a new world based on people's well being, friendship and peace.

[@lemmdus2119]

Now to watch the original Red Dawn!

[@user-me7su7ld6w]

It's better to be evaporated immediately rather than to be devoured alive by other survivors

[@paulharris6143]

Threads was a much better depiction as it described the aftermath through three generations. It focused on the family lineage not a place. It was more brutal desperate and graphic. The story of Kansas was chosen simply because it's heartland USA.

[@sid2112]

We have a bugout cabin up in the mountains. It's well away from most everything and has a potable water source. My Dad built it in the 1970s and I maintain it to this day.

[@scottmatheson3346]

enjoy your radiation sickness.

[@Hi-lb8cq]

They have tons of nuclear test videos on yt but if you watch the explosion in beirut that's what it looks like on a smaller scale...just imagine the explosion happening in multiple areas

[@Keti_Mporta]

Minus the heat flash and radiation. Those 2 are devastating by themselves besides the shockwave.

[@Nothing-zw3yd]

Kids nowadays are worried about losing their phones or not getting enough likes on social media. We worried about this. lol

[@AbandonedMines11]

I know of some remote, isolated abandoned mines that go in pretty deep that I could head to in the event something like this is coming down the pike.

[@lashlarue59]

and then what? You want to live a Mad Max lifestyle killing anything that moves just to get some food or a bit of water for the rest of your life? Even with the enormous death tolls there are going to be millions of people fighting over those last Snickers bars.

[@tonydawson7]

When this was made the doomsday clock was three minutes to midnight it’s now just 90seconds

[@robertjutton6079]

It's been said the living would envy the dead

[@popermen694]

Fun fact. They do drills and stuff with launching nukes. Where presidents or folks under the president have to decide to launch. They have done hundreds of them. During these drills not a single person decided to launch. Not once. Not a single time. Even when they were told the US was destroyed and were asked to retaliate. The presidents and others beneath them choose not to push the button. Every single time they choose not to. No matter what the scenario was, no matter how badly it was for the US. This is reassuring because it is probably the case for the other side. In fact evidence leaked by the Russians has shown this to be the case. Nobody wants this. Nukes are not useful for anything except threats.

[@guytech7310]

Missileers always launch during exercises. They are never told if its just an exercise or the real thing, they always presume it just another test drill.

[@timothyhayden]

TRUE FUN FACTS. The U.S. Military has very strict psychological testing for its ICBM Missile, Ohio Subs, Bomber Pilot-Nuclear Command battle staff. It does constant testing and evaluation of these people. If there is any hesitation from these officers not to follow the orders of the President of the United States and the National Command Authority to uphold the U.S. Constitution, then these people are relieved of duty and replaced by officers who will follow the order, regardless of the fact that they may die defending the U.S. Homeland.

[@scottmatheson3346]

let's try some critical thinking: do you really believe the military would leave on the job people who failed to carry out their orders when tested?

[@denisemead4020]

Filmed in Lawrence, KS where I grew up. It was a shock when I watched the movie.

[@billieletourneau558]

I remember watching this as a kid and being absolutely terrified.

[@pageljazz]

Kinda hard to imagine this NOT happening.

[@aptknifethrowerguy8342]

As a kid this was our biggest fear...now I'm afraid of our own government

[@BushiM37]

Wouldn’t put it past them to do it as a false flag.

[@BGRANT777X]

@@BushiM37 let me guess, Trump will save us all right?

[@connorsimpson9670]

A world with no peace no love no law There is only Death and fear

[@RS-rj5sh]

Although by modern cinematic standards this is obviously outdated, as a child of the 1980's this movie was huge and not just in the US. There were rumours that after watching it President Reagan developed a determination to do anything to avoid nuclear war with the Soviets, this would come to full fruition with the arrival of Gorbachev as Soviet Premier a few years later, and the eventual end of the Cold War.

[@JamesJones-cx5pk]

That's when you spread your feet about shoulder width apart, bend down as far as you can and kiss your ass goodbye.🥶

[@scottmatheson3346]

you must be very flexible, i can't even give myself a blowjob.

[@unguelootay8589]

The President's speech was an "lol im sorry fam uwu"

[@vernonsheldon-witter1225]

3 years out of KU and this scared the crap out of me.

[@jeanetteschock4744]

I remember my papa working at Long Beach Naval Shipyard. I had to get permission to watch this movie and it was an amazing history class

[@stewie374]

This movie and Red Dawn were the ONLY movies to every truly scare me.

[@ts-900]

Today the movie would be Blue Dawn because the Commies are now blue in America.

[@chrisholland7367]

In 1984 the BBC produced a made for T.V. docu drama called Threads . It was based in and around the UK, the third largest city in the North of England Sheffield. It ran for two hours and it showed the build up to a nuclear strike on Sheffield and the aftermath. It pulls no punches and shows in graphic detail the collapse of British society and what it may look like 10 years into a possible future. It was meticulously reashered, which gives it more of a shattering impact on the viewer. Well, it's worth a watch.

[@ts-900]

@@chrisholland7367 It is one of the better ones, that is for sure. However, it is completely optimistic in the extreme.

[@chrisholland7367]

@ts-900 'Threads' gives the viewer the no way out . I've watched it many times and have it on DVD. The Day After offers the viewer some degree of hope. It's a very glossy production. The United Kingdom is a much smaller country, so the destruction will be total . At present the total population of the UK is around 67 million people. It was estimated in Threads that 10 years after a nuclear strike, Britain's population would plumet to that of medieval levels of around 4 million. That means from direct and indirect deaths related to nuclear war, you've lost around 64 million people in just a decade.

[@ts-900]

@@chrisholland7367 Did you watch When the Wind Blows (1986)? Now that's a scary movie! Threads was overly optimistic. It has a total of 210 megatons of explosions fall on the UK, which is like 140 average missiles or 8 H-bombs. It is true that a nuclear war might be that limited, but I wouldn't count on it. The Day After, I think had 4 H-bombs go off -- not sure if it ever mentions the rest of the planet. But it destroys all the places that I lived. I think all that destruction is why people vote for politicians that will bring about these scenarios. I guess that they don't realize how crazy optimistic those movies were.

[@dunzen4692]

The last comment was prophetic as the two power blocks eventually came together. But after years of distrust and the US military machine economy began to wane (it was much more able to survive the fallout of peace than the USSR's was). Here we are yet again on the doorstep of oblivion thanks to the old adversaries and their military contractors placing us back in harms way over the squabble in Ukraine.

[@Your7thboostershot]

Exactly. Sad indeed

[@calebh7902]

America and the west need to STOP pissing the Russians off.

[@Pdmc-vu5gj]

@@calebh7902 Huh? Russia attacked Ukraine. Don't be so soft.

[@calebh7902]

@@Pdmc-vu5gj Is that so? You mean to tell me there was no war going in and Ukraine hasn't been killing its own civilians since 2014?

[@Pdmc-vu5gj]

@@calebh7902 Russia invaded Ukraine in 2014. Illegally took over Crimea and the Donbas. This was condemned and not recognized by the United Nations and by nearly every western industrialized country. Since then, Ukraine has waged a guerilla war in the Donbas and other Russian occupied territory to liberate and restore their country. The United States would do no different.

[@smokyquartz5817]

They still show sunlight in this.

[@alzyerpal-TV]

This movie contributed to my teenage anxiety disorde. It makes me nervous now.

[@elchicano187]

It really makes me understand how if nuclear war would ever occur in the end. Nobody wins. It’s a foolish weapon to use dependent on those who are in power by their ego…

[@BLINDTUBEMARES]

I've only just started watching this but I don't think it's going to end well

[@Rich-yj4ub]

It doesn't.

[@BLINDTUBEMARES]

@@Rich-yj4ub thanks, mate

[@topfitnessssss]

@@BLINDTUBEMARESYou welcum

[@ts-900]

They sank my battleship!

[@kapitan517]

It took me forty years to stomach watching these clips again.

[@user-le1vv8lh7d]

I recommend the soviet movie " The letters from dead men" 1986. So i don't know is it in English or with subtitles.Great scared art house! Especially the part at the middle, speach " a few words in defence of humanity".

[@charliefoxtrot5001]

Depressing, but great movie. The director, Konstantin Lopushansky, assisted Andrei Tarkovsky in directing "Stalker" in 1979. Some of the artistic elements of post-apocalyptic drama used in Tarkovsky's "Stalker" were also used in 1986 in Lopushansky's "Letters from a Dead Man", like people walking through ankle-high water.

[@clivesilk3501]

great Britain had their own version of this in 1984 it was called (threads)

[@DarthVader-1701]

At that point the humane thing to do would have been to have a second nuclear strike just to wipe everybody out and spare suffering.

[@valseyer4486]

How, the cease fire existed only because there wernt any personel left to man planes, submarines, missile silos etc. The counter offensive part 2 would be useless both in U.S.S.R. and U.S.A.

[@DarthVader-1701]

​@@valseyer4486Let the computers launch the final wave, if they are still functional. If a computer were underground far enough if would be possible.

[@valseyer4486]

@@DarthVader-1701 well now maybe?

[@teresajeffries3934]

This movie scared the bejeezus out of me. We lived at offutt afb snd a silo was very near base housing. Offutt was on the list of areas targeted in a nuclear launch.

[@patrickmacgregor7676]

I remember watching this in my English class when I was in 8th grade.

[@thorstambaugh1520]

You dont laugh at preppers after this movie