The Day After (1983) & ABC News Viewpoint original WPVI-TV 6ABC Broadcast 11-20-1983

[@zoinks7014]

I always find commercials from this era oddly comforting. I think it’s the warm, fuzzy, analogue, lofi-ness of the footage. Just takes you back. Nostalgia’s a helluva drug.

[@joerobert-qe9cn]

i like the commercials still putting on your English leather on

[@HBO1984.]

You took the words right out of my mouth. 🫵

[@joerobert-qe9cn]

@@HBO1984. do remember what bought at grocery. store

[@charliefoster67]

I agree with you and I graduated from high school in 85 so I definitely remember watching 😮

[@joerobert-qe9cn]

@@charliefoster67 I think today is even more creepier than back in our time

[@rolo7110]

I saw this movie when it aired. I saw it in my dorm room, alone. I was really affected by it, slightly traumatized. The next day, it was all anyone could talk about. It is just as relevant now, 40 years later, as it was then.

[@gregrech7556]

rolo7110 If you think THIS movie was hard-core, watch " Threads" It's basically a British version of " The Day After ". You will see some scenes that will make you cringe. And although they don't always SHOW you what's happening, you can pretty much figure it out. AND IT'S HORRIFYING!!! With all due respect to the people who made The Day After, Threads gives you a much more realistic idea of the horror of Nuclear War.

[@CalgaryStampedersClassics]

@@gregrech7556threads makes this look like Sesame Street

[@andrewd.conard5088]

With the situation in Ukraine, they should re-air this.

[@marietodd3247]

I remember watching it when it aired here in Canada, it was a Sunday night, I was sitting on my couch alone in my apartment, and when it was over, I was so unnerved, I remember opening my curtains wide open for I wanted to see other people out there --watching it again, much older, I'm still creeped out, especially when Putin, just today, mentioned something wrt Nuclear weapons, and what movie won at the Oscar's just happened to be Oppenheimer, which was a really good pic🤷‍♀️🙋‍♀️🤟.

[@UncleDavesKitchen]

This Is Not A Test from 1962 was like this...a sheriff stops people on a mountain side pending an atomic blast. Great movie.

[@slamjam9858]

never forget that Soviet military officer Stanislav Petrov saved humanity from nuclear destruction on September 26, 1983 and this is a true story.

[@jimbotron70]

@@minty_Joe No he wasn't, he was neither punished nor praised, they let him go discharged some years after.

[@Izzyduude]

There have been countless times nuclear war has accidentally started but this one is well known. I believe the radar was seeing missiles coming in but really it was clouds with the sun reflecting off them. Thankfully a very smart and patient man was there to help save us all.

[@backachershomestead]

Don't forget "Threads". It wasn't as good as Day after.

[@jeffreygilbert4967]

@@backachershomestead No, it was orders of magnitude better!

[@jeffreygilbert4967]

There needs to be a statue of that guy in every city all over the world. Great comment, cuz very few people know who he is or what he did.

[@winstonslone2797]

Love the 80s commercials. Takes me right back to being a little kid, eating cereal on the floor in front of the TV

[@insideoutsideupsidedown2218]

Still have that Commodore 64

[@XXSkunkWorksXX]

>.. and that is what you take from this, is it? - congratulations.

[@PeterVoorrecht]

I was statute in germany, not far from the Iron curting, i was there with the artillerie. 4 yrs......night patrol was f scary. ❤

[@tarstarkusz]

@@insideoutsideupsidedown2218 Believe it or not, there is somewhat of a renaissance of new games for old computers and game consoles. There are almost as many new Amiga games coming out last year and this year as back in the 80s. It's not just the Amiga. The C64, the Atari 8-bit line, the 2600, Colecovision. Over in Britain the ZX spectrum and Amstrad CPC is also getting tons and tons of brand new software. Much of it is much better than anything released back in the 80s., Lots of crap too, but lots of good stuff. The development tools are better and since these are labors of love and not to make money, they keep working on it until it is good, not just good enough to ship and sell. Some of the best games for any of these platforms have been produced in the last 5 years. I don't think we are near the peak either.

[@УральскийДеформатор]

I have lived in Russia all my life and I still live in it, I watched this film many times, probably back in the days of Gorbachev's perestroika and Glasnost. I've never seen an American commercial from 1983. In the 90s we had a lot of American advertising, and in the 80s we had neither American nor Soviet advertising. More precisely, there was Soviet advertising during perestroika, but there was very little of it, and it was shown only in between broadcasts and films. And this despite the fact that there were only 2 television channels in the Soviet Union. But from this advertisement, I concluded that there was a lot of it in America, and it was very intrusive. In the 90s, there was a lot of advertising in Russia, although in the mid-90s there was a period when advertising was almost not shown. But it didn't last long. A year at most.

[@tspot816]

Those commercials sure do bring back memories!

[@johncamp7679]

This might be the only time I’ve watched commercials on purpose.

[@pallen49]

I graduated from high school in '82'...When this movie aired over a year later I was like ' DAMN, I barely started my life and it's gonna be over already '?..Had me worried really hard..I actually have it recorded on a VHS tape, which I still have it to this day..

[@firecapt325]

I was 12 when this first aired. I remember watching it with my family in the suburbs of Philadelphia, PA then going to school the next day and it was all everyone could talk about. Part of the reason why I joined the USAF in 1989. There's another movie out there called "Threads"..... produced in the U.K. I highly recommend watching that one as well.

[@kylereese4822]

The movie The Day After Tomorrow is strangely linked to the movie as that would the climate change/environment we would be living in...

[@allen1755]

A true patriot inspired by the hypothesis of what would happen if everybody went crazy like today

[@mellaniyswansong7135]

Thread is another tragically good movie. In the early 80s I had rented the movie to watch for my 13th birthday slumber party. My friends were wondering wtf was wrong with me for choosing it. lol

[@gemmaselby5584]

Yes, "Threads" .. Crikey. 🇳🇿

[@DigUpHerBones85]

Love threads

[@Gaambit]

Thank you for adding this, and ESPECIALLY by keeping the Viewpoint portion included immediately afterwards, which is somehow more of a time capsule than the movie. Really enjoyed watching as originally presented.

[@kylereese4822]

literally out side the box life saving thinking --- The best place to hide would be in the sewers under a building as that would be a good barrier for the radiation... block up any water inlets and use them to travel or make new tunnels... 4-6 months would be a good time frame to stay under ground and limited venturing top side... dug outs for moped engines running on booze would be a good light/heat source... possibly grow food under there using car lights...

[@DonaldWesterdale]

I was an extra on this film for a few days. Very eye opening. I made a point of getting close to Mr. Robards and we looked at each other on set while it was being set up. He is every actors ideal career structure if not his talent. Memorable moment fore sure

[@tayachting6345]

What scenes were you in?

[@DonaldWesterdale]

Some of the interior hospital scenes as a male nurse and in the parking garage loading”bodies” on to a truck

[@thephantomeagle2]

I was in high school. We had a school assembly the next day where they showed it for those that couldn’t watch. This was the 1980s, and I lived in a very small town. Not everyone could get this clearly since it was antennas. Heck, at that time, more than a few people I grew up with didn't even have TVS, especially rural kids that grew up on farms. They showed it in the gymnasium for first period, way too small of a town for an auditorium. We had all of our classes talk about it. This scared a lot of people, really scared a lot of people. The main message was "there are no winners in Nuclear war."

[@douglaskrusell8058]

Small town in Michigan was this town in Monroe area?

[@thephantomeagle2]

@@douglaskrusell8058 Battle Creek area

[@thephantomeagle2]

@@douglaskrusell8058 Battle Creek area.

[@thephantomeagle2]

@@douglaskrusell8058 Battle Creek.

[@ericspuck6569]

Thanks to Joe's Video Archives for posting this. I was 11 when this aired; had that Commodore 64, my mother had to take out a credit union loan to afford it. GOD love her, she was so good to us kids. Watching this again is nostalgic, gotta admit this time in the 80's , it seems like a different planet. The commercials are fantastic. I remember a lot of kids at school were pretty shook up are watching this.

[@kevinroley4680]

My first computer was a Vic 20

[@ButcherSevenActual]

@@kevinroley4680 same here - got it for Xmas though I don't remember it being much of any real use, but that was probably just my lack of knowledge.

[@MargYork]

Try to buy a brand new car now for about 8 grand!:)

[@MrJ-dc3yz]

This is a time capsule with the commercials and viewpoint after the movie. Hopefully it will stay just a movie.

[@joerobert-qe9cn]

no was sale pitch make sure you went to grocery store the next day

[@angeladay7544]

It will,...cos God Reigns on High & Amen !to this, I say.❤.

[@Wisdom-Nuggets-Tid-Bits]

@@angeladay7544 "cos"????

[@Wisdom-Nuggets-Tid-Bits]

@@joerobert-qe9cn Noooo!

[@Wisdom-Nuggets-Tid-Bits]

Then you must be asleep

[@davidpietarila699]

This movie needs to be remastered and re aired. The missiles haven’t gone away.

[@julianortiz4151]

It’s available on DVD and Blu-Ray.

[@silikon2]

fwiw, the amount of nuclear warheads in the world not only peaked soon after this movie, it's declined by about 85%. Are we safer? Kind of doubt it though that has more to do with additional nuclear states: Pakistan, North Korea. (Israel too but this was widely believed at the time of this movie.) Also, that means there's still over 10,000 warheads, so...

[@darinp5612]

this propaganda movie would be an hour long.

[@mmay6621]

Just ask Hawaii

[@brockreynolds870]

@@silikon2 Very true. I have a missle silo 3 miles from my house. A farmer now uses it to store hay.

[@arthurweems2839]

This is how as a 12 year old in the 7 th grade in 1983, will remember, " The Day After." Of course, when they reran the movie in January 1989, alot things changed at the time. But the memory remained.

[@knowledgeseeker-yy1ix]

I remember it also...I was 14...living in a somewhat more innocent period of time..in a small midwestern village.

[@clairestephens4916]

I find it a little bit creepy that 2 of the top comments on this were 12 years old and that's how old I was when I saw this. My depression era parents never screened anything I watched on TV. They just assumed everything was okay if the networks approved it for prime time. This movie terrified me and I am now 53 and still remember how horrified I was after watching this. I never will forget that horse running across the field. I don't remember the other kids talking about it at school though.

[@davidfairfield651]

I too was 12 or 13 at the time and watched it with my mother. When it was over we were silent, I said goodnight and lay in bed mostly staring at a dark ceiling trying to think of happier things but couldn't and didn't sleep. At the bus stop, on the bus and at school even in class discussion about the movie consumed the day. As a 54yr old adult I still think about a nuclear war and it's horrifying to imagine the carnage and detestation it would bring. Here we are today facing this reality even more so since 1983. I pray it never happens and that if so God welcomes me immediately and I don't have to linger in the aftermath waiting for the inevitable slowly and witness others dying slowly as well.

[@HawaiiElevatorChannel]

I was 17 and it was graphic. Then I saw Threads the next year and that was even more graphic

[@AntonArmsberg]

This movie, in all its dark glory, is still a very rosy picture of a REAL nuclear war.

[@TheLucanicLord]

Compared to Threads, produced by the BBC around the same time, this is a musical comedy.

[@silikon2]

@@TheLucanicLordThis one didn't include nuclear winter, which wasn't as wildly known when this was made. Also, Threads is set in the UK and the size and geography there means it really would most likely be far worse than North America. But if you want to get super sad, watch Testament (1983). It's far more understated than either of those with no gore or even fx. It's kind of terrifying because it feels like the way it might well happen for most people... no warning whatsoever.

[@harvestcanada]

looking in hindsight, it's a clown show compared to Threads, the docu-drama S88t me up big time it was utterly horrific, so horrific in fact that Margaret Thatcher tried to ban it!!.

[@bernmcnicholl8345]

The first movie i saw in the genre was 1959 On the Beach. I saw it around 1968. It was less graphic, but takes place in Australia who suffered no damage but months later the deadly radiation slowly worked it's way down the Australian continent. There was no cure for the radiation. The government gave everyone cyanide pills to decide when they wanted to die as it was going to happen anyways. Very good movie, horrible in a different way.

[@silikon2]

@@bernmcnicholl8345 I saw it when I was pretty young and didn't understand what was happening. Many of the scenes (car race for example) were bewildering.

[@saintlybeginnings]

The discussion following the movie was so refreshing. Respectful conversations by the panel and respectful dialogue by the audience, as well as being dressed appropriately for the venue.

[@threeminuteshate]

This kind of civil discourse sadly may never occur in the US again. Every word spoken now is intended to denigrate the other side and make them appear evil to their base. I mourn this era.

[@EphemeralProductions]

Yep. Sad how far society has fallen, because you’d never see That today. :(

[@cacatr4495]

This aired on Nov. 20, 1983, which was a Sunday. Does anyone remember the "izod" sport shirts? How different it was then, with American infrastructure nearly at its best. So much of America was beautiful. Life was so much simpler, people weren't nearly as unstable as they would become, things were far more sensible and peaceable. Events that would later be done, hadn't happened yet. Does anyone here remember?

[@MargYork]

The Izod shirts and The Preppy Look!:) I remember a lot about the 80s! Anything Laura Ashley for the house was a must!

[@cacatr4495]

@@MargYork the turned up collars, designer jeans, and by '85, boxy jackets with shoulder pads, big hair, big jewelry and overdone makeup. But in '82 - '83, fashions were still softer, gentler. In so many ways, we were clueless as to what was being done behind the scenes that has since become evident.

[@EphemeralProductions]

I used to wear em as a kid in the 80s. lol

[@maryshellsmith6627]

OMG! I am now 54, and I STILL remember this movie from when it was on TV in the 80's. I remember being so scared, I couldn't sleep, and my grandfather reassuring me that nuclear war would be so devastating, that no one would ever start one. I think of it a lot nowadays, actually, with the looming threat of nuclear war. I wonder what my dear grandfather would have to say if he were still alive? 🤔 Actually, I don't remember the movie itself, at all. What I remember is the name of the movie, and the intense fear I had after watching it. I can still remember everything about the conversation with my grandfather. So in that way, this movie had a profound effect on my childhood. I still think about it to present day.

[@Zoomer30_]

As a proud owner of a Commodore 64 when I was a kid/teenager (actually used it from 6th grade all the way through Community College) I approve of the commercials.

[@Michael_Knight823]

Mine was an Apple //e, but I sure _wish_ I had a Commodore 64.

[@arthurweems2839]

I should've bought the Commodre 128 when it was available at service Merchandise

[@kgjung2310]

"64k of memory? Who is going to need more than that?"

[@jimbotron70]

​@@kgjung2310 38911 bytes after BASIC loaded.

[@Latter-Day-Aint]

I still used a C64 in the 90s and I actually miss mine. There was something fancy about booting up from a floppy disk - the thin black ones, not the 1.44MB high density disks. I probably used more than 1MB just typing this comment!

[@scottwolf497]

Thank you for posting this original broadcast. I was 17 and a HS senior at the time in Wilmington DE. We watched the Philly local news including WPVI, CH 6 every day. This film still stands up. Can't believe I'm 58 now!! LOL.Wow-41 years.

[@michaelcoulter1725]

5.49 for a steak dinner at Denny's my how times have changed

[@Pollux95630]

Still roughly $33/day for rental car though.

[@michaelcoulter1725]

@@Pollux95630 my friend you ain't lying

[@brunoblivious]

Just looked at an inflation calculator and apparently $5.49 was the equivalent of about $17 today, which is about what a shitty steak at Denny's costs today.

[@michaelcoulter1725]

@@brunoblivious yep you're right about that

[@michaelcoulter1725]

@@brunoblivious of course in the 90s it was a different story

[@RoySATX]

Being one of the latch-key TV kids born in the mid 60s, I've seen a lot of commercials in my life. Regardless of how they looked at the time, all 20-year-old or older commercials have the same nostalgic look and feel, no matter the era.

[@DrEdCalle]

One of the greatest films of all time. Thank you for this. A lot of great actors.

[@doylejodi7502]

I was 12 when this aired. I watched it alone in my bedroom. (Dad had died in ‘81 & I was given his little B&W TV for my room.) I didn’t see it in colour until a few years ago. I remembered feeling terror. It’s so hard for civilians who feel powerless. Our lives are in the hands of the top few & we can’t do anything about it except hope.

[@JuanMendoza-qd5lm]

Sorry for your loss.

[@richardmoore692]

I started in grammar school in 1959, during those happy 'Cold War' days. Our school, built in 1898, was our local fallout shelter. We youngsters were led out to the school's hallway, instructed to crouch and cover your head. We only lived across the street, so I'd go home for lunch each day. While sitting at our dining room table, the 12 O'Clock alarm went off, and I flew under that table, until my mother called out to me. I saw this in '83, and it vividly showed what cataclysmic changes it could bring. I recently watched it again, and it still come out of it with a solemnity that's still hard to find words for ...

[@javierp9624]

😊thank you for sharing your story

[@davetimmons4832]

Threads is so powerful its terrifying to watch and envision the utter madness.

[@KashouWannabe]

Having grown up with the Commodore 64, seeing all these US ads for it is giving all manner of nostalgia. An unexpected delight while watching a film about nuclear annihilation.

[@texaswunderkind]

It really was a great computer for the price, and ahead of its time in terms of usability.

[@greggd2027]

This movie should be remastered and replayed, if not remade in a 21st Century context, and again aired around the world. At the time, it was aired in America and a little while later in the Soviet Union. President Regan and the Soviet president had a conversation about their thoughts of the movie. I believe this movie helped to prevent WWII. The world could certainly benefit from it again - because East/West relations have returned to a very dangerous point, perhaps more so than in the 80s.

[@the_once-and-future_king.]

Won't ever be remade as Hollywood won't want to upset their puppetmasters. Why do you think the 'enemy' in Top Gun: Maverick were never actually named?

[@greggd2027]

@@the_once-and-future_king. I hear that! The puppet masters seem to want war this time around. They're making big $$ off of all this conflict

[@ace10229]

​​​@@the_once-and-future_king.The enemy in the first Top Gun was also unnamed, because they are not heavy on geopolitics :( Aside from that, some would absolutely love a modern nuclear war movie, but its more likely that Hollywood won't contribute because it's not what's on the average American mind (case in point: the movie Civil War)

[@patrickdezenzio4988]

The movie would have lasted about an hour after the attacks with the Millennials and Gen Z generations. The moment they couldn't use their phones, they would have ran out outside and absorb enough radiation to kill them within a few hours to a few days.

[@rommy143]

The commercials are everything! So much nostalgia.

[@christopherbranski1720]

Watched in 1983 with my family on Camp Lejuene, NC in 1983; watching again today in an apartment in Mexico City. The effect hasn’t died down

[@kensmith2839]

Semper Fi, 72-76.

[@30AndHatingIt]

How long before the cartel gets you?

[@matthew4057]

​@@30AndHatingIt There are no cartels in Mexico City... You see too much tv

[@30AndHatingIt]

@@matthew4057 I was kidding. I know it's all in the north and south.

[@AKayfabe]

I saw this movie when I was 8. My parents didn’t limit what I watched as a child. We did talk about it after, and my father had tested Atomic bombs back when he was in the Navy so I think he wanted us to watch it. It didn’t traumatize me but it did make me interested in survivalist things later on. There was a bomb shelter underneath my school growing up, I used to sneak in there and skip classes. It was filled with very old survival foods and other things. It reminded me of this movie and I rewatched it when I was older. It’s kind of stuck with me all my life somehow. Disaster movies, Apocalypse movies, have been my favourite kind ever since. Then I watched The Divide, holy crap. But this was the first.

[@ritainthebreezetv8478]

I was a spouse living on Whiteman AFB when this was aired. I was scared to death for quite awhile later. What's more scary is it is more likely to happen now then ever before.

[@doreenblatz2440]

Trump 2024.

[@jessemichaels2818]

@@doreenblatz2440just what we need, someone with 91 felony charges and a threat to national security. Get your head out of your bum bum.😂

[@hubertwalters4300]

​@@jessemichaels2818BS,if Biden was President during a nuclear attack on the US, he would not order a counterstrike, he would be afraid it would hurt our chances of began end to hostilities and getting our enemies to follow the established world based rules.

[@markroberts928]

^oh look, found the chump

[@jessemichaels2818]

@@markroberts928 Getting a bit emotional huh? Why are you guys so touched? Buckle up buttercup, Dark Brandon gonna send shivers down peoples spines. 🤣😂

[@livetotell100]

I was 10 years old when this premiered. My parents wanted me to watch it. And once it was over, it was recommended that the parents, that let their children watch, ask if they had any questions. I asked if this could actually happen. Because movies aren't usually real. It's imaginary. My mom started by saying well I don't know....But my Dad cut in and said yes, absolutely this could happen. The commercials bring back a lot of memories as well.

[@Indrid__Cold]

The commercials are GREAT! They tell you as much about what was going on with the world as the Talking Heads on Viewpoint. Actually, I don't think Viewpoint was ever an actual series, but I guess that title sounded better than "Smart Men Restating The Obvious." I just remember how all the participants sounded so full of themselves. Each was trying to look smarter than the other while saying things like, "we must never let this happen." What no one was saying at the time was that as long as the richest 1% of the world was making bank off of the sweat of those actually doing the work, nothing like nuclear war would happen. The purpose of this, and similar films of the time was to make those who were losing their livelihoods to globalization appreciative for the few crumbs that continued to drop from behind the great impenetrable grating that separated the haves from the have nots. "Just be happy we haven't blown up the world!" was the message. As the great manufacturing centers in Europe and the US were being moved overseas, the threat of nuclear war kept people from protesting in the streets. Now, with AI delivering on the promise of eliminating even more middle-class jobs, we again see the nuclear war boogeyman being dragged out of the closet. What a bull-shit-show!

[@MinifigNewsguy]

Viewpoint actually did aired and only occasionally during big news events.

[@leegilley221]

You sound like a true commie. Hate capitalism , well it's better than anything else.

[@sbr98]

I don't think the treat of nuclear was is a bull shit show. I think, as Kissinger mentioned, there is always the chance of a nut job setting off a nuke. The 1% Ruling Class has no control over that.

[@Heathen9]

The only Bull Shit is that comment of yours.

[@jessemichaels2818]

Yup, dead on! And now the wealthy are using A.I. to calculate how to squeeze the last bread crumbs out of everyone, while keeping people pitted against each other. The most dangerous weapon, is when people of all differences join together and rise up against the rich and tyrannical dictators to protest and object how we’re being treated. My family has had enough, my friends had enough, strangers I meet everyday had enough and I’ve had enough of being treated like a criminal slave in the United States of America!🏴‍☠️🆓☠️

[@daneast]

I was 11 and saw this on TV (I think most people did - as you can tell with all the various tie-ins, it was massively promoted), and it scared the crap out of me lol

[@l337pwnage]

Who else is watching this on their Commodore 64? 😁 😛

[@KristiTangeman]

😂

[@350125GOW]

Yeah I'm Keeping Up.

[@ALFvMelmak]

Commodore 128 ‼️ 😌

[@cuginkcain5430]

We all know it's in almost every house. So of course almost all of us are. God I love my Commodore 64.

[@Michael_Knight823]

@@350125GOW ☝

[@community1949]

There hasn't been a point during my 75 year life that nuclear war hasn't come up - real or in movies. That's been hanging over our heads since 1945 when they dropped those 2 bombs on Japan.

[@thomashenshallhydraxis]

It is a trip to think about it though. Since USA actually dropped them on Japan; ever since then we kept population scared over this topic. We created the bomb because Germany was going to make bomb; but then we dropped it on a completely different country not making the bomb.

[@EphemeralProductions]

Yup

[@CherylSmith-nc3lz]

I keep watching this movie bc of Jason robards

[@aldunlop4622]

@@thomashenshallhydraxis I've never shed a tear about those Japanese scumbags though.

[@paulhyde1834]

I was 11 years old when I saw Neville Shute's 'On The Beach'.... It scared the sh*t out of me and affected me for decades!

[@threeminuteshate]

It really is a sorrowful book. Civilization in the southern hemisphere just being slowly smothered out of existence.

[@georgekaplan6451]

1983 was my second last year in high school in New Zealand and we went on a field trip to see it in the cinema. It was quite dramatic.

[@FranSanTeeth90]

It wasn't shown in the cinema 🤔

[@Milnoc]

@@FranSanTeeth90 It was outside of the United States.

[@tinalouisestagg]

It was indeed in cinemas outside the US. I went to see it at my local cinema in Tasmania, Australia.

[@sc1338]

That’s really interesting they made you guys watch this. NZ would probably be pretty safe if this did happen 😂

[@goarmysleepinthemud.]

@@FranSanTeeth90In New Zealand it was. I grew up there. FFS you Americans need to learn outside of the USA people may do things differently.

[@EphemeralProductions]

I remember watching this as a 9 year old. Freaked me right out. I've always been easily impressionable and it really got to me. I remember my mom seeing my reaction and her saying something like "Hon it's just a movie" or something like that, to try to calm me. I never forgot the first woman who was vaporized (with the blue pantsuit). That's the only visual I remembered from the movie all these years, until I watched it again on here a few years ago. That's how much of an impression it made on me. Still spooks me!

[@clairestephens4916]

My most impactful visual was of the horse running across the field and then it was a x-ray skeleton. It was only a split second shot but that stuck with me and still does. I was 12 when I first watched this and I am 53 now.

[@EphemeralProductions]

@@clairestephens4916 so sad. He was so pretty, then Zapped into nothingness. :(

[@hubertwalters4300]

I think the effects of a real nuclear and the aftermath,would be far worse than anything detected in this movie.

[@EphemeralProductions]

@@hubertwalters4300 exactly what it says at the ending of it. lol

[@judygaddis3098]

I remember watching this when it aired (unfortunately with my 9-year old stepdaughter in attendance) and vividly recall what a difficult time I had trying to quell her fears afterwards. I knew she would learn the truth/the real possibilities soon enough - I didn't feel the need to ruin her childhood at that point in time.

[@davidpotwin1691]

2024 and it feels like seconds away from living through this movie

[@l337pwnage]

It's already happening, just w/o the radiation. How far collapse happens, tho, is anybody's guess.

[@LoveyK]

No it doesn’t. If you weren’t a teenager or older in ‘84 you have no clue. Ronnie Reagan was President.

[@l337pwnage]

lol, I tried to explain "it's here", but youtube didn't like it.

[@l337pwnage]

@@LoveyK it's actually much worse now

[@LoveyK]

@@l337pwnageNo it’s not. But go ahead and vote for Trump in November if you want it to be worse.

[@vinnyp3351]

I lived a couple of mikes away from a firework factory that exploded 6 days after this movie aired. I remember the house shaking and seeing the smoke. I was 7. My parents recorded it on videotape. I wasn’t allowed to watch it. The day the firework factory explosion happened I had a babysitter watching me they were out. I found the videotape. Put the movie on and I remember the part with the explosions. Then seeing a real explosion happen outside my dining room window scared the crap out of me.

[@nyratk1]

Grucci? This happened two years before I was born but my parents told me about The Day After and the Grucci explosion a few days later. We've lived in the same town as the Gruccis but miles away from where the plant was on the complete opposite northern part of town.

[@vinnyp3351]

Yes the Grucci firework explosion. I lived in Medford. The house I lived in faced south. The neighborhood I lived in borders Woodside Avenue. I lived a a high ranch house. I remember looking southeast out the dining room window and seeing the smoke.

[@nealamesbury7953]

Closer now than ever - everyone needs to watch this movie.

[@thecandyman9308]

The "better-dead-than-red" 80s conservatives were far tamer and less vindictive than today's "Slava Ukrainia" dems. Things are so much scarier now.

[@martinj2843]

Yes your quiet right ✌️

[@pegatheetoo1437]

Another good nuclear attack movie is Testament! That movie showed more about the smaller towns and more rural areas that were far enough away from the blasts to still have standing structures, but still needed to try to find a way to survive without any food or supplies. That movie stuck with me for years.

[@itsmedrooms6071]

This was a very powerful film, just the most grim scenario, especially if you have children; it hits almost too hard in that respect. It’s true that there’s no blast damage, but most of the characters die from radiation poisoning and there’s more emphasis placed on this than the other big films concerning this subject.

[@NYKensington]

I was just thinking about Testament and how hard I remember that hitting, too, though I haven't seen it in was released almost forty years ago. I remember it being quite grim.

[@K-OnTheCase]

Did you know Kevin Costner made his debut in “Testament” He plays the part of a young newlywed man. He and his wife have just had just had their first child before the bomb is dropped. This movie was well acted & disturbing. It definitely left an impression on me.

[@johnathanrush4666]

That one broke me a lil bit, ngl lol

[@pegatheetoo1437]

@@itsmedrooms6071 It had the same effect on me as The Diary of Anne Frank did. Heartbreaking for the children.

[@ZombieLXXIII]

"Hot Tracks" (1984): Madness-Our House, The Police-King Of Pain, Styx-Mr. Roboto, Rick Springfield-Human Touch, Loverboy-Hot Girls In Love, The Tenants -Sheriff, Bryan Adams-This Time, Culture Club-I'll Tumble 4 Ya!, Billy Joel-Tell Her About It, Bonnie Tyler-Total Eclipse OF The Heart, E.L.O.*-Rock 'n' Roll Is King, Toto-Waiting For Your Love, Journey-Faithfully, Mtume-Juicy Fruit, Eddy Grant-I Don't Wanna Dance, Men At Work-Overkill.

[@heyitswesty]

thanks for the upload. I"ve seen this a bunch of times and it aired when I was a kid. Really appreciate that you included the commercials

[@wendywoo2180]

I recall watching this made-for-TV movie when it premiered, but what I remember most is my father telling me that one of his dearest friends (whom he had known since 1947) had been living in the Lawrence, Kansas area since the late 50s, he was an attorney, and he was also wheelchair-bound with a crippling disease, but he was still working and living his life. Apparently there was a casting call for local residents to be extras in this movie, and my dad's friend shows up, hoping to get a part, but was told by the producers or whoever, "If we wanted someone in a wheelchair, we'd hire an actor and stick him in a wheelchair."

[@keetahbrough]

well that's disgusting behavior yet typical of 80's adult mentality.

[@carterbentonjr399]

Really! Some people. No wonder Hokeywoke has fallen off the cliff.

[@davidpietarila699]

I was either a freshman or sophomore in high school when this aired, and they made watching it an actual assignment. I remember the day after The Day After, there was this kind of general subdued, stunned shock everywhere, that was a little bit like the day after 9/11.

[@chandlervatavuk9513]

Incredible! Thank you for sharing this!

[@scottw6704]

These commercials really bring me back, especially the Commodore 64 games.

[@iamhere4now980]

How was 15 when this came out and I was very clearly remember it it scared the living mess out of me. I remember I couldn't sleep for nights and nights and I had bad dreams.

[@thomascreary990]

I was stationed MINOT AFB when this aired, and MINOT is still a bomber and missle base with nukes and I was only 18 years old and active duty

[@GM8101PHX]

I too was with SAC at Fairchild AFB, same mission 1977 to 1982 Staff Sergeant! You can read my much larger entry above!! Thank You for serving along side of me!! We collectively won the cold war as a part of SAC!! I was a member of the 92d Security Police Squadron!

[@nodakliberalhawk]

I grew up in Grand Forks, ND. Grand Forks AFB is 15 miles to the west and was home to B-52 nuclear bombers. I imagine the Soviets had a lot of warheads targeted at Grand Forks AFB.

[@Dunwolfsean]

My pop was a missileer stationed at Grand Forks AFB 321st Strategic Missile Wing...this movie really brought this home.

[@David-hu2zx]

Thank you for your service

[@kruracing5260]

I still remember watching this as kid in high school. It was one of the reasons I joined the Air Force in 1986 (when I graduated high school). The crazy thing is I was actually stationed at Whiteman AFB from 1987-1994. I was a Security Specialist that guarded those missiles. I was in the 351 MSS...part of Strategic Air Command (although we changed to the Air Combat Command with the stand down of SAC). Even crazier, the Missile Combat Crew (MCC) member Mark Stanton...at 11:54....I ended up working with him (and lived with him and his wife for a short time). I met him when I moved back to Texas and we were both civilian federal employees. His portion was actually not filmed at Whiteman; they filmed it while he was stationed at Minot. He was in several parts of the movie. All the parts that contain most of those military members (except, for example, the guy at the beginning flying in on the helicopter) were actually real military members. According to Mark, Ronald Regan had wanted to produce a military movie depicting a nuclear attack by the Soviets. However, after that portion aired in San Francisco, CA only, they pulled it back because they thought it would be too scary to show the public. Then, Hollywood wanted to recreate it.....and that's where the other portions of the movie were then created and intermixed with the ones created by the military. On a side note, the capsule crew (MCC) or any other person stationed at one of the missile sites (Launch Control Facility) rarely traveled by helicopter at Whiteman.....

[@jimbotron70]

Amazing... Is he still doing well?

[@WildOne71]

I remember when this movie came out ~~ watched on the big floor TV~~ scared the hell outta me~😐~ great movie …my kids were in grade school during 9/11~ I made sure they watched this and I still have my VCR tape too❤

[@ireneatley4002]

Never seen this before. Thank you for sharing. An eye opener.

[@Z3nHolEminD]

“ let’s find this man some vanilla ice cream “

[@JeffreyCrocker-kv3bq]

Damn this brings back so many memories thanks for posting Joe

[@user-ph7bh5yu2l]

I was 22 in 83 was in the North Carolina Army National Guard this movie shook me up been expecting it too happen at any time since then one day it will

[@bbaraider]

I saw this movie as well as a teenager. Growing up during the Cold War, this was ALWAYS on my mind. The nuclear war. I used to have nightmares about it. #livinginthe80's

[@leighstratton5380]

I’m so curious about how people coped through the Cold War and all the existential what-ifs! Must have been wild

[@daveeyde9622]

..... the commodore 64.... Dear God I feel old

[@deathstar9892]

Feel blessed to be part of generation that helped bring in computer and video game era.

[@maryshellsmith6627]

I remember this as a kid. I was traumatized by this movie. I'm 54 now- how did this happen? 😢😮😟🙁

[@daveeyde9622]

@deathstar9892 I was taught to program in DOS lol. Green screen and all. You're 100% correct in that I did not realize the history being made at that moment. It's nice to reflect

[@AngelaH2222]

But our music was cool😎

[@daveeyde9622]

@@AngelaH2222 that's a fact

[@mikeholmstrom1899]

The movie "Threads", made in the UK a few months after this, was even worse in showing the aftermath of a Nuclear war.

[@EphemeralProductions]

truth! the part i remember the most was the very end when that 13 year old girl had the baby from being ra*ed by the boy, and her look of horror when she saw its face. :\

[@Humgin1234]

Thanks !! It's now in my queue ❤

[@ellemjay]

Threads is the most terrifying movie ever made.

[@HandmadeByRuby]

I remember that one too; I was about 15 or 16 and it was terrifying. I couldn’t remember the name so thank you for reminding me. Showing the adverts as well as the film was wonderful; it’s pretty incredible how far we have moved forward and haven’t moved forward ❤️🐾

[@aldunlop4622]

Yeah, it was brutal... Modern day post-apocalyptic movies never hit as hard.

[@tom115]

just the 80's commercials alone is worth watching this Lol

[@joedimaggio3687]

Yeah, who cares about nuclear destruction. LOL 😆

[@LoveyK]

I was living in San Antonio. Big Army/Air Force, military industrial town. Everyone was freaking out the day after “The Day After”.

[@gterrymed]

I saw this on WPVI-6 Philadelphia! ❤ Amazing thank you for making this available 💜

[@bekadam685]

I was in 2nd grade living in KC. Sad how similar things are now over 40yrs later😪

[@LTV_inc]

I was 4 years out of college, I had a job with SOHIO Petroleum in S.F. and a brand new Shelby Charger, life was good…. 😊

[@Srekwah]

I saw this in Australia when it came out, it was so hyped up it was showing in cinemas. It was disturbing at the time.

[@timmotel5804]

Amazing how the World & America has changed in 41 years. I love the commercials and remember some of them. I watched this when it was broadcast on TV. I felt safer in those days, of the Cold War, then I do today. My faith in the present military and our top government officials, all of them isn't there any more. Back then we had SAC, Hyman Rickover and many of our people in charge had military experience and could be counted on to "do their jobs" if the situation called for it. Today our Government is a combination of Kumbaya and Intentional Foolish, Belligerent Childish and Un-American Incompetence! Regardless of who is "in charge". I feel the dread of doom today. Good Movie. Thank You

[@BigLebowski324]

I miss the 80’s so much. A part of me really did stay left behind in that decade. If you did not live it then it really cannot be explained. I guess it was the simplicity of it all. Even the summer air smelled better. There was hope and there was faith in both humanity and its future. Unlike today where everyone is so angry and upset, or offended, literally all of the time.

[@elizabetherne556]

What are you talking about? The 80’s we had the start of the AIDs pandemic. People being not nice to the LGTBQ community. We had unions broke and people losing a lot of their pay because it was take the lower pay without the union or no job. Then we had the farmers losing everything. All three were my childhood in the 80’s. It was just as complicated then as now. The 80’s were actually worse. People just took whatever and pretty well almost starved to death. While now we have social media that does help make change. Don’t go on about the 80’s being simple. It wasn’t.

[@BigLebowski324]

@@elizabetherne556 as opposed to what? Compared to now? Gtf out of here with that nonsense. We have Israel trying to start WWIII. We spent two decades in the Middle East post 9/11 following the 80’s. Two wars. The Gulf War & The War on Iraq. We had the housing market collapse. A recession. Inflation at its highest peak in decades. The national debt is beyond repair and that’s up from a balanced debt from the Clinton Era. We have had a pandemic that we were completely UNPREPARED for. We have the top 1% controlling the ENTIRE WORLDS wealth. If you speak truth to power you get cancel cultured or worse. Should I go on because I sure as fuck can. Healthcare is a disgrace. Infrastructure is underfunded. Education needs an overhaul. We spend so much time crying over who wants to “feel” like a “boy” or a “girl” or a “them, they, it” that we get absolutely nothing worthwhile accomplished. The democrats tear apart the republicans and vice versa. The media has become “pro” either side vs neutral as it ALWAYS WAS. As IT SHOULD BE. Oh and the U.S. rating has dipped from a AAA to a AA for the first time ever. That happened years back and has that been addressed? No. You know why? Because the “greatest country on earth” literally cannot afford to even pay on its own debts. Absolutely un-f**king believable. So keep dreaming in fairyland if it helps you sleep better but I lived back then. I’ve been on this earth a while now and I can tell you times are absolutely not changing for the “better” because it runs deeper than just “oh look, we support gays hooray.” Oh and do not be deceived. Medicine is better at preventing HIV from going full blown AIDS yes, but it has only dipped below 1 million avg. deaths just since 2006. Just because you do not see it so heavily in media these days does NOT mean it magically just “went away.” Parts of Africa are under duress and dying from a full-blown AIDS epidemic as of 2024. I guess you are right though. “Hooray for modern times.” 🙄

[@MariWana-i6b]

The commercials were awesome. It blows my mind to see how dangerous we've become. I forgot how this movie opened my eyes

[@JohnQPublic345]

i watched this on TV when it came out, and even recorded it onto our VHS. it still affects me and i can still picture the explosion and cloud, to this day

[@manofaction1807]

Don't laugh, That Commodore was top of the line back in the day, and costed as much as your phone.... o.O

[@JuanMendoza-qd5lm]

Lmao

[@ogami1972]

I was 11-going-on-12 when this aired, living in Portland, TX. It was well known, even at my age, that between the AFB's in San Antonio and Fortworth, the refineries in Houston, and the Naval base in Corpus, any first strikes would likely erase Texas and all of us. We had an air raid siren that tested every day at noon right outside the Whataburger, you could hear it a mile away at the school I attended. The evening we watched this, my small family gathered around our 19 inch TV in our tiny apartment. My mom cried and cried and cried when the bombs fell. I was speechless with terror and hopelessness. It was a terrifying time to be a child, and, in the years following, our media would express these fears, e.g. Sting's "Russians Love Their Children", Genesis' "Land Of Confusion", and every song The Fixx ever sang. The fears still linger today, but it's not the same as the old "Eagle Vs. Bear" terror. Thanks for posting this in it's entirety. EDIT: well, I made it to "Dad, we left Rusty", and I'm crying too hard to watch any more. Really affecting film.

[@tarstarkusz]

I was 14 and even as a kid I knew this was highly unlikely. Plus, I live in a nuclear first strike area (Philadelphia). It's almost certain I wouldn't survive a full exchange. In my area, they stopped doing the air raid sirens in the 70s. When I was a small boy, I heard them quite frequently, maybe weekly. They had them on top of the library and the public school. I was assigned to watch this by a teacher for discussion the next day.

[@fliontakis7838]

Thank you for posting this!!!

[@barbaralance7942]

I was 13 and in 7 grade I watched this with my on and dad and this movie scared me to death, I have it on dvd and it still scares me to death, it was a great movie and it opened my eyes on what was going on in the world, my parents talked to Mr and said we need to make a lot of changes, Wei I guess we still need to make more and better changes to improve our world, there is too much hatred in this world and this movie could teach us some good valuable lessons. Pray that this movie doesn’t become reality.

[@JuanMendoza-qd5lm]

Reading these comments of how traumatized so many people were by this film makes me feel so desensitized having been born in 91'. 10yrs later I was watching people fall off the worlds 2 tallest buildings... Then threats of WMD's a couple of years later... None of which were ever found. I learned that life was a war pretty young, and not even our own leaders could be trusted. Truly different childhoods.

[@DeSmith-o4b]

Every generation since ww2 has had this threat. We lucked out in 1989 with the fall of the USSR and 40 years of peace from a nuclear threat. It's taken the CURRENT wackos in the White House pushing so many wars to bring us back to this point. Vote Trump 2024!

[@alphgeek]

Nobody trusted our leaders back then either. 9/11 came out of the blue, this film came out after 30 years of cold war existential dread. It hit differently.

[@brose2323]

Thanks for this vhs rip upload. I was in 6th grade when this came out. We had a bad house fire that weekend and mom was screaming her head off. 8 years later I used this movie as part of some post breakup therapy. Now I watch once every November.

[@Deadman1997]

Oh WOW , this movie freaked me out , when I seen it on TV , I was 13 - it gave me nightmares it truly did . Crazy movie for 1983 .

[@DeSmith-o4b]

Same age. We're right back here again with the wackos in the White House pushing so many wars.

[@Chrisholmes1976]

I lived through the Cold War era. 15 years of my life. It was scary during the eighties. I thought I would never have to live that feeling again, and now, in 2024 Russia is talking about nukes again. If we push them too hard.😢 It's scary times we're living in all over again. And what's really sad is that there is no fall out. Shelters like there was during the 70s and 80s. I just hope to God its just talk.

[@GM8101PHX]

If that does not work, we will cease to be on the planet, I worked around these weapons back in 1980, they can flatten a city!!!

[@EphemeralProductions]

me too bud. me too :( :(

[@Dularr]

Now it's probably best to have plastic sheeting and duct tape.

[@EphemeralProductions]

@@Dularr exactly. Always was. Because it keeps out the beta and alpha particles that attach to the fallout

[@MTknitter22]

It was truly scary during the Cuban missile crisis. The whole nation united in fear on that one. The eighties were mostly the end years of the Soviet Union. Berlin Wall came down, etc. not that there were not some nervous times. Now is feeling way beyond that. I agree let’s hope to God it’s all talk.

[@UncleDavesKitchen]

This just scared the heck out of everyone. It was a two night tv special. I have the high definition download and watch it about once a year. Very well done especially for the time. It made the news for a week before and weeks afterwards. A few years later in 1997 I was driving home and THE PHOENIX LIGHTS UFO flew right over my head. The lights of the craft with what looked like lava flowing from the bottom reminded me of the explosion from this movie. The substance from the craft didn't have heat but the visual was similar.

[@tiffanym4202]

I watched this in high school like many others here. Re-watching this makes me wonder what the younger generations (pre-X) know about the Cold War. I never really spoke much of it with my kids. Once it was over, I think I was just relieved that thankful. I admit I still think about it sometimes...what it would feel like to see a bright flash and a mushroom cloud in the distance and knowing you can't run from something like that. I'd rather my kids not have to dwell on it and yet we all know history can so easily repeat itself if we don't take care.

[@michaelmyers3892]

I was 14 going on 15 in 1983 this was a really good show when it first came out and it's still a good show today

[@knowledgeseeker-yy1ix]

same...december 13 that year was my 15th birthday.

[@eherman9780]

Watching the panelists makes me realize how short-sighted we humans can be, wow. Thankfully Dr. Sagan truly proved to be a most noble voice of his generation and his comments simply held up over time. As Mr. Wiesel stated so prophetically, I too am afraid of madness.

[@martinnickell2883]

Wow an IGA!! There is only 1 left in our area in Indiana.

[@bryanbell7816]

Saw this when it originally aired, left quite an impression on me. I'd like to think I lived life to the fullest.

[@sulijoo]

The Day After:"Contains graphic portrayal of nuclear war. Not suitable for younger viewers" Threads:"Hold my gas mask"

[@Hunter_Nebid]

I was a freshman in high school when this aired. I later joined the Army and was stationed in West Germany when the Wall came down. Judging by the actions of our current "leadership", we learned absolutely nothing from the First Cold War.

[@jerryc5743]

Ironically, the person in the WH had more of his marbles in the 1980’s.

[@miapdx503]

Absolutely nothing. If anything, we've become more ignorant. A large part of society has taken to the worship of an unstable individual. People the world over are begging us to keep him out of power. It would destabilize the entire planet.

[@FairyWeatherMan]

The First Cold War... I remember the 1990s when we all said Cold War is over. Now times are changing and this movie is scary again... 😢

[@tailtap2222]

Watching this and especially watching the television commercials, I see that we have come a long way. Sometimes, I wish I could travel back in time.

[@scottstrang1583]

Sad part is that this will happen. It was simply delayed. Wish I was wrong.

[@mikekrause3671]

the discussion at the end of the movie was very fascinating. i think we should do these more on tv again on this issue and any high priority issues today. we have to stop devolving which seems to be happening. no one talks any more , just insults and screams.

[@donalhealy4414]

Thank you great to USA TV content from 1980s 🇨🇮👍

[@randymorgan8375]

I graduated in1983.. Memories.

[@juliemccauslin5807]

I watched this when it aired with my mom. The next day (I know 😂), my boyfriend and I were driving down a busy road when one-by-one the streetlights went out. I FREAKED out and started crying. Turned out it was a quick power outage 😂😂😂

[@jaminova_1969]

And here we are, 40 years later.

[@ellenchavez2043]

When President Reagan talked about localized nuclear weapons as a policy and strategy, his staff sat him down to watch this. He didn't speak of it again.

[@LBetsy326]

WPVI watcher here! Best news station in the country!

[@theostanley3033]

There's that news van again!!!

[@johntroicuk4641]

This movie along with Threads are probably the best movies about nuclear war ever produced and should be taken as a cautionary tale as to what can happen when a nuclear war is started. What's even more scary is the fact this movie was made over 40 years ago and today's nukes are infinitely more powerful than they were back in 1983 which should be even more sobering of a thought

[@GM8101PHX]

I was a member of the 92d Security Police Squadron protecting B-52s and KC-135s on ground alert with weapons on board. Because SAC Strategic Air Command was ready Russia decided today is Not the day we start nuclear war!!! The weapons even when I was serving could wipe out a city, killing all those living there!! We knew this and never made any jokes of the bombers or missiles launching, in 1980 Mt.St. Helens erupted 300 miles southwest of my base, by 3PM it was dark and we were being snowed on by ash from the eruption!!!

[@josephtisdale5262]

National Amusements, do your god damn job and show this movie in your cinemas ASAP!!!!!

[@dammitdan106]

Warhead yields at least in America's arsenal, have declined due to better targeting and arms reduction successes. Our Minutemen II's were deMIRVED, we ending Pershing II IRBMs and the Peacekeeper missiles were dismantled. Russians have done the exact opposite. China has an almost peer level triad. North Korea has ICBMs. Iran can field a nuclear warhead in weeks from its stockpile of HEU. So it is a more dangerous planet.

[@martinj2843]

Exactly ✌️

[@samhain1914]

I watched this with my grandparents when it aired. Scared the hell out of me..

[@willyjoerockhead]

I was in the 10th grade when this first was on TV - the next day in every class the teacher made a comment about this movie. our history teacher said that it will actually be worse than the movie. By the time i got to the last class (Math class) the teacher was calming this one girl down who was crying. He was saying that it's not going to be as bad as the movie. - i was like - "i don't think anyone really knows."