Alan Rosenberg, Anthony Edwards, Claude Earl Jones

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73% liked it

2,695 ratings

R, 1 hr. 27 min.

Directed by: Steve De Jarnatt, Steve DeJarnatt

Release Date: May 19, 1989

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DVD Release Date: June 3, 2003

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Flixster Reviews (165)


  • June 13, 2009
    What do you do when you're given the deadline for the end of the world? Steve De Jarnatt's insidiously clever and utterly gripping nuclear thriller begins as a romantic lark--amiable swing trombonist Anthony Edwards meets girl of his dreams Mare Winningham--and turns into a ni...( read more)ghtmarish vision of society out of control. It all turns on the chance pick-up of a ringing pay phone at 4 a.m. and a panicked voice breathlessly warning Edwards that World War III has been launched. Genuine wake-up call or elaborate prank? De Jarnatt plays his hand close to the chest, which only increases the unnerving tension as word spreads like a contagion. Future E.R. star Edwards is perfectly cast as the everyman driven to reckless desperation and director De Jarnatt creates wonders on a small budget. His vision of L.A.'s Miracle Mile gripped in the blind panic of a careening traffic jam is both believable and chilling

    I first saw this movie on video around the time it was released I immediately liked it even though it was a bit bleak. But the late 80's were full of apocalyptic nuclear holocaust movies and this was the only one that stayed with me. Now, years later, I've just rewatched it (this time on DVD) and I still think it's a very good -- but not great -- movie.

    Admittedly, there's some over-the-top 80's haircuts and costumes, stuff that would be seriously 'retro' nowadays. And the acting, particularly in the beginning, is 'obvious' and a bit tiring. But when the hero receives that fateful phone call, it all changes. Suddenly, it's like watching a stage-performance of a play, a pressure-cooker where everyone suspects everyone else and no one knows what's really going on.

    In fact, one of the best parts of the screenplay is that we, the audience, also don't really know what to believe (until the very end). We watch the hero struggle with what to tell people who's help he needs: if he tells them the awful truth, they may not believe/help him; if he tells them a more believable lie, is he denying them the chance to survive or at least to die with their loved ones. Either way, both he and the people he meets turn to progressively more and more extreme behavior -- people die! . . . and what if it all turns-out to have been a hoax?

    In all, I think this movie ranks as a great sci-fi film, and in the truest sense of the genre: What If. It's not about aliens or galactic empires or anything else that's more fantasy than reality. Instead, it's a situation that any of us could easily imagine and I think this is why it stayed with me all these years, why it now forms a part of the framework for my imagination whenever I find myself catastrophizing about terrorism or natural disaster, anything that could separate me from the ones I love. What would I do?
  • January 15, 2007
    Dream-like story of a man's attempt to escape from a nuclear missile attack on LA. Plus a Tangerine Dream soundtrack.
  • September 30, 2008
    What would you do if you knew the world was going to end in a few hours? What would you do if you were the ONLY one who knew it? When Anthony Edwards picks up a ringing payphone late one night, he hears a panicked voice on the other side telling him that the missles are flying. N...( read more)uclear war is imminent. The then hears gunshots, followed by another voice that tells him to forget everything he heard, and go back to sleep. Was it real? Was it an elaborate prank? Convinced that it's real, Edwards attempts to reach his girlfriend, and get to safety before the missles hit. Slowly word starts to leak about the missles coming, and panic starts to spread. We follow Edwards on his journey with various characters all reacting to the news in a different way. Some try to escape, some decide to stay where they are, others don't believe it at all. Generally movies regarding nuclear war were told from a military point of view, or are told from an aftermath perspective. The whole movie we are left guessing whether or not the threat is real. We see the breakdown of society as it becomes every man for himself. The cinematography creates a strong sense of isolation as the possible approaching destruction makes everything, even the largest city, seems small as there may be no escape. There is an outstanding score by Tangerine Dream that envelops the movie with an almost dreamlike feel. Ther performances are solid, the characters are colorful, and the tension palpable. A great "what if" movie for an unimaginable situation.
  • June 6, 2008
    very interesting premise..but sooo poorly exectued! This seems like a made-for-tv-movie, and comes across as being amteurish, starting from the cast, the acting and the script...with the right actors and a rewrite of the story, this film would be prime for a remake...disappoin...( read more)ted with the film's exectuion of such an excellent concept!
  • February 11, 2008
    i remember seeing this when I was younger and being totally into it. Hopefully it aged well.
  • March 15, 2009
    Maybe I just wasn't that into this movie, but for me it lacked just about everything.
    I like the two main stars, but for me they couldn't even make this "ok".
    It was an interesting concept, but so much of it was plain stupid, and most of the acting was bad, and the directing was ...( read more)poor.
  • February 18, 2009
    With the cold war over, this really doesn't stand the test of time. However, when it came out, it was chilling to think about.

    A man who is late for his date answers a pay phone. It's a soldier in a missle silo saying the bombs are going and they're going to hit in a certain a...( read more)mount of time. The man who answers the phone has to find the woman he's loved forever yet just met and get them to safety before the bombs go off.

    This is about as close to a chick flick as I can stand.
  • January 27, 2009
    for me THE BEST POST APOCALYPTIC FILM....

    TOTALY UNDERRATED
  • December 4, 2008
    Very original end-of-the-world sci fi movie. Not too far fetched. Under rated.
  • October 19, 2008
    Decent enough nuclear thriller staring Gilbert of Revenge of the Nerds aka Anthony Edwards.
    A good amount of the film is spent running around in what felt like circles. But the film managed to keep my attention and the ending was unexpected. I liked it enough, even though it re...( read more)eks 80's cheez, its pretty clever. Mare Winningham looks butch as hell.
    The Tangerine Dream score is pretty damn incredible. I love their electronica sound and it fits perfectly with the film.

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Miracle Mile Trivia


  • He was Forrest Gump, was the voice of a cowboy toy, knows The Da Vinci Code, and knew a miracle man on The Green Mile. Who is he?  Answer »
  • 1988. Anthony Edwards & Mare Winningham. A phone call advises that nuclear missles are enroute. Will detonate in 70 minutes. Last scene is helicopter sinking into LaBrea Tar pits, while palm trees explode into flames. A real love story.  Answer »
  • This L.A. landmark is where the 1988 movie "Miracle Mile" begins and ends.  Answer »
  • Anthony Edwards and Mare Winningham star together in a movie about a young man hears a chance phone call telling him that a nuclear war has started and missiles will hit his city in 70 minutes. What movie is this?  Answer »

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