The Day After poster & wallpaper

Jason Robards, JoBeth Williams, Steve Guttenberg

Few American movies have dealt as graphically with nuclear holocaust as The Day After, which accounted for the controversy that surrounded the telefilm at the time of its initial network broadc...( read more  read more... )ast. In previous films, nuclear warfare was a matter for crusading politicians or military might, but here, both are kept in the background (the airman played by William Allen Young is more concerned with returning to his new wife than his duties) and the focus is fixed firmly on middle America--literally so, as the setting is Lawrence, Kansas, the near-center of the country. Audiences are briefly introduced to a representative cross-section of American life, including a doctor (Jason Robards), a young bride-to-be (Lori Lethin), a graduate student (Steve Guttenberg), and an academic (John Lithgow), before the Bomb hits nearby Kansas City. The ensuing destruction is utterly horrific, but a few manage to survive to struggle vainly with rising radiation levels and the slow, inevitable collapse of society. As a protest vehicle, The Day After is a triumph--its scenes of nuclear devastation remain the most powerful statements against nuclear armament ever depicted. It's buoyed by strong direction from Nicholas Meyer, who previously specialized in fantasy (Time After Time), and a capable cast who weather the material with grim determination. Edward Hume's script occasionally stumbles into sudsy territory, but the end result compares with equally moving British efforts like The War Game and Threads. The original network broadcast ran 120 minutes (edited from three hours); this is the 126-minute European theatrical cut. --Paul Gaita

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64% liked it

7,734 ratings

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100% liked it

5 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 28 min.

Directed by: Nicholas Meyer

Release Date: November 20, 1983

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DVD Release Date: May 18, 2004

Stats: 461 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (461)

  • dreamfaeries
    September 10, 2008
    dreamfaeries
    Boring. Yet I was compelled to watch... weird.
  • clooneyfan
    January 29, 2008
    clooneyfan
    Typical 80's disaster flick about a nuclear attack in Kansas. Even though the "day before" scenes were a little slow, once the bomb hit~ I was engrossed. The movie is very dated by today's standards but it still makes me think.
  • ladyp1964
    November 24, 2007
    ladyp1964
    Although called the day after, the first hour dealt only with the day before, making it the same as every other catastrophe film. The effects of the actual bomb attack are absolutely fantastic but although the film is drawn out to extreme extents, you never really get the feelin...( read more)g of hour much time has passed. As far as I was concerned from the bomb to the end of the film could have been a day or two where it was meant to demonstrate several weeks.

    It's the sort of film you can watch whilst you're doing something else... the ironing, a crossword, writing your shopping list, whatever. To watch just for the sake of watching a film I think you'll get bored quickly.
  • YosemiteSamFan
    August 4, 2007
    YosemiteSamFan
    Shocking and depressing. Watching this makes you want to get rid of all nuclear weapons in the world. The scenes of everybody frying instantly were haunting.
  • flynnparadox
    September 15, 2006
    flynnparadox
    Bleak, downbeat nightmare from wonderful storyteller Meyer.
  • tbdopey22
    September 24, 2009
    tbdopey22
    Great movie...Must see!
  • redaprildawn74801
    August 17, 2009
    redaprildawn74801
    very good show. makes you think about when that does happen
  • bigdaddydaryl
    August 12, 2009
    bigdaddydaryl
    such a boring movie.The music playing throught gave me headaches.bad acting,bad hair,bad dialogue.just a very low budget film that shouldnt have been made.
  • vietasianfox45
    August 4, 2009
    vietasianfox45
    This was my first nuclear war movie I had ever seen and it was one that I saw with my beloved adoptive mother!! It might have been my first movie to watch with her.
  • Weapon117
    May 4, 2009
    Weapon117
    The day before. The day of. The Day After.

    A good depiction of nuclear holocaust but lets us believe that there will be a day after the detonation, but in reality there won't be a day after.

    The film starts off showing military personnel conducting operations and is a bi...( read more)t abrupt in doing so. The film introduces average citizens, young and old, that will be the main characters shown in the film. These people are residents of Lawrence, Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri. They are enjoying their lives until reports delivered on radio and television talking about imminent nuclear war put their lives on hold. They try to get in touch with their loved ones, build fallout shelters, stock up on supplies and prepare for the worst. As Cold War tensions reach the ultimate boiling point, nuclear warheads are launched by both the Soviet Union and the United States. It is made deliberately unclear as to who fired the first nuke. We then see the inhabitants and of Kansas struggle with the effects of nuclear destruction, fallout, and radiation. On the day after the attack we see that the survivors believe that the lucky ones died first. Some people do their best to help one another, while others devolve into animals.

    This film is directed by Nicholas Meyer who is best known for his work on the Star Trek films. He directs a film that has low grade special effect and stock footage of nuclear detonations but has great use of imagery with the main characters and the suffering they undergo. Music is used sparingly and the little use of music improves all of the scenes of the film. Screams or silence is what is heard when we see the effects of living in the day after.

    None of the acting is memorable save for a few scenes. The writing in this film isn't entirely believable for people who would be living in the day after. The acting is then hurt by the lame writing with the performers not being able to reach their full potential because they have to be tame for this film.

    The film gives us a general idea of a nuclear war but the punches in this film are being pulled. The filmmaker and co. should have gone the extra mile in depicting "what if" scenario. The film could have been more graphic because the film is focusing on the effects of everyday people and not military battles.

    The introductory and closing music did not suit the tone of this film. Composer David Raskin wrote 30 minutes of original music for this film but much of it did not make the final cut of the film. However some music did fit the eerie and disturbing scenes of this film.

    A tame depiction, mediocre acting, poor special effects and at some times, off kilter music is the short fallings of this movie. The film gets progressively better as it goes on and the imagery of this film is what makes it a good film worth watching. Hell, everybody knows that the reality of nuclear war would be far worse than what is presented in this film. This is even stated at the end of the film and also states that this film would help end the threat of nuclear war.

    The nuclear power is a great discovery by mankind. The effects of the use or misuse of this power has been shown to us many times in history. If we can take something from this film, we can learn from history and become a better and more advanced species. If we don't, the only real survivors that will be alive on the day after will be cockroaches.

    "I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones." - Albert Einstein

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