Rating: 
Summary: This movie traumatized me when I was a kid
Review: The day after is a very good movie. My dad used to always take me to look at the tall buildings in downtown Kansas City when I was little. The first time I saw this movie I was 6 years old. When the part came that showed downtown Kansas City gone, I was traumatized for life. But don't let a small thing like that deter you from seeing this movie! It is an awesome movie and I think everyone should watch it at least once.
Rating: 
Summary: Devastating tale of nuclear war in middle America
Review: In the early 1980's, the United States and the Soviet Union were closer to the brink of nuclear war than at any other time since the Cuban Missile Crisis (possibly even closer). On one side, there was President Reagan referring to the USSR as the 'Evil Empire'. On the other side, there was a steady succession of pre-Gorbachev Soviet Premiers (one seemed to die every several months) who stood fast to the hard line Communist party manifesto and constantly rattled their saber at the west. During this period of the storm before the calm (brought about by Gorbachev's reforms), the world was on edge over the prospect of these two nations engaging in full-scale nuclear armageddon. There were a number of television executives during this time who saw fit produce cautionary tales about the horrors of a nuclear war. In Great Britain, a devastating made for TV film depicting horrific after effects of such a war called "Threads" was released (and shown in the states on TBS at considerable expense to the station's owner Ted Turner, because he thought it was too important not to be shown in the U.S.). In the United States, two notable made-for-TV films were created dealing with this subject, "Special Bulletin" and "The Day After". "The Day After" was the much more publicized of the two, owing to an all-star cast (Jason Robards and John Lithgow to name a few) and truly terrifying images of the actual attack. As with any film that depicts very unsettling situations, "The Day After" generated its share of controversy. Though, little of the controversy is remembered beyond the criticisms of the graphic nature of the attacks, and it does nothing to detract for chilling message it presents.
The movie is set in Kansas City, Missouri; a place about as middle American as one get. During the first half of the movie, we are introduced to a cross-section of KC's population, from a university hospital doctor (played by Robards) to a young Air Force Airmen and his family to a farm family preparing for the wedding of their oldest daughter. There are many other characters and groups of characters introduced while, in the background, tension builds as frequent radio and television updates are received about a deteriorating military situation in East Germany that is rapidly bringing the United States and the Soviet Union to the nuclear brink. This movie focuses little on the politicians who make the decision to go to war or the military men who fight the war. It's about the innocent people who will have to live with the effects of these men's decisions. The actual officers who execute the launches are depicted as impersonal machines of war, not human beings like the characters this movie highlights. A radio speech by the president late in the movie betrays the faulty mindset of the politicians when he tries to give a rousing patriotic speech proclaiming victory over the evil aggressors while the people who listen are trying simply to survive and not fall victim to radiation sickness.
The true climax of this movie occurs about midway through the film. Reports are filtering of limited nuclear engagements in Europe which eventually lead to the full scale launch of all nuclear missiles. The frightening scenes of the missiles taking off being viewed from a next door farm, the university hospital, and a football stadium are indescribable in the sense of panic they create. Our missiles have been launched and will take 30 minutes to reach Russia, but so will theirs! People try to find shelter. They try to evacuate. Yet, the question is posed, "where does one go from Kansas City?". This is supposed to be the middle of nowhere, but with missile silos being placed any and everywhere across the country, no place is safe from attack. Next, the horrifying images of the attacks beginning are easily seared into one's memory. See the images of people vaporizing, fires engulfing everything, and the signature mushroom clouds of a nuclear detonation are not soon forgotten. After the attack is over, "The Day After" engages in a lengthy denouement that deals with the unlucky people who managed to survive the war. Radiation sickness impacts almost everyone, but not as much as the complete and total breakdown of infrastructure and society in general. The horrors of the 'new world' are of the type that one should not be anxious to experience. There is a note at the very end that claims that the events depicted in this movie are likely less severe than what really would occur in the event of an actual nuclear attack. Given what IS depicted here, that is an absolutely horrifying thought.
The only real criticisms for the "The Day After" center around two points. First, there really are too many characters introduced. Some barely even register because there isn't enough time to develop them. Second, the denouement is a bit lengthy. The message of how horrible the after effects of this nuclear war are could probably have been trimmed down to half the time without losing any of its impact. Still, these minor gripes do not take anything away from the overall powerful message of this movie. If more world leaders were forced to watch "The Day After" (and several of its companion films), the likelihood of nuclear war could drop significantly.
Rating:
Summary: About as good as TV movies get
Review: It's hard to find too much to complain about with this jem. As scores of others have written, this was, and probably still is the most controversial made for TV movie of all-time. Right up there with "The Burning Bed" for those of you who remember that.Seeing this as a teenager I was definitely creeped-out. The attention to detail and authenticity make this film a stand-out. The acting ranges from acceptable to extraordinary and the special effects-though not exactly cutting-edge, more than get the point across. There is no point in going over the storyline itself. This film could have contained any one of a hundred pentagon war scenarios and been essentially the same. This film is more about people than politics. A short nuclear exchange reduces Kansas City (and the nation) to ashes. The stories of a good 1/2 dozen characters are set up and followed through this harrowing experience. We see this through the eyes of a then-unknown Steve Guttenberg along with John Lithgow, and Jason Robards. I thought Guttenberg did a good job-usually I can't stand him. This film is like a 'slice-of-life' which none of us wants to experience. The atmosphere is depressing and hopeless for the most part. Perhaps the most frightening thing is the realization that it could happen so easily. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
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Summary: The cover almost says it all!!
Review: This movie may or may not be accurate (the disclaimer at the end of the movie says it is an actual *under*statment of what would happen). I saw this movie the last time about twelve years ago. Apparently, it is set off by Soviets invading and nuking Germany, eliciting a US response that results in the holocaust of the movie. The scenes are graphic and the first airburst in front of the camera happens almost without warning and with a loud thunderclap sound. What follows is some of the most unnerving footage I have ever seen, showing the immediate effects in horrifying detail. It is a very good movie (wish it would come out on DVD), but it is not for the weak-hearted.
Rating:
Summary: The Classic, Mainstream American Post-Nuke Film
Review: Some films manage to catch the zeitgeist of a certain period in time so well, their very name becomes synonymous with the events and feelings of that time. 'The Day After' is one of those films. Created at the height of Reagan-era nuclear posturing, the time in which the world was pushed as close to nuclear war as we were during the Cuban Missile Crisis (the Doomsday Clock was at one minute to midnight, for those that remember), 'TDA' details the events leading up to and directly after a massive nuclear exchange between the US and the USSR. The story sticks to one family of dirtfarmers in Missouri, an outcropping of students as the University of Kansas, an Air Force soldier who helped push the trigger, and a student who chose the wrong time to try and go home and see his parents. The reasons for the nuclear exchange are never explored, and it doesn't matter: at the time this movie was made, everyone was aware of the reality of total annihilation every time the Teflon Cowboy in the White House shot off at the mouth. The few days after the war show the debilitating, eroding effects of radiation, and although it was extremely visceral for a television movie, the actual effects would be much worse (see 'Threads'). Civil structure breaks down, creating a 'might-makes-right' world where those with the guns create the rules ' scary, considering who owns most of the guns in the USA right now. Some compare this movie to 'Threads' and 'Testament' and say those are better. Don't. The comparison isn't fair. 'Threads' explores the breakdown of social structure. 'Testament' explores the breakdown of community and family. 'TDA' explores the breakdown of the individual person. They are three totally different films, each effective in their own way of showing the awful effects of nuclear war. Although it seems that our leaders have finally wised up about the whole kill each other a dozen times over thing, I wouldn't put it past some bozo to finally push the button one day, making 'TDA' and other films of its kind just as important today as they were in the early 80s. True, it's not a great film ' the acting is wooden in places and the special effects are pretty laughable, even for that time ' but it is almost a snapshot of the horror many of us faced during the early 80s. This VHS, from the magical elves at Anchor Bay, is a fully-restored, video-length (longer than the original TV release) version of the movie. According to the PR elves at Anchor Bay, a DVD release should happen in the next year or so ' and here's hoping. Until then, this budget tape will more than tide you over. Final Grade: B+
Rating:
Summary: Like being punched in the stomach
Review: I saw this in class and I was very disturbed. In this film America and the Soviet Union go into a full nuclear war. This is scary, disturbing, even graphic at times. It won't make you feel good. It must have been scarier in 1983 when people thought it would happen. Thank God it didn't happen. If nuclear war did happen it would have been like this. Don't expect a sunny nice movie. The effects are very realistic for its time. The more realistic the more disturbing. We all know now that the Soviet Union is gone and this didn't happen. What if it did.
Rating: 
Summary: Poor
Review: This is not a good movie.It was not made very good.The British version-Threads is much better and more poweful and moving.Also this film is not a patch on testament.This has to been one of the worst films in history.Watch threads and testament much better films.
Rating:
Summary: The Day Afer
Review: This movie was so boring! I fell asleep in class while watching it. It shows what would happen if the US was bomber
Rating:
Summary: the day after (1983)
Review: please send me the whole movie. tnx
Rating:
Summary: Chilling depiction of what a nuclear war would seem like...
Review: I first saw "The Day After" in 1983,at the height of the nuclear war movies,when President Reagan had his famous "Evil Empire" speech. I also remember seeing "Threads","Special Bulletin",and "Testament" at the time. I did not sleep peacefully for the following week,remembering the horrifying mushroom clouds bursting over Kansas City(I knew that these were special effects,but it all seemed too real,knowing that it could really take place),the graphic images of people,animals and objects being instantaneously vaporized(the x-ray effect I remember),and the impossibly realistic image of a fireball engulfing the city and everything in its path. I am glad that we live in a somewhat more peaceful time,yet in the back of my mind knowing that some rogue nation may take out its anger against us,and the nuclear missles still in existence can do just as much harm today as they could have done almost twenty years ago. I am happy that I have found a copy of The Day After,and can view it again with a more open insight and mind. Jason Robards,JoBeth Williams and Steve Guttenberg stand out in this film;certainly one of the best performances by Robards in any of the nuclear disaster epics.
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