Rating: 
Summary: Meryl Streep at her best...as always
Review: "Silkwood" is based on the final days of Karen Silkwood's life. She stumbles upon documents proving that plutonium is more dangerous than safety inspectors claim. Therefore, many are exposed to high levels, dramatically increasing their risk of cancer. Many blame Karen for the exposure of a coworker. Her life takes many trials on and off the job. Her family life is in jeopardy due to multiple double shifts, and her love life turns rocky due to roommate issues."Silkwood" deserving garnered five Oscar nominations. Though it won nothing, it offers the emotional and physical realisms of dangerous working conditions, namely a nuclear plant. Many scenes catch the audience's heart while others scare them. The screenplay writer proves that he thoroughly researched everything. The producer and the director lead the cast and crew to express every drop of heart and soul though this project. Meryl Streep received a Best Actress Oscar nomination for the role of Karen Silkwook. As always, she proves that she is the greatest living actress. She forces deep, personal emotions to scream to the audience. One could easily mistake her for one that experienced these real life events. She's flawless. Cher won a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination for her supporting role as Silkwood's coworker and roommate. Like Streep, she recearched her character's typical lifestyle as a plant employee and as a lesbian. Though Kurt Russell role didn't demand as much research, he performed his role wonderfully. This is one of the scariest dramas made. Its heavy impact scenes will never be forgotten by the audience. Those who love "Silkwood", which surely most will, should also watch "Erin Brockovich". Though not plutonium based, it offers the realisms of the law actions. Warning: those sensitive to such issues should not watch "Silkwood" at night. Though not a horror movie, it still may give people nightmares.
Rating:
Summary: Meryl Streep at her best...as always
Review: "Silkwood" is based on the final days of Karen Silkwood's life. She stumbles upon documents proving that plutonium is more dangerous than safety inspectors claim. Therefore, many are exposed to high levels, dramatically increasing their risk of cancer. Many blame Karen for the exposure of a coworker. Her life takes many trials on and off the job. Her family life is in jeopardy due to multiple double shifts, and her love life turns rocky due to roommate issues. "Silkwood" deserving garnered five Oscar nominations. Though it won nothing, it offers the emotional and physical realisms of dangerous working conditions, namely a nuclear plant. Many scenes catch the audience's heart while others scare them. The screenplay writer proves that he thoroughly researched everything. The producer and the director lead the cast and crew to express every drop of heart and soul though this project. Meryl Streep received a Best Actress Oscar nomination for the role of Karen Silkwook. As always, she proves that she is the greatest living actress. She forces deep, personal emotions to scream to the audience. One could easily mistake her for one that experienced these real life events. She's flawless. Cher won a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination for her supporting role as Silkwood's coworker and roommate. Like Streep, she recearched her character's typical lifestyle as a plant employee and as a lesbian. Though Kurt Russell role didn't demand as much research, he performed his role wonderfully. This is one of the scariest dramas made. Its heavy impact scenes will never be forgotten by the audience. Those who love "Silkwood", which surely most will, should also watch "Erin Brockovich". Though not plutonium based, it offers the realisms of the law actions. Warning: those sensitive to such issues should not watch "Silkwood" at night. Though not a horror movie, it still may give people nightmares.
Rating:
Summary: A Must-See! As Awakening As "When the Wind Blows"
Review: Although the original camera work is not all glitter and glamour, it's not supposed to be! The message of this film needs to be heard by all, from our world leaders to our children who are coming of age... "Accidents" do happen, however, having knowledge of what really goes on, and the casuality of the workers at the plutonium plant will make your skin crawl... Worse yet, is that knowing certain things about certain work places can be more than hazardous to your health or your future employment... it can get you killed, and all evidence of what really happened destroyed by the employer! A must see for everyone who cares anything about our planet, our work environment, and our lives, and our children, their children, and generations to come. Certainly a wake-up call! Much more than simply another story! A true story that was not very dramtized, but has plenty of drama of it's own... Not for the little kiddies, however I would keep this one for them when they get older, so they know what happened in the past! Pray history doesn't repeat itself!
Rating:
Summary: Scary Movie - But It Gets Worse...
Review: Based on the true story of Karen Silkwood, a worker at Kerr-McGee's Cimarron nuclear plant who was contaminated with plutonium on several occasions and later died under suspicious circumstances, "Silkwood" was panned by some critics who questioned its accuracy. The film clearly implies that Silkwood was murdered because she was about to expose safety violations at her plant; en route to her late-night meeting with a New York Times reporter, she was run off of the road. While the movie does deviate from the facts in some instances, it is largely faithful to the important details of the Silkwood case. Richard Rashke's "Who Killed Karen Silkwood" (1981, 2000) - written after Silkwood's parents pursued (and won) a civil case against K-M and based on court documents - presents ample evidence that Silkwood was indeed deliberately contaminated with plutonium and was murdered just days later. In fact, the film doesn't even address the most serious accusations - that Silkwood was part of a larger conspiracy that involved a number of state and federal agencies, that she was spied on by both K-M and the FBI, and that she may have stumbled across an international plutonium smuggling ring. As a documentary, "Silkwood" does an acceptable job of outlining Silkwood's murder and the events leading up to it. Some of the dramatizations are disappointing but understandable. The lesbian storyline involving Silkwood's roommate Dolly (played by a refreshingly unglamorous Cher) struck me as silly and extraneous, particularly since, in real life, Silkwood's roommate was merely an acquaintance (not a good friend), and Silkwood was the one suspected of being a lesbian. Nonetheless, as a drama, "Silkwood" certainly deserved its five Academy Award nominations. The actors all give convincing performances, especially Meryl Streep as Silkwood and Kurt Russell as Silkwood's on-again, off-again boyfriend, Drew Stephens. The movie is a chilling piece of work that will haunt you long after it's over. Especially creepy are the decontamination scenes. Yet, for those who decide to delve deeper into the Silkwood saga, the story only gets scarier...
Rating:
Summary: Our Lives or Money?
Review: Firstly, let me say, I have never seen Silkwood until about an hour ago. I thought I would write my review with the movie fresh on my mind. The performances were excellent: Meryl Streep, Cher and Kurt Russel gave some of the best performances of their careers in my opinon. This movie is very scary. How can one put a price tag on a person's life for money or some kind of supremcy in the "World's Nuclear Arsenal"? It is amazing to me how much the government and "Local Yokals" tried to cover up evidence and the death of Ms. Silkwood. There is so much our government is doing behind our backs in the name of"keeping its citizens safe". One thing that really bothered me was Silkwood's co-workers. I am appalled and amazed at how complacant these people were with the flimsy protocals of a dangerous job. They didnt want her to "rock the boat" and they wanted her to keep her mouth shut. These people didnt realize that their lives were more important than that job or any amount of money. I think everyone should see Silkwood, it will have you asking more questions than you can think of answers.
Rating: 
Summary: An average flick about a fascinating subject.
Review: I found the film entertaining only because I find the topic absolutely compelling. Streep, Russell and Cher turn in very average performances, but in all fairness they were portraying very average people. The big mystery is not who killed Karen Silkwood but how did Meryl Streep get an Oscar nomination for this? Musta been a slow year the the movies. I found it ironic that the lead character in the film was so concerned about the carcinogenic dangers of plutonium while she chain smoked through the entirety of the film. As I have said, the story is compelling. The movie doesn't parallel the events very closely as they really took place, and when it does follow fact it barely scrapes the surface. I have just finished the *excellent* book "The Killing Of Karen Silkwood" by Richard Rashke and I heartily recommend it to any Silkwood buff who is interested in the whole story. It'll scare the daylights out of you.
Rating:
Summary: STREEP, CHER, KURT RUSSELL: ALL SUPERB!
Review: I own this in VHS and can't think of anyone who has not seen and been captivated by the performances of the gifted Meryl Streep, Cher, and Kurt Russell. This is the precursor to another great flick, Erin Brockovich. There is not one role, not a single one, that Meryl Streep has not played convincingly. From what I have read and seen on TV about Karen Silkwood, Streep's portrayal is dead-on accurate (no pun intended). Cher is also good in what is a very unusual role for her. Anyone who would rate this less than five stars has got to be brain dead.
Rating:
Summary: not as scary as the book
Review: I read a book about the crime of killing Karen Silkwood. I found it was very scary. Somehow because I have only seen nuclear weapons on TV the video wasn't able to scare me much. The book and the film too had that other element that is the career of a typical North American chemistry student. The nuclear chemistry industry is a very strange place to work. The film also shows typical seventies film making style. Although not a great one it is still layed back and realistic.
Rating:
Summary: This film had an extraordinary impact on me
Review: I saw this film on video in December 1983 and it had an extraordinary impact on me. The cover up that took place at Silkwood could only have happened in 1983. When assessing why this disgraceful cover up was allowed to happen, we must bear in mind the period in question - There were many other injustices taking place around the World at that exact time. In Australia, 'Dingo Baby' mum Lindy Chamberlain was serving a life sentence for a crime she did not commit, and a crime that the authorites knew she did not commit - that of murdering her baby, Azaria Chamberlain. After seeing her new baby dragged away to a Dingoes lair and eaten, Lindy was then hounded by the authorities AND the media to the point where she was put behind bars for killing her own child. It was not until 1986, 3 years later, that the Australian Government finally released Lindy from her Prison Cell. after it was proven beyond any doubt that there was no way she could have killed Azaria. I urge everyone to think back to 1983 and ask themselves this question : How the hell did ye sleep easy at night. knowing what had happened at Silkwood and knowing that Lindy Chamberlain was doing a life sentence with HARD LABOUR for a crime she clearly did not commit. HOW??
Rating:
Summary: As seen through the eyes of a nuclear chemist:
Review: I saw this movie while I was doing chemistry research with nuclear waste at one of several national laboratories here in the US. I cannot tell you which one it was- I *can* say that it wasn't LANL (Los Alamos National Laboratory), although the contamination there is appalling (look it up on the web!). It was absolutely haunting to watch "Silkwood" and then go to work the next morning. There is so much the government doesn't tell the general public about the disastrous conditions in the labs, where we worked, that literally date to the days of the Manhattan Project. If the press only knew just a *few* of these things, the shockwaves would shake the US. I saw plenty of "accidents" (more like disasters) involving spills of concentrated solutions of plutonium compounds ... and was contaminated, once, myself. The movie just gave me chills. No, in real life, they don't scrub you down with harsh brushes if you're contaminated (plutonium and other fission products are VERY dangerous if they enter through a break in the skin, into the bloodstream), but there was definitely enough in this film to give me chills at work. I'm still a chemist, but won't work with plutonium again. And, hopefully, this review will remain anonymous.... Through this review, and stories I've told my friends, I've done my share of "whistle-blowing", and it's not a safe thing to do. See this movie, and you'll think twice about how you feel about the "blue collar" workers involved in the mass production of nuclear warheads in the US.
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