Rating: 
Summary: Unbelievably sad, terrific and important
Review: Saddest film ever made? Surely it's a GREAT film which reduces the unfathomable and thus numbingly abstract concept of nuclear war to a single community and (mostly) to a single family. It's beautifully acted and scripted. And it's achingly, heart breakingly sad. I have been brought to tears just reading someone else's description of the film. (Of course, the same thing has happened the several times I have watched the film myself). If you are looking for a film that truly shows the devastation that would follow in the wake of a nuclear attack, this is it. None of the other films that deal with similar subject matter ("The Day After", etc.) come remotely close.
Likely the best--and most important--film to get its DVD debut at this late date.
Rating: 
Summary: The Nuclear-Lifetime-Original-Movie
Review: Testament (Lynne Littman, 1983)
Littman (Number Our Days) turns in another the-world-blows-up film in the genre that was so popular in the early eighties (despite the Bay of Pigs incident having happened twenty years before, schools no longer doing nuclear war drills, etc.), but with a twist: the world never really blows up.
The story focuses on the Weatherly family, who are portrayed in toto by actors who either were then or are now A-list; mom Carol by Jane Alexander (The Ring, The Cider House Rules, etc.), dad Tom by William Devane (Payback, Space Cowboys, etc.), teen daughter Mary Liz by a young Roxana Zal (River's Edge and a host of Lifetime Original Movies--it's hard to see someone's career go that far downhill that fast, but there you go), and the boys, Brad (Rossie Harris, best remembered as the kid who visited the cockpit in Airplane!) and Scottie (the screen debut of the everpresent Lukas Haas (Witness, Long Time Dead, etc.). Surrounding them are various other members of the town who were also excellent casting decisions; Mike, the gas station guy (Mako, recently in the TV series Black Mask and as the bad guy in a host of gung-ho movies like Pearl Harbor and Bulletproof Monk) and the Pitkins (Kevin Costner and Rebecca DeMornay, both just starting out) were examples of the incredible job Marjorie Simkin did casting this movie. Unfortunately, it doesn't change the fact that, well, the world doesn't blow up. It's hard to have a nuclear holocaust movie without a nuclear holocaust.
What you're left with is a proto-Lifetime Original Movie, a psychodrama about a family who's lost their father in a terrible accident; this particular accident just happens to have wiped out San Francisco (in other words, set it in a different time period and this could easily be an earthquake flick). Looked at from that perspective, it's miles better than your typical LOM, but in comparison to the other films in its genre-- especially Threads and The Day After, the yardsticks by which nuclear-war films have been measured for twenty years-- Testament doesn't really make the cut.
The Lifetime Movie Channel, however, should they ever discover it, will get years of retread mileage out of this flick. Coming soon to a cable company near you. Then maybe they'll stop showing Mother, May I Sleep with Danger? once a week. ** ½
Rating:
Summary: Important Film Everyone Should See
Review: Why isn't this movie out on DVD? It's frustrating that so many great movies are being forgotten in the video-to-DVD shift. 'Testament' deserves to be in everyone's DVD collection.Arguably the best cautionary film about nuclear war, 'Testament' is remarkable because it relies not on stylistic special effects, but focuses on the physical and psychological horror of a family in the aftermath of a series of nuclear attacks. It is the unknown that scares us the most, and the unknown precisely what the small community of Hamlin, CA has to deal with. Who has attacked America, and why? How much of the US has been decimated by the attacks? When will the government, or military, finally step in and supply the answers? At first the Wetherly family and their neighbors are optimistic, believing that they are the lucky ones. But weeks stretch into months, and resources become scarce. There is no running water, electricity, and even the canned food supply is becoming scarce. The government officials never arrive. And then the radiation begins to show its effect, as one by one members of the community begin to die. Jane Alexander is a tour de force as Carol Wetherly, a mother who can do nothing as her family members slowly pass away. Just watching her struggle to survive makes you feel simultaneously exhausted and devastated. 'Testament' is an important film because it shows the effects of a nuclear attack, not in terms of action stars or special effects, but the lives of ordinary human beings.
Rating:
Summary: A powerful movie
Review: Wow. This movie is simple and yet so heartbreaking, and it's sad to know that so few people have ever heard of it. Jane Alexander is what makes this movie; her performance is commanding and unforgettable. This is not to slight the other actors, especially Roxanna Zal, Ross Harris, Lukas Haas, and Philip Anglim, who all give incredible performances, but even in scenes where Alexander has no dialogue (for example, the scene in the church with all the townspeople), her presence is felt. This film is not perfect, and the beginning is rather monotonous, which is no doubt intentional, but there are a number of truly haunting and heartbreaking scenes that will linger with you long after the film is over. The extras on the dvd are also nice, with present day interviews with the main cast and filmmakers and interesting tidbits about the making of the film. It's interesting to see Jane, Roxanna, Ross, and Lukas as they look 20 years after the movie, and Kevin Costner is also interviewed, as well. Even the extras are close-captioned, which is virtually unheard of!
Rating:
Summary: This Movie will stay with you for days!
Review: You think Titanic and E.T. were sad? Watch this heartbreaking movie and you'll be depressed for days.i am not kidding. this is an excellant powerful movie that will stay in your mind. JAne alexander is a mother with her three children and husband living in CA. when her husband is away on a business trip the unthinkable happens. and soon people everywhere are dying of radiation. Watching Jane Alexander trying to keep her family together just touches your heart. Many parts of this movie stay with you that other people have mentioned. This is not a movie you could watch over and over. The music by james horner is beautiful and haunting as well. the few times i have seen this movie after it is over, i either have tears rolling down my face or i am sitting there in stunned silence. Mainly the first. This is a highly recommneded movie!
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