The Best Nuclear War Films

[william]

Scrolling through this thread I'm pretty sure the various movies that YouTube has made unavailable can be found on other streaming services like Prime and others.

 

[DEFCON Warning System]

This is the first part of the 1979 film First Strike Written by Fleming B. Fuller in partnership with the US Department of Defense. This first segment of the film shows a scenario in which Russia performs a surprise first strike utilizing several nuclear submarines off the west coast followed by ICBMs. All footage in the film is of real military personnel performing the exact tasks and procedures that would've taken place during a nuclear attack at the time.

If I remember correctly, First Strike is a propaganda piece designed to try and sell the US on a defence system.

The first part posits a near impossible scenario where the United States is caught completely off guard in a Pearl Harbour-type attack by Russia. Completely unrealistic.

That said, it is fun to watch. I watch it every few weeks.

 

[william]

Seven Days in May (1964)​

Seven Days in May is a 1964 American political thriller about a military–political cabal's planned takeover of the United States government in reaction to the president's negotiation of a disarmament treaty with the Soviet Union. The film, starring Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Fredric March, and Ava Gardner, was directed by John Frankenheimer from a screenplay written by Rod Serling and based on the novel of the same name by Fletcher Knebel and Charles W. Bailey, II, published in September 1962.

Excellent acting IMO

 

[DEFCON Warning System]

I think I am going to have to watch h this movie, especially if it wasx written by Rod Serling.

 

[GBS61]

The first part posits a near impossible scenario where the United States is caught completely off guard in a Pearl Harbour-type attack by Russia. Completely unrealistic.

Seriously! You should never underestimate an adversary, typical American sentiment. Personally, I believe that:

Once the missile is detected by American early warning satellites, the President of the United States actually only has 12 to 15 minutes to confirm the attack, assess the situation, and order a possible nuclear retaliation before impact.

That's really not much time to react!

 

[DEFCON Warning System]

Seriously! You should never underestimate an adversary, typical American sentiment. Personally, I believe that:

Once the missile is detected by American early warning satellites, the President of the United States actually only has 12 to 15 minutes to confirm the attack, assess the situation, and order a possible nuclear retaliation before impact.

That's really not much time to react!

That all presumes no political build-up to an attack. An otherwise non-hostile country just wakes up one day and decides to nuke someone.

Unrealistic.

 

[william]

I think I am going to have to watch h this movie, especially if it wasx written by Rod Serling.

I think you will enjoy it. I did. Let me know.

 

[william]

That all presumes no political build-up to an attack. An otherwise non-hostile country just wakes up one day and decides to nuke someone.

Unrealistic.

I agree with this, BUT, if you were truly going to do a decapitation first strike wouldn't you want to be as unassuming as possible?

 

[DEFCON Warning System]

if you were truly going to do a decapitation first strike wouldn't you want to be as unassuming as possible?

True. But we also have other NATO countries responding, the idea that Soviet subs could approach the US undetected, etc.

The scenario isn't plausible. Not impossible. Just unrealistic.

The film depicts the Minuteman missile fields surviving, the president surviving, etc. The sub fleet would survive. A surrender wouldn’t happen. He'd launch a retaliatory strike, and then it would go full exchange.

The idea in the film is that the Soviets destroy a large portion of the military and then threaten the cities. Before all this happened, the US would have its own nukes flying.

In truth, a large portion of the military would survive even with a sub-launched attack. There aren't enough of them to wipe out that much of the military. NORAD would survive.

The film was designed to scare politicians. The Day After did a better job of that.

 

[Sidney Reilly]

The following isn't a movie but some facts about a movie mentioned in this thread The Day After (1983)

The Day After (1983): The Banned Ending They Hid for Over 40 Years

 

[william]

POWER OF DECISION - SECRET NUCLEAR WAR PLANS (Restored Version)​

What actually happens when the President sends the signal that changes the world forever? It isn't just a button; it’s a grueling, high-pressure ritual of authentication keys and relentless countdowns hidden beneath the earth.

We are stepping inside the Strategic Air Command (SAC) to reveal the secret procedures that transform strategic theory into catastrophic action. This is what the 1958 film "Power of Decision" is about.

Power of Decision is a formerly classified U.S. Air Force documentary-style film produced for the Strategic Air Command in the late 1950s that simulates the U.S. response to a Soviet nuclear attack.

The film, which was not intended for public viewing at the time of its creation, depicts the procedures and command structure involved in launching "war plan 'Quick Strike'" from various military control centers.

The narrative follows the military personnel as they scramble bombers and missiles to retaliate against the Soviet Union, ultimately resulting in the deaths of millions across the globe, yet portraying the operation as a "success" from the Air Force's perspective.

The film depicts a simulated response to a Soviet nuclear attack using real SAC assets of the era, including B-47, B-52, and B-58 bombers, as well as KC-135 tankers with mid-air refueling. Locations and Coverage of B-47 and/or B-52 activity at Andersen Air Force Base (AFB) Guam; Brize Norton AB, England; Eielson AFB, Alaska; Loring AFB, Maine; Castle AFB, California; Convair Plant, Ft. Worth, Texas; and Pinecastle AFT3, Florida. Also included is footage of Matador, Rascal and Goose missiles at Holloman AFB; and Thor, Atlas and Snark footage at Cape Canaveral, Florida.

This version has been carefully restored from a 35-mm Master Interpositive.The film also includes Earl Rowe. Best known as the teen-friendly small town cop from the original horror classic, "The Blob." Earl Rowe served in the infantry during World War II, commanding a mortar squad. Rowe had a three-year role on NBC-TV's now-defunct soap opera The Doctors.

Side note: I'm getting allot of new material for my next WWII vid. to play around with next time I get bored.

 

[Torch]

Side note: I'm getting allot of new material for my next WWII vid. to play around with next time I get bored.

Oh my, I seemed to have lost a score… or two. I remember two places just like that but much more secure. The board writers on the analog side had to learn to write backward on the see through decision board!

I got a proctologist exam every time I went in or out. They had far greater security.