This is a wonderful film. I went to see it in the theater when it came out as a rather precocious child of eleven with my dad and some neighbors. My parents were very much against nuclear power, as most liberal, Eastern folks were at the time, and I recall the ominous feelings in the air at the time the film debuted. It was a perfect movie of its time, and watching it tonight on TCM, I naturally assumed I would find it to be a quaint time capsule, very much a film of a political (for lack of a better word) mindset and a moviemaking style both gone with the wind. In the theater, I was riveted. The entire audience was mesmerized by the quiet terror building and building as the events unfold. The pacing is excellent, the performances were dynamite, and the lack of manipulative score or editing (especially by today's standards) made for a truly petrifying experience.
I found it no less terrifying tonight. In retrospect, and in a historical context, some parts are almost quaint, but overall, this is a truly gripping, scary-as-hell movie that sucks you in to the paranoia and fear on literal, figurative and geopolitical levels.
I don't find it so much heavy handed as earnest, and if you could argue it to be a little much on the evil-business-versus-little-honest-guy side, you can counter that by the fact that in 1979, people just didn't know that much about nuclear energy, and they were justifiably scared, especially, when (spoiler right now)the catastrophic event that leads to the big denouement is precipitated by human error.
Jack Lemmon has never been better. Michael Douglas is bearable, although he is well into his leftist bearded period here, and the (in my opinion) virtually unwatchable and talentless Jane Fonda is almost tolerable as she delivers what is arguably her best performance. Kudos to James Karen, Wilford Brimley and scores of other solid character actors delivering supporting performances. Superb, delicate direction propels this from movie to film, making what could have been a hackneyed MOW into a superior 1970s movie that synthesizes many layers into an extremely enjoyable evening. Well worth viewing, on DVD if possible.
I found it no less terrifying tonight. In retrospect, and in a historical context, some parts are almost quaint, but overall, this is a truly gripping, scary-as-hell movie that sucks you in to the paranoia and fear on literal, figurative and geopolitical levels.
I don't find it so much heavy handed as earnest, and if you could argue it to be a little much on the evil-business-versus-little-honest-guy side, you can counter that by the fact that in 1979, people just didn't know that much about nuclear energy, and they were justifiably scared, especially, when (spoiler right now)the catastrophic event that leads to the big denouement is precipitated by human error.
Jack Lemmon has never been better. Michael Douglas is bearable, although he is well into his leftist bearded period here, and the (in my opinion) virtually unwatchable and talentless Jane Fonda is almost tolerable as she delivers what is arguably her best performance. Kudos to James Karen, Wilford Brimley and scores of other solid character actors delivering supporting performances. Superb, delicate direction propels this from movie to film, making what could have been a hackneyed MOW into a superior 1970s movie that synthesizes many layers into an extremely enjoyable evening. Well worth viewing, on DVD if possible.