The Day After (PG/12)

 
A landmark media event when it was first aired, this stunning drama presents a disturbing and graphic account of the effects of a nuclear holocaust on a small American town.

It is the mid-1980s, and as an aggressive Soviet leadership prepares to invade West Germany, in the small Mid-West town of Lawrence the Oakes family is preparing for the wedding of their eldest daughter. But it soon becomes apparent that the people of Lawrence can no longer quietly go about their daily business. The Russians hit a West German city and then a US warship with nuclear ballistic missiles, and the States retaliates with nuclear missiles launched from silos on the Kansas-Missouri border. The nuclear exchange escalates with horrific speed as the most hawkish elements of the Russian and American military refuse to back down, and the town of Lawrence is about to experience the devastation of nuclear war as missiles hit American soil.  Thousands are killed outright, but still more must face the danger of radioactive fallout.  Now the citizens of Lawrence are living in a barren world of starvation and disease, devoid of power, drinking water and food. Such is the aftermath of ‘The Day After’.

Nominated for 12 Emmy® Awards (and winner of two), this drama’s all-star cast features Jason Robards, JoBeth Williams, Steve Guttenberg, John Cullum, John Lithgow, Bibi Besch and Amy Madigan. Directed by Nicholas Meyer (Star Trek: The Wrath Of Khan).