Studio executives summary / pitch
|
| Nuclear
power plant almost-explosion-fest. Jane Fonda, Michael Douglas and Jack Lemmon
in taut antinuclear hysteria. |
Short plot
summary |
|
Kimberly Wells
(Jane Fonda) and hired wild fire cameraman Richard Adams (Michael Douglas) are
filming in Ventana nuclear power plant when an accident occurs. They are in the
public gallery at the time and secretly film the event. On showing this film to
experts they find they are lucky to be alive... |
Rating |
| PG:
Contains moments of screen wobble, construction worker hats, bushy beards on men,
talking to camera, reporters. |
What our
panel of critics thought |
|
"This was
the first movie I ever saw Michael Douglas in, and he produced it too. How clever,
dear boy. Although you could do with a shave, or was that look in then?
I can't remember now..." "A
siren-beeping-lights-on-boards-flashing-triumph-of-nuclear-danger. A masterpiece
of the market economy, which likes nothing better than taking short cuts to keep
costs down. 10 out of 10 for drama, -100 out of 10 for public safety, guys." "Jack
Lemmon is superb as a nuclear expert even though he accidentally almost blows
up much of Southern California." "This
movie is a triumph of big black plastic knobs and flashing boards! Kids today
would not know what to do with a big black knob on a board if one was thrust under
their noses! In my day that is all we had. The computer generation don't know
they are born." "OK,
so contractors falsified a few photographs for a nuclear power plant. What's the
big deal? We've all been there, just imagine the expense of having got it done
properly." "Does
everyone in this movie wear brown? You know, I think they do. A triumph of 1970's
fashions, but thankfully without the larva lamp." |
Please tell me the ending
|
| An
expert tells our heroes that they had almost witnessed 'the China Syndrome'
(Definition: During the accident, the workers almost uncovered the nuclear processor
core, which is normally covered with water to stop it overheating. Had they done
this it would have melted downwards, theoretically to China, but if it hit water
it would explode upwards and into the air, possibly contaminating an area the
size of Pennsylvania (screams in the gallery due to the
Three Mile Island disaster at this time).) But
the power company is trying to get another station opened and manages to thwart
our heroes from telling a safety inquiry about the defective testing carried out
by a contractor, Mr Royce... Jack Godell (Jack Lemmon) is a concerned employee
(who has already made contact with Wells and Adams) who locks himself into the
control room of the power plant to make his point on TV. Management break in,
he is shot and is then portrayed as a crank.
Kimberely sets the record straight in an emotional report to camera. The screen
soon after jumps to a null broadcast signal - does this mean the China Syndrome
has happened? Nobody tells us nuthin. |
Justify
this movie's existence in the classic strand. From
theVoiceof Reason.com's Veritable Cornucopia |
|
Now,
let me firstly declare that once I was a member of CND; indeed, I once had myself
strapped to a fence by those lovely lesbian ladies of Greenham Common. I
feel certain that this movie added soundly to our cause, highlighting the dangers
of nuclear power in the public eye. That the Three Mile Island disaster occurred
only a short few days after this movie's release was a dream arrival to our cause.
Bravisimo! This
movie is a wonderful conspiracy with a POV of the working man... A tale of honest
people being caught up in the dishonesty of modern capitalism! It makes me want
to throw off all my clothes and parade down my street with a placard! I
have been reliably informed that Richard Dreyfus was originally lined up to star
in this movie but he had to drop out, thus the Jane Fonda character was written
in. |
Quotable
quotes (real) |
| [It
was all] "a faulty relay in the generator circuit." |
What snack should I eat while watching this movie?
|
| Anything
bright green or bright orange, especially anything brilliantly luminous in the
dark. |
If
I were to watch this at home how best should I sit? |
|
In the all-over-the-body
gas mask position. Alternatively try watching in those snazzy 1970's big Owl eye
type specs. |
Could this
movie be improved with a more pro nuclear perspective? |
| Whilst
the Jack Lemmon character does try manfully to put the pro nuclear case, he always
looks terrified for his life and so doesn't really get his message across in a
media friendly way. |
How mechanical
is this film? |
|
There are lots
of construction hard hats used in the movie and scenes of pipes dropping off to
dramatic effect. |
Which family
members would enjoy this movie? |
|
Elderly
relatives could sit tutting throughout at the language, which includes 'Goddamit'
and the classic 'chicken shit asshole', from the botty-mouthed Michael Douglas
character. Very
young children will not be able to stop singing throughout, and could get out
their paint sets if not supervised firmly. Conspiracy
lovers will purr throughout, but right-wing pro-nuclear anti-environment enthusiasts
could get frustrated by a hysterically disaster prone plot which might not make
any sense at all for all we know about nuclear power plants. |
What can I take from this movie to make me a better person?
|
| This
is all done on computers now - let's hope they don't use Windows 98. |
Estimate number of minutes of nuclear technobabble in this movie. |
| 27
minutes. |
How much would
you pay for a copy of this movie in goods? |
|
A map of Southern
California with a big hole burned in the middle. |
How scare-mongery is this movie? Does this literary device succeed? |
| If
you can get past the outrageously brown 1970's fashions, and the Michael Douglas
character who appears to be on some sort of performance enhancing drug for assholes,
this is a sound movie. That the disaster at Three Mile Island happened 12 days
after this movie was released is a bonus. Run for the hills. |
Would this
movie win awards for performances of the c word (conspiracy)? |
| Has
a wonderful undercurrent of impending disaster throughout. |
Other comments
|
| One
of those really important leftie movies which CND and Greenpeace must have salivated
over at the time. Clearly it didn't stop the nuclear power program, however. The
movie is brilliantly paced, the fashions have dated disastrously, but Jack Lemmon
and Jane Fonda are both well cast. Michael Douglas could do with a shave - thankfully
he never shows off his arm pits. |
Date of Review |
| March
7, 2003 |