THE DAY AFTER (1983) / TESTAMENT (1983) / THREADS (1984) Two films about nuclear war you don't want to watch - but should

1983 was the year of World War III – but thankfully, only on TV. In THE DAY AFTER, destruction, illness and death in the aftermath of a nuclear war rain down upon small-town residents in Missouri (portrayed by, among others, Jason Robards, John Lithgow and Steve Guttenberg). One of the most chilling images in the film – besides the flame-tailed, nuclear warheaded missiles rocketing from silos up over houses, churches and a baseball field – is the simple disclaimer at the end warning that the events depicted in the film, terrible as they are, are far less severe than would be the real thing. TESTAMENT also deals with the effects of A-war in a small suburban town outside San Francisco. The focus is on a widowed woman (Jane Alexander) struggling to take care of her children. Though less graphic than THE DAY AFTER, it too is filled with painful images and a sense of hopelessness. Far more graphic and unsettling than either of these films is THREADS, an unblinking look, docudrama style, at life and much death after World War III in a small town in Britain, started, ironically, by military action in Iran. Far more graphically than TESTAMENT and DAY AFTER, THREADS shows us the fallout from fallout, focusing in retching detail on oft-undiscussed issues as corpses, sanitation, disease, government breakdown, and much more we'd rather not watch. But unpleasant as it might be to to watch, these movies, it’s important to do so, for these films preach to us what mankind is capable of causing - or averting. Especially now, with sociopathic governments waving their A-bombs in the world’s face. (Watch for a young Kevin Costner in a small but memorable role in TESTAMENT, and be sure to read my reviews below of two other movies about nuclear insanity, FAIL SAFE and ON THE BEACH.)