This TV movie from the 1980s helped change the course of the Cold War. Here’s how ‘The Day After’ got made

cnn ^ | 06/09/2024 | Scottie Andrew

[ChicagoConservative27]

This movie made me nervous I remember. I recall even Reagan watched it.

[ransomnote]

I accidentally watched it. I spontaneously dropped in at a movie theater looking for light entertainment, and just chose whatever matinee was starting. I was shocked and depressed after watching it. That’s the last time I dove in (to a movie) without looking.

[Mathews]

They need to do this for One Second After. That’s some scary stuff right there.

[Engraved-on-His-hands]

It was the most watched made for TV movie of all time. And, yes, it did affect the outcome of the Cold War. Thus, it was perhaps the most important movie ever made.

[JonPreston]

If it weren't for YouTube, I wouldn't watch TV

The Day After

[ComputerGuy]

I never heard of or saw that movie until 2 years ago. Its viewing should be required in schools everywhere.

[Red Badger]

SPOILER ALERT!:
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EVERYBODY DIES AT THE END!.........................

[Macho MAGA Man]

The same director of the movie, Nicholas Meyer, directed Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan and Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country.

[NorthMountain]

This movie made me angry, that the democRAT filth who run our government REFUSED to even entertain the possibility of actually defending The Republic. The movie should have ended after the first ten minutes, with Nike-Zeus, Sprint, Spartan, and/or their successors taking out the Soviet missile strike.

Piss on Tip O'Neill's grave. And EFF YOU, Carl Sagan.

[FLT-bird]

No it didn’t. This is pure propaganda and BS.

I remember being in junior high when this came out. At 13 I thought it was all a bunch of Left wing sensationalist bedwetting.

Now that its over 40 years later, I see that I was right all along. That’s exactly what it was. It was easy to suss out the weak kneed soft Lefties even for a 13 year old. If anything they’ve become even more weak since then.

[Engraved-on-His-hands]

I remember some televised discussions afterward between Americans and Soviets. Perhaps one of the most compelling and moving and influential comments was an emotional one made by some very elderly southern Democrat, who said to the Soviets, something to the effect:

“We don’t want to take over your country. It’s too cold for us there.”

[Dr. Sivana]

Who knew, then, that an ABC movie-of-the-week would play a significant role in potentially preventing nuclear war?

Huh?! I don't think it prevented anything, and "Amerika" was made later as a weak-kneed response to placate conservatives of the era. It was hyped to the hilt, but actually underperformed expectations at the time. I don't think it had a long-lasting effect.

[mmichaels1970]

Scared the crap out of me as a kid. Used to look out my bedroom window at the horizon and wait for a flash.

Sh**, I guess that's what "traumatized" probably means.

[NorthMountain]

This is a CNN article.

Hardly a coincidence ...

[Vermont Lt]

I was just out of college when this thing came out. I knew it was “happening” but I was too busy being 23 to care.

I remember the phrase, “It’s only a movie….its only a movie.”

I believe that applies to this movie.

[Publius]

The primary lesson I learned from the movie was that once a nuclear war commences, bad acting will erupt everywhere.

[Dr. Sivana]

Roots had a larger audience share, though 46.0 is impressive.

[dfwgator]

Threads made The Day After look like a comedy.

[FLT-bird]

Ya gotta love the whole “Reagan wouldn’t have looked to limit nukes in any way but for this doom porn movie a bunch of us oh so smart Lefties made to scare everyone” line.

As I said, pure BS.

[Az Joe]

Nellie