Nuclear Holocaust Movies

From Stanley Kubrick, starring Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden, Keenan Wynn
Rated PG

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb follows a mad U.S. General Jack D. Ripper who launches an air assault against the Soviet Union. In a last-ditch effort to preserve the peace, the President of the United States, Merkin Muffley, forms a top-level emergency committee of political and military figures. As the U.S. military engage in a nuclear battle with the Soviets, the committee must devise a plan to prevent a full-scale nuclear war. Meanwhile, the former Nazi scientist, Dr. Strangelove, advises the President on the use of nuclear weapons. In the end, Dr. Strangelove's plan to preserve the human race by building underground fallout shelters is adopted, and the U.S. and Soviet Union come to an uneasy agreement.

From Mick Jackson, starring Karen Meagher, Reece Dinsdale, David Brierly, Rita May
Rated TV-MA

Threads is a British television drama about the effects of nuclear war on the city of Sheffield, England. It follows the intertwining stories of two families—one middle class, one working class—and their struggles to survive in the months and years after a nuclear attack. As the city is destroyed and the survivors face starvation, disease, and radiation poisoning, the film also examines social, political, and economic issues that arise in a post-apocalyptic world. The film’s stark realism, combined with its graphic, often harrowing images of the destruction, has made it one of the most powerful and influential anti-war films of all time.

From Sidney Lumet, starring Henry Fonda, Walter Matthau, Fritz Weaver, Dan O'Herlihy
Rated Approved

Fail Safe is a 1964 Cold War drama directed by Sidney Lumet. It is based on the novel of the same name by Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler. The film centers on a group of high-level American military and political personnel attempting to avert a nuclear disaster after an American bomber is ordered to the Soviet Union to drop a nuclear bomb. Despite their efforts, the bomber eventually reaches its target and the world is faced with the threat of a nuclear holocaust. Despite being made during the height of the Cold War, the film is surprisingly even-handed in its treatment of both sides of the conflict, and its main message is one of unity and understanding between nations. The film stars Walter Matthau and Henry Fonda, and is notable for its intense suspense and devastating climax.

From Stanley Kramer, starring Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, Fred Astaire, Anthony Perkins
Rated Approved

From Lynne Littman, starring Jane Alexander, William Devane, Rossie Harris, Roxana Zal
Rated PG

From L.Q. Jones, starring Don Johnson, Jason Robards, Susanne Benton, Tim McIntire
Rated R

From Jack Smight, starring Jan-Michael Vincent, George Peppard, Dominique Sanda, Paul Winfield
Rated PG