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List Price: $5.98 | | Label: Hbo Home Video
Salesrank: 5872
Released: June 1, 2004 |
| Our Price: $2.73 |
| Used Price: $2.72 |
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MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Nuclear war-- a nightmare that may become grim reality for the world in this riveting thriller. When a fanatical group opposed to friendly U.S./Soviet relations explodes a nuclear missile over a Russian city it begins a chain reaction of accusations and actions that begin the groundwork for WWIII. As the clock ticks toward total nuclear annihilation the American presidentand the Soviet president race toward a solution fighting with their own camps as well as with each other. Two air force pilots involved romantically as well as professionally Cassidy (Powers Boothe) and Moreau (Rebecca de Mornay) are ordered to take their B-52 bomber into the air and await further instruction from the president (Martin Landau). But when it is reported that a bomb has killed the President pilots Cassidy and Moreau are ordered to perform the "grand tour" the systematic bombing of th ebunkers of all Russian leaders. Can these two follow through on a command that will mark the beginning of the end?Running Time: 101 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA UPC: 026359044021 Manufacturer No: 90440
By Dawn's Early Light Reviews:
Outstanding!! 
2009-09-18 - I'm SO GLAD this movie was finally made available on DVD. An all-star cast, great story, great suspense, and long overdue in DVD form. Excellent "lost treasure" from HBO. Love this movie!!
COLD WAR HEATS UP
2009-09-11 - If you grew up during the "Cold War" period with the USSR, this movie is a great reminder of the feeling one carried back then that something just around the corner could go wrong. I think the actors convey those feelings, especially the air crew on the B-52 that gets its orders to take the "grand tour." Just a great film, and as an added bonus, seeing Darren McGavin as the Secretary of the Interior going full-out Alexander Haig ("I'm in charge now" when Prez Reagan was shot in 1981, remember?) is really great.
Dawn's Disappointment 
2009-08-17 - Nostalgia brought me to this DVD. Having lived through the entire Cold War era, I wondered how I could have missed this movie about the trying events of my youth. Had I realized that this was an HBO production I would have passed it by. This explains the poor acting, terrible graphics, laughable plot and the total misunderstanding of the military mind set and commitment to duty- not to mention the bad language. I wish I could still say that I had missed this one.
By Dawns Early Light
2009-07-17 - A drama about a possible nuclear exchange between the U.S. and the former Soviet Union. The plot revolves around so called Soviet terrorists who steal a Russian missile and detonate it over Russia from Turkey making the Soviet defense computers think that the Americans and Nato are attacking them. Martin Landau plays the President who's helicopter crashes after a Russian missile explodes near the capitol. The only other person in the legal chain of succession is the Secretary of the Interior played perfectly by the late Darrin McGavin, who's insane logic that the U.S. can win a nuclear exchange, makes you hate and pity him for having to make a terrible decision. The climax is pretty good and the action was pretty good throughout. Powers Boothe and Rebecca DeMornay also star.
Good Stuff. 
2009-07-03 - Hmm. I have to start by saying that it's been a long time since I saw this film, but would really love to see it again. As other reviewers have mentioned, it may be low budget made for TV fare, but the cast is pretty impressive and although some of the dialog is rather stilted, it is well acted and the overall effect is tense and they get a good mix of "action" and tension build. This is a good film.
The film wastes little time in getting down to the action which is good, the main weak link for me is the love interest between Booth and DeMornay, which to be honest is not required. The same tensions between the by the book aircraft commander and his co-pilot would have worked just as well if they had not been romantically involved or indeed if they had been 2 men (or women). The B52 crew goes a little nuts, but it is impossible to predict the reaction of people in this situation if their families had just been killed. There is genuine tension in the scenes involving the crew.
For me, the standout performance is the ever-dependable Martin Landau, as the tortured President trying to make sense of the situation and divine the intentions of his opposite number. Obviously he learned much during his command position on Moon Base Alpha.
Its nice to see some of the reviewers that were involved in the US air force give this film the thumbs up as well, I also crewed battlefield nuclear weapons and found the command and control sequences of the film also quite realistic, as I understood them to be at the time.
So all in all, highly recommended Cold War techno-thriller type film that would keep the Tom Clancy brigade occupied for a couple of hours.
