The Day After is a two hour film about nuclear war that first aired in 1983 on ABC. Its a fictional dramatization of an imaginary war between NATO and the Warsaw Pact which results in a full scale nuclear exchange between the superpowers.
Please Note: This film explores a dramatic topic in a compelling manner, and it may not be suitable for all audiences.
I remember watching The Day After when it first aired in 1983 and being blown away by how well it connects the viewer to the tragic reality of nuclear war. I'm it watching it again today almost 40 years later, and it hasn't lost it's punch.
This film seems a good example of how fiction can often make a case in a much more convincing manner than any collection of facts. I've spent the last 3 months consuming vast quantities of information and alarmist activist propaganda on nuclear weapons, and none of it hits the mark as well as this 1983 movie.
This film seems to have more or less vanished from the airwaves, streaming and public discussion since it first appeared in 1983. I'm not sure whether that's because the film is considered too intense for public consumption, or whether there just wasn't sufficient interest to merit further publication.
In any case, thanks to YouTube we can now all revisit this classic horror movie, far scarier than any Friday night chainsaw massacre etc.