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What is Nuclear Theater? It’s a regular newsletter that examines the nuclear era – and the politics surrounding them -- through the prism of film. So, yes, that means movies about the threat of nuclear war, featuring well-worn, on-the-verge favorites (Fail Safe, anyone?) but also little-known works. And not just apocalyptic tales of missiles at the ready, but those movies of the Cold War as well.
That gives us just about any film with “Red” in the title you can think of from the 1980s (Red Dawn, Red Heat, Red October, Reds) as well as the taut spy thrillers of the 60s like The Spy Who Came in From the Cold. How about films from the carefree 50s, where we only had to worry about nuclear blasts producing gargantuan ants or giant lizards (Them! Godzilla)? Or a 50s nuclear noir? (Kiss Me Deadly)? Or the paranoiac era that produced films about a military coup in the U.S.? (Seven Days in May, The Manchurian Candidate. Or sensitive love stories set in a nearly unimaginable context (Hiroshima Mon Amour)? We won’t neglect backward-facing 21st century films either, be they Atomic Blonde, Bridge of Spies or the one about that Oppenheimer fellow that everyone is so worked up about.
So, in a way, you get Graham Greene and the Incredible Hulk. And Strangelove and Salvador. And K-19, One, Two, Three and Thirteen Days, and of course, Rocky IV. And if we’re all very lucky, Charlton Heston destroying the Earth in Beneath the Planet of the Apes.
ABOUT ME: I’m a veteran political correspondent who has covered several presidential campaigns. I’ve interviewed presidents in the Oval Office. I’ve flown on Air Force One. I’ve walked the halls of Congress and sat in the chambers of justices of the Supreme Court. In short, I have attempted for a long time now to chronicle just how we got to this political moment in time.
I’m not a film critic nor aspire to be. But have an ever-burgeoning appreciation for film, both modern and classic. I would also never describe myself as a cineaste or anything similar. Not only do I find those labels off-putting, I don’t have the body of knowledge for it. I try to relate to films on a personal and historical level, with a deep respect for their creators. I tend to drift toward the accessible than the avant-garde, but I enjoy being surprised by a movie in a way I didn’t expect.
Like many people my age, I’m attempting to place my life in some kind of context, and the storms of our age amid the currents of history. This project is a part of that effort.
ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER: The plan is to release one per week, with a mix of free and subscription content that will evolve as this hopefully grows. We’ll start off doing one movie per newsletter. And I am hoping to make it as interactive as possible, so get those film suggestions ready. Let’s talk.
And lighten up, Francis. We’re only talking about end of every living thing on Earth here.
A NOTE ON COPYRIGHT: All images on this site are intended for fair use as criticism. All rights remain with the rights holders.
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