Residents of iconic cities like New York, Los Angeles or Chicago regularly get that warm, fuzzy close-to-home feeling when they see their city’s skyline or landmarks in motion pictures. The Day After, a made for television movie in 1983 doesn’t deliver on the warm fuzzies but is a unique watch for residents of the Lawrence and Kansas City area who rarely get to see their neighborhoods showcased.
While this cautionary tale about the effects of nuclear war was a straight to TV feature and certainly was working with a lower budget, Director Nicholas Meyer was able to effectively tell an eerie narrative that became the highest-rated television film in history.
The story is told from a handful of different characters’ perspectives. A doctor at the university hospital, students at the University of Kansas, a farm family outside of town and even a United States soldier. During the film you’re dropped in and out of these various storylines as tension builds surmounting in a nuclear attack.
The bulk of the narrative contains the struggle of surviving during a nuclear winter and dealing with the dangerous fallout radiation. Don’t expect a story with a resolution that will provide you with that pressure-relieving exhale, as mentioned, this is certainly a cautionary tale.
I don’t want to give the whole story away, so if you like you can watch it for yourself. It’s available on YouTube! If you’re looking for more be sure to listen to my podcast where I analyze and review this film for Ad Astra Radio on KJHK.