Toward the Dawns Early Light

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When a nuclear missile is launched by presumably Soviet forces toward Turkey, the beginning of the ultimate war to end all wars WW 3 is started. Powers Boothe, his girlfriend and copilot Rebecca DeMornay and their flight crew take off in a B 52 on what they believe is just another drill only to find out that this is the real deal. While they fly their mission toward Russia the US and Russia exchange nuclear blasts.

The movie, originally made for HBO, tells a realistic tale of what could be if the controls of the nukes get in the wrong hands and with Russia, being the way it is today, this could be a prophetic movie. A very well done drama with some good acting, a little over the top by Booth, but it will keep you watching and most importantly make you think.

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Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Full Cast and Crew. The crew of a nuclear bomber attack the Soviet Union while the President of the United States tries desperately to regain control of his military after his helicopter crashes during a William Prochnau novel , Bruce Gilbert teleplay. What is Emily Mortimer Watching?

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Share this Rating Title: Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Won 1 Primetime Emmy. Learn more More Like This. The effects of a devastating nuclear holocaust on small-town residents of eastern Kansas. Special Bulletin TV Movie The life of a suburban American family is scarred after a nuclear attack. Threads TV Movie Without Warning TV Movie Fail Safe TV Movie A docudrama depicting a hypothetical nuclear attack on Britain.

Edit Cast Cast overview, first billed only: Cassidy Rebecca De Mornay Colonel Fargo Jeffrey DeMunn Tyler Ronald William Lawrence General Renning - 'Icarus' Ken Jenkins Edit Storyline The crew of a nuclear bomber attack the Soviet Union while the President of the United States tries desperately to regain control of his military after his helicopter crashes during a limited nuclear exchange in this film with a scenario similar to Fail-Safe and Dr. One Chance For Survival. It manages to combine wonderful characters I defy you not to empathise with James Early Jones as Alice with this realism and still create a very watchable and, in some places, moving film.

There's almost certainly some propaganda The marine guarding the door with a Nuke about to fall, his final words being 'Give em hell, Sir' for example in here, but it doesn't interfere with the plot or the realism, and there is some fantastic cathartic acting by some of the members of the cast; James Earl Jones, Jeffrey DeMunn and Rebecca De Mornay being notable. Personally I would have dropped the relationship between De Mornay and Powers Boothe could have been dropped, or at least de-emphasised as I think it gets a little in the way.

You can still retain the tension in the cockpit simply as she's a female pilot in a 'mans' airforce without having the two sleeping together. The rest of the characters interaction with each other are more than enough to hold the interest of the viewer for the duration of the film. The film actually appears to be based around the book "Trinity's Child" by William Prochnau but I can't remember if it mentions it in the credits or not. Technically flawless, with pretty reasonable special effects, and first rate acting, combined with a reasonably interesting story make this an excellent film.

Quite a good movie considering the fact that it appears to me to be a low budget film. I like films that hit upon this theme of Nuclear Warfare. This is a serious Dr Strangelove. For those of you that like this kind of movie though I would recommend "Threads" which I definitely prefer, it brings us the situation from the people's experience whereas this gets the political situation and military situation.

Someone, we are not entirely sure who, drops a nuclear bomb and The Soviet Union who immediately blame the states by hitting back and then so on and so forth, how are we going to end it type of thing. This movie was one that makes you really think about our leaders and what type of decisions they would make in regards to our Nations defense in time of war. It would actually scare the hell out of me if this is what is is really like.

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Hell, dealing with some of these same type people I have in the military scares the crap out of me. The movie had it's share of sub-plots that all made their way into the big story made the film better. However, had this film been based on acting alone, it would not have done so well. The acting in some parts had seemed to be a bit overdone and unrealistic. Thank god for the decent story line or this movie would have truly flopped.

Srong cast and good premise, make this an enjoyable film to watch. De morney and james earl jones both deliver good performances. Seeing james earl jones in a film like this makes me think back to his role in Dr. Strangelove and i wonder if he was cast in this film as a homage to Kubrik's attempt to deal with the countdown to destruction type film? I have been looking for a world war iii thriller for years. I came across a list on wikipedia of nuclear war based movies. So I finally located this one which looked the most promising on the list considering its good actors and being produced by HBO who is known for excellent miniseries.

And let me tell you, it does not disappoint! We are talking about no joke nuclear war and started in a way you can swallow.

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No annoying love stories, just one close relationship between a b52 pilot and his co-pilot but at least its done in flight. All and all a great thriller. If you are a wwiii movie junkie like me, you MUST see this film! What a cast and story! James Earl Jones rocks in his role as a general and the ending is chilling.

Martin Landau plays the President credibly. Although this film is often compared to Fail Safe, it's story is taken far beyond the situation room and the US President's conversation with the Russian leader. Fascinating insight into the chain of command, line of succession to the Presidency and the links between the Army and the Navy. Severely good, the missing link of nuclear war films LF-3 4 August Dr Strangelove was an excellent black comedy. Fail Safe covered the moral aspects of automatic nuclear retaliation. Very few films since have managed this level of contrast between fine plot details and the big picture.

James Earl Jones' performance is not to be missed. It's rather like "Fail Safe" except that this time it's some renegade group of Russian rebels who launches a missile at a Russian target. The Russian defense system launches its missiles automatically in the direction of American targets.

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Boom -- and it hits the fan. Communications are cut off. The president's helicopter is downed. Control of American war gear and war policy is now turned over to the semi-conscious Secretary of the Interior, who's first question of his advisers is, "Are we losing? Thereafter, it gets complicated.

No time is wasted on personality or reality intrusions, except for the first few minutes, when Powers Boothe as the pilot of a problematic B falls drunkenly into bed with his girl friend and co-pilot, Rebecca DeMornay. There must be a romance between a pilot and a female staff member or it's not an airplane movie.

There are -- let me think -- there are two fist fights, three drawn pistols, two premature ejections, one bitch slap, one mid-air collision, one rude Russian premier, one and a half blindings, and a handful of thermonuclear bombs. How could it not be? It's another movie about the accidental attack of one nuclear power on another, and the subsequent attempts to call the whole thing off. But it's not "Fail Safe" or "Doctor Strangelove"; it's a commercial product.

The characters aren't uninteresting and they show the kind of diversity required for a movie like this. But they stay the same throughout.

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The novel, I would guess, is more accessible because in a book you have time to stretch things out -- get to know the people and their milieu. A movie is by nature more concise. It must leave things out. This film is marred by so many lacunae that it left me confused enough that the climax came as a complete surprise. Maybe I'm just dumb. That's what my friends keep telling me -- my former friends, anyway. If you want to see a serious dramatic film about a subject like this, do watch "Fail Safe. Syl 17 August This made for television movie is about the Soviet Union during the Cold War years attacking America with nuclear bombs.

The film is outdated now sincere Cold War has been over for some time.

The film shows the fear of nuclear attacks during the Cold War. The film shows the possibility of life and terror. I didn't get the ending of the film at all as to what really happened to the planes. They do give you final notes about what was going on. Thank God, it's not based on reality. GeorgiaDixie 6 June It came out as the Cold War was ending, but it is even more prevalent now, as it opens with accidental launch by Russian dissidents.

The current situation in Ukraine comes to mind. In any case, the movie does a great job, especially for made-for-TV HBO film that also has pretty good special effects for the time and budget. The acting is top notch, with special nods going to James Earl Jones as the tough, fair, and smart Major General Alice, Powers Boothe as the determined Major Cassidy flying the main B, and Martin Landau as the President trying to do the right thing. Also, the short appearance of Nicolas Coaster as General Renning at the beginning to the film is also notable. This is a great nuclear thriller, right up there with the classic Dr.

Strangelove but from a different perspective. This film tells the most terrifying stories imaginable, keep in mind it was made just the year before the collapse of the Soviet Union. What would happen if a group of fanatical Russians made a nuclear strike against their own country so they would blame the United States. This film is so masterfully done that it is horrifying!

Martin Landau as the President of the United States and Powers Boothe, Rebecca de Morney and James Earl Jones as the military officers who have to see the horrible words "this is not a drill" all do a first class job! Boothe is one of our most under appreciated actors. He won an Emmy award for the title role of the tv film "Guyana Tragedy: The Story Of Jim Jones". They both give wonderful performances and have fine chemistry between them. The tension is almost unbearable as they have to make the decision to drop the bomb or not.

By Dawn's Early Light - Wikipedia

This is a doomsday thriller like Dr. Strangelove or Fail Safe. Martin Landau is also excellent as the President faced with a decision that only Harry Truman faced before. He is such a brilliant actor that it makes me angry that Hollywood overlooked him for so many years before he made a brilliant comeback as Bela Lugosi in Ed Wood. He is a first class idiot all the way! James Earl Jones rounds out this fine cast as a heroic officer named "Alice" who makes the most courageous decison imaginable. He orders his pilot to deliberately crash into Air Force One to stop it.

Not bad for the end of the world! WileE 14 January A TV movie about the end of the world did not inspire confidence, but I was pleasantly surprised by this film.

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