A Film at 45: The China Syndrome
"We had an event happen. We had...an accident." Our limited series, "A Film at 45" is back to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the films of 1979. We're dusting off the end of a decade that changed cinema forever, with a fresh look at modern classics...
Our limited series, "A Film at 45" is back to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the films of 1979. We're dusting off the end of a decade that changed cinema forever, with a fresh look at modern classics and hidden gems that we can't stop watching! On this episode, David and Scott find out how dangerously close we come to nuclear catastrophe when safety protocols aren't followed in "The China Syndrome."
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Hello everyone, and welcome back to
nineteen seventy nine in a Film Buys limited
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series A Film at forty five.
I am David Burns and I'm Scott Hoffman
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with this limited series from a Film
by a Podcast where we're dusting off the
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end of a decade that changed cinema
forever with a fresh look at modern classics
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and hidden gems that we can't stop
watching. In this episode, we're going
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nuclear with the alter realistic, thrilling
blockbuster with a twelve day fuse the China
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syndrome. I'm ready. This is
Jackadell. We have a serious condition.
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You get everybody into safety areas and
make sure that they stay there. God,
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when Lucy getting back pressure? Now, what the hell happened to a
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high pressure cooling in check? You
got a dumb pressure? Yeah, you
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can't take that chance. Jack Adell
was about to present evidence that he believed
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would show that this plant should be
shut down. This is Kimberly Wells Live
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from Chattel three five four three two
one go. It's time for the news.
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Scott. It's not about China.
It's about choices between honesty and ambition,
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career and conscience, responsibility and profit. The China syndrome. Today,
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only a handful of people know what
it means after this podcast, so will
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you, Scott. We are dealing
with a very serious, heavy film,
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one that will just leave you thinking
about its ending and the consequences that could
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occur. But before we really dig
into that, how would you describe this
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film to someone? Well, to
paraphrase Frank Whaley's character in Broken Arrow,
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I'm not sure what's scarier the meaning
of the term China syndrome or the fact
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that it happens so often. They
have a term for it. Yeah,
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it refers to a nuclear meltdown that
where the core melts through the ground all
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the way to China. It's a
threaten in this movie that Jack Lemmon is
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trying to prevent with his friend and
Wilfrid Brimley as the two men in charge
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of keeping disaster at bay. It's
a threat that Jane Fund is covering as
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a reporter who wants to cover more
meaningful stories, with Michael Douglas as a
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rogue cameraman that wants to expose the
truth about what's happening at this power plant.
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It's a thrilling drama that has everyone
scared of what happens when people try
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to save their jobs instead of saving
lives. It stars Jane Vonda, Jack
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Lemon, and they are very young
Michael Douglas. Written and directed by James
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Bridges and co written by Mike Gray
and T. S. Cook. Yeah,
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this film is a disaster thriller,
I guess you could say, dealing
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with a very serious subject, very
powerful, and it really does have a
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message for all of us. One
of the things that I love about this
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film is between all of these fabulous
characters, the one that truly stands out
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and the one that you don't expect, the one that breaks your heart is
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Jack Godou played by the masterful Lemon. Yeah. You know, when we
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were introduced to him, he is
just that supervisor at a nuclear power plant,
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But damn does he become so much
more. Yeah. Yeah, he
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absolutely knows what he's doing, and
he's the kind of person that you want
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to be in charge of this kind
of situation, as disastrous as it is,
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because he knows what to do and
he wants to take the steps to
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do the right thing. YEA.
Unfortunately, not everybody is on the same
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playbook, and at the time when
nuclear reactors were being cooled by water.
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It's been a lot of advances since
then, but it was a scary prospect.
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In nineteen seventy nine, people were
worried about nuclear waste. They were
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worried about actions of these kind of
plants, with good reason. So in
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nineteen seventy five, just a few
years before this one, there is the
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incident at Brown's Ferry in Alabama.
So a bunch of flaws in construction and
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safety failures turned it into an accident. There was certainly alarming, but what
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became a bit more troubling was what
happened twelve days after this movie came out,
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which is crazy. So this film
was released on March sixteenth, and
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at the time there was a bunch
of executives in charge of nuclear power plants
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that were saying that it's pure fiction. It's a character assassination on the industry.
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Twelve days after its premiere, there
was a three Mile Island nuclear accident
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in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. And for
those who don't know or remember, on
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the three Mile Island nuclear generating station
in Susquehanna River in Londonderry Township near Harrisburg,
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Pennsylvania. Apparently it happened at four
am on March twenty eighth, and
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it's noted as the worst accident in
US commercial nuclear power plant history. On
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a seven point scale of how intense
these things can get, it was a
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five. Wow. So it's pretty
scary considering this is, you know,
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a cautionary tale about what can go
wrong if people are ignoring safety measures or
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cutting corners, or what people were
afraid of with having these things in our
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backyards, so to speak. And
yes, in talking about that, I
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read somewhere when doing some research for
this film that they are some people who
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believe that people behind the movie had
something to do with this. Yeah,
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it was only twelve days twelve days
after this movie came out, which is
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crazy coincidence, man, But yeah, you know, I'm sure this drove
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this movie too for an even bigger
audience because of that. Yeah, yeah,
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it turned into a blockbuster after that, because you know, understandably,
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people want their own way to understand
what's going on and to try to process
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it. And I don't think this
is necessarily you know, it seems like
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they thought that this was putting the
finger at the nuclear industry as being inherently
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dangerous. I don't think there was
anybody that was really twirling a mustache here,
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so to speak. It was just
points in the chain where people had
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ignored the job that they were supposed
to do, the safety measures, the
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quality control they're supposed to take with
dangerous consequences. And you know, listening
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to some physicists that have talked about
this movie, and you know the intricacies
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of what can happen at those plants
and all the safety measures. There's a
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scene where in this movie where Jack
Leman's character says that they have quality control
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standards that rival NASA along those lines, right, So they're taking those measures.
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It's just when certain people cut corners, it gets dangerous. And the
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biggest one of those that you know
we're going to see in this film is,
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uh, you know, the X
rays of those welds that Jack is
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trying to prove that you know,
it's there's it's not ready to go to
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be turned back on, you know. And he even goes out to the
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people who you know, but did
those X rays, and of course they're
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like, you know, cutting corners. You know, as you said talking
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you know, save the taste of
money, because he said what it would
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cost millions of dollars three X ray
all of that, you know, I
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mean, come on, okay,
okay, that's fine, And I know
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exactly that's worth the money, isn't
it? Like it makes me think of
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Ben Affleck's Batman when he says,
you know, if if there's even a
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one percent chance that this guy could
be a threat, we have to take
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it as an absolute certainty. Absolutely. Yeah. Why would you not,
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like think of the magnitude of what
can happen if you don't so like the
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fact that somebody is willing to cut
corners like that fake X ray? Oh
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my god, I think I clearly
don't understand what could happen. And I
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don't remember what the character's name was, but the guy with the bow tie.
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They kept kind of dismissing Jack and
saying like, oh, come on,
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like you said, we can't afford
to shut this down for so many
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days. Yeah, you can't afford
not to, you can't wait. Come
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on, man, you realize with
that steak here, Oh, it's scary.
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It blows your mind, I know, And you know there's people out
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there like that and have been Yeah, you're right, it is frightening on
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that and this movie really opens up
your eyes, which is why it's got
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such a good message. But really, before we dive more into it,
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let's talk about some of this cast. Scott as we know, Jane Fonda,
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who plays Kimberly Wells, she plays
a news anchor who I truly believe
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in. I think she did a
fantastic job. I felt that she was
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a genuine news anchor in this.
But of course, as we know,
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she always got the silly jobs to
report on, right, she didn't get
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those big news stories, and she
was always after that one. But one
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of them finally falls under her lap, and you know, she takes it
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and takes it in stride. Yeah, yeah, I guess so, I
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wasn't aware. This is one of
two movies where she's going to be a
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reporter, so you've got the Electric
Horseman coming up a little bit later.
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She and the rest of the cast
took it very seriously and went on several
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rounds, several rides with actual television
reporters, which you've got to respect.
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There's a lot of authenticity to her
performance at neck. I mean, she
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does the you know, kind of
like in Bruce Almighty, she goes to
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Niagara Falls and you know, talks
to the people on the Maid in the
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Mist and all this other kind of
stuff, and she takes it in stride.
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She knows that eventually it will get
somewhere, but she's also taking the
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assignments that are a bit more serious. So her tour of the nuclear power
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plant is a great piece that's helping
to kind of raise awareness of what's going
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on these plants, help people understand
a little bit more about them, which
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is fascinating because Jane Vonder was also
an activist at the time that was that
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was involved in, you know,
making sure that these things were safe,
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the paraplants were safe and not cutting
corners. But the struggle that she has
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to go through to be taken seriously
is is heartbreaking but understandably real. And
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I think at one point there was
a consideration of making her character a man,
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and I'm really glad that they didn't. This wouldn't have worked as good
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if that was a man character,
not at all, because you've got her
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and Jack Lemon both I think fighting
the same battle, or a very similar
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battle, yep, trying to figure
out trying to get people to take them
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seriously, understand what they're saying.
Listen to them. Michael Douglas's character in
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a similar situation, but they're each
taking different avenues in the spectrum. Right.
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Michael Douglas is ready to release the
footage and say, let's just expose
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them. Jack Lemon is a bit
more cautious about it, I think because
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he wants to you know, it's
not just I want to protect my job,
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because I think that's what the bow
Tie character was trying to do.
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It's more like, I know what
I'm doing in this position. I have
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a responsibility to be here in it. Yeah, And Jane Fond's character being
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responsible about the delivery of a story, so she can understand what the producer
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is saying, like, we can't
just say this, we have to research
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it, we have to dig in, we have to look at the facts.
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And I think she sides with that, which frustrates Michael Douglas's character.
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It's a fascinating kind of interplay between
the three. But what I think like
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about her character too, is in
going back to the thing that you know
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is a male character. With with
her being a female character, you're living
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in a time when a lot of
the newsakers are males. You know,
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they're they're men and you know,
you know, they're the ones that's on
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the big screen getting the big stories. So if this is a male character,
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it just wouldn't have worked the same. You know, you have Kimberly
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Wells who's not only trying to you
know, get on to get those big
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news stories, but she's fighting too
because she's a woman, you know.
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Yeah, and one of the things
that that her character you just see her
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character art from the beginning of this
film to the end of this film on
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how you know, we start off
kind of happy, fun, you know,
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she's getting those lovable stories, you
know, and you to laugh a
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little bit. But by the time
you get to the end of this film,
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you feel all the emotions that she
feels when she's in front of that
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camera there at the end and she's
trying to keep it together, and they're
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even saying, come on, keep
it together, keep it together. You
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got to report this. You know, you just see the struggle in her.
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There's no way this would have worked
as a male character, no way.
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Yeah, yeah, it wouldn't have
had the same impact at all.
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No, And I think she did
a great job in this role. Yeah,
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oh absolutely she did. And then
you know, let's talk about Michael
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Douglas a little bit. As Richard
Adams. You know, he's more than
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just a cameraman. You know,
he wants to tell that story no matter
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what, and no matter who he
hurts. He just wants to tell the
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truth, you know, right,
and you know, and typically that is
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a news reporter's job and the cameraman
is there just to point that camera,
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but not his character. And that's
what I loved about him. You know,
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he had that driving force along with
her. And you're right, with
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these three characters, with Jack two, you just had this driving trio that
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was just drove this movie and just
made it so powerful. About time we
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get to this end, it's fascinating
where we are, where you and I
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are in our movie watching experience.
Certainly Jack Lemon is a powerful actor,
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oh, without question, great legacy
of rules. When we see, at
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least personally, when I see Michael
Douglas's name, it's Michael Douglas. That's
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a pretty pretty big name. At
the time, he was just starting out,
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and he was also the producer of
this movie. He produced it.
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Yeah, crazy, yeah, how
much involvement he had with this, you
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know, going after the story itself
the story of the movie. And he
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even got Jack Lemon too, didn't
He like a couple of years before this
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was released to pull and Jack Lemon
says, I will do it. Whenever
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you're ready to film it, I
will be there. That's crazy, man.
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Yeah, he initially wanted to make
it right after one flu of the
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Cucko's Nest in seventy five, and
Lemon agreed to play the role as early
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as seventy six. And the connection
that the two of them had is powerful.
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Yeah, and you know, it's
interesting how he's the supporting actor to
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Jack Lemon's character. Yeah, you
would think it, you know, at
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least the way I would think of
more recent movies, the roles would be
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reversed, but to great effect here. I love the intensity of the young
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Michael Douglass. He's he's so committed
to doing what he thinks needs to be
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done, or what the news should
do, which is to bring the truth
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as soon as you can. He
apparently was offered or somebody, one of
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the executive producers sent him a comb
and scissors cut his hair. I'm glad
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that he didn't. He looked glad
that he didn't. Yeah, it was
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love that, but he's got that
very roguish kind of approach, even that
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scene where he's you know, secretly
filming, Yeah, the accident. It
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was a great touch, and you
know, with Jane found his character like
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Okay, are we doing this and
he's like, yeah, we're doing it.
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A lot of a lot of nonverbals
there, yeah, yeah, and
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just the speaking of his intensity there
towards the end, man, when he's
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banging on the glass, you know
what I'm talking about, when it happens,
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Oh my gosh, you that was
just so powerful. Yeah. But
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before we really dive into more of
that, you know, let's talk a
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little bit about Jack Lemons at Jack
Godell. You know I talked a little
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bit earlier, you know that I
feel like he was the tragic hero in
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this. You know, his character
really took over everyone else's and you didn't
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get that vibe at first while you
were introduced to him. You know,
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you thought this was going to be
Jane Fonda in Michael Douglas's story. But
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it turns out no, it is, but Jack Godell played by Jack Lemon,
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it really becomes his story man,
and just how tragic it is because
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when we see him at home it
doesn't look like he has any family,
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you know, he lives alone.
And I think when he was watching the
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news report that at the one time
he was eating what a bologney sandwich and
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drink. Yeah. Yeah. I
felt so sorry for him, man.
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And then when he goes back,
you know, he's getting chased and he
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gets back to the power plant,
and like, nobody wants to believe in
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man, nobody was backing him up. He was all by himself. Finally
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somebody does what's his name, uh
tech at the end played by Wilford Brimley,
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finally does at the end, but
it's like, come on, I
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felt so bad for his character.
Man. Well, and there's a you
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bring up a great friendship and a
great balance again of different perspectives on this.
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I got kind of military vibes from
Jack. I don't know if they
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expressly said it in the movie,
but I got the sense that he,
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you know, probably had some military
kind of disciplined training that led to him
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pursuing this career, right because he
knows what needs to be done, and
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he's not afraid to ask other people
to do it. He knows how to
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manage the room. Right. On
the other end, You've got Ted Spindler
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played by Wilford Brimley, who is
phenomenal in this role. He's more of
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a you know, this is my
job, man. I mean, I'm
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going to take it seriously. I
want to take him seriously, but I
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know that my butt's on the line
and I'm not getting any younger, so
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I need this job. I'm not
going to do it to the extent that
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I'm going to sacrifice other people's safety
for it, but help me out.
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I want to make the right decisions
here, but I also need to keep
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working. You can tell that they
have a lengthy friendship, you can tell
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that they've been together for a while, that they work together really, really
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well. And the ending scene with
Ted is so powerful, his delivery of
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those lines and his willingness to stand
up and finally say what he needs to
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say in that same moment where you
know, Jane Fonda is breaking down,
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and I was so proud of him
in that moment. I think of anybody.
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I think when Jack makes the decision
that he makes to take the stand
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in the control room, I was
kind of surprised that Ted walked out.
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Yeah, I know that he was
being ordered to and I know that that's
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part of Jack's plan, but he
probably would have stood by his side and
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I think so probably been a voice
of reason. Yeah, I completely agree
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with that, and just that that
whole powerful ending. Man, it's just
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we can, I mean, we
can go ahead and talk about it.
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This film is for it. It's
years celeb spoiler alert boom rented. This
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was my first time watching this,
Scott, I don't know about you.
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Yeah, so it's always been on
my list to watch and I just never
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got around to it. And I'm
glad that I had an opportunity to do
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it because we need to do it
for the podcast. But man, I
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gotta tell you when that ending happened. I was gutted, Scott. Yeah,
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when when when Jack Lemon's character gets
killed and then we we go out
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there and it's just it just seemed
like it's all unraveling now and the truth
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is not going to come out,
and then Ted finally stands up, and
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then you know, Kimberlee is,
you know, breaking down or trying to.
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She's trying to hold together. Man, that was just one powerful ending,
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man, And what I love too
about it, And you know,
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we can talk about this further when
we get to the score. There's no
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score in this movie, right.
I was wondering about that when we're doing
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our prep. I'm like, okay, so the score it hey, uh
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huh to talk about all right,
but you know what, it's a great
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effect. Yes, it totally works. And what I love about the eating
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is how it goes right to the
credits and there's just no music, just
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total silence. And the choice of
that was perfect because they want you as
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a as an audience to really take
the message they just gave you and how
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they ended. They want you to
feel all those emotions that impact and just
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think about it as those credits are
rolling. It was perfect. Yeah,
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absolutely, yeah, And I mean
there's a great book ending that they do
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with those color bars. Yes,
right, that's a shock. You're like,
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is it over? It's a black
screen. I don't know what's gonna
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happen. Okay, credits are rolling. Like I was surprised with what he
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had done to steal the gun and
to you know, take control of the
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control room. I hate that he
was backed into that corner too. That's
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that's part of where the heartbreak begins. This job does a great job of
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ratcheting up a lot of tension in
just the right ways, and then leaving
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you with this echoing silence and the
bookends of the color bars. It's kind
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of like, you know, does
this just become another story? Right?
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Does this just become another thing that
they cut to you? And that's kind
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of forgotten. Very interesting to think
about watching this movie before through Mile Island
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and then after it feels like it
would leave you sitting there with goosebumps and
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just thinking about how close do you
lived one of those things? Even the
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impact of like with the color bars
and stuff like that before, but when
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you see both screens of going on, you see like the the live stuff
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going on, what's happening at the
nuclear power plant, but then you see
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the commercials, what the audience,
you know, is seeing both of us
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going on at the same time.
Just the impact of that in itself is
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just how powerful that is? Right? Yeah? Well, and I mean
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thinking about if you have a chance
to go out and look for the Ciscil
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and Ebert review of this movie.
It's very interesting because I think they agree
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with us. They both give it
two thumbs up. Before they were doing
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thumbs up, and but you can
tell it's before three Mile Island because the
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discussion seems like it would be very, very different after that, and I'm
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sure this opened up a lot of
discussions from people. It's you know,
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it became a blockbuster after this because
I think people, like we said before,
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it was people's way to digest it. But what makes Jack's arc so
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heartbreaking is that you know how much
he cared about doing a good job about
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the impact of that, and he
came about that plant so much. He
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mentions that, yeah, yeah,
he loved it, Yeah, right,
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it with his life. Yeah,
and not like we this is so fun,
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but like he knew what he was
doing. He was taking it very
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seriously. And the number of things
that can go wrong in that place is
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blank. Yeah. Absolutely, It's
scary, it really is, And that's
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the point of the film. Yeah, the the executives that are kind of
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pulling the strings behind this. Richard
heard McCormick, god scram the son of
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a bitch. It's kind of like, do you even know what you're saying
317
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right now? I'm sure you understand, And I just you know, setting
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the swat in there, they could
have easily not had to kill him,
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I think, But it's so dramatic
and him leaving like the bloodstains on the
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control boards. Yeah, the end
of the tension you're talking about. You
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don't realise that tension is building until
it's too late. You're like, oh
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my god, I'm on the edge
of my seat and I don't realize it.
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You know, when you're you're waiting
to get that interview started and you
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see the SWAT team is trying to
get in there. They're you know,
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they're trying to get that door unlocked, and it just builds and builds,
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and they keep taking their time to
get the camera up, to get the
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sound right, and it's like,
oh my god, come on right,
328
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and then they're they're cutting through with
that very slow melting torch and you're like,
329
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Jack, get there faster. Yeah, I know, it's nerve wrecking.
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I know you're like most tense moment
in your life, but you've got
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to get there faster. I mean, you even see Richard Adams saying,
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come on, say it, say
it, say it. You know who's
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one thing to go ahead and say
it so the audience would hear it.
334
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Yeah, Oh my gosh, it's
just so ridiculously powerful. One of the
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00:25:03.359 --> 00:25:07.079
actor I want to bring out is
good old Jeans Karen as mister Tigue.
336
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As soon as saal Ham, I
thought you left the bodies and you only
337
00:25:11.559 --> 00:25:15.799
moved the headstones of course. But
yeah, yep, no, I was.
338
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I was fascinated to see Michael J. Fox's dad from Teen Wolf,
339
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Oh yeah, in this. I
was waiting for him to just bang out.
340
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Yeah. They had a lot of
good guests in this, that's for
341
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sure. Well, let's let's look
through the landst find anything fascinating about this
342
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film. Uh tons, Apparently if
you're looking for someone on the lighter side
343
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of all this, Apparently Jane Fond
had an accident on the set, so
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she broke her ankle, which meant
she couldn't take ballet classes anymore, so
345
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she took up aerobics. That's anybody
who grew up in the eighties, right,
346
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Jane found his exercise videos up.
Wow. I didn't realize that.
347
00:26:02.599 --> 00:26:07.519
So we got this movie to think
for that. Huh right exactly the terms.
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Yeah, Like I said before,
I thought it was fascinating to learn
349
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that he was that Michael Douglas was
a producer of this movie, and how
350
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much he believed in the the story
and wanting to bring it to life and
351
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how much say he had in various
aspects of it. And we'll get into
352
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that with the score. But it's
it seems like it was a very brave
353
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story to take on and I think
it was done to great effect. And
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I don't think it's okay just to
start of his career on how he was
355
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able to pull this off as just
crazy the big statement. Yeah, and
356
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again I don't think it's necessarily saying
like nuclear power plants are inherently evil.
357
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It's saying it has to be very
carefully managed. Yeah, safety has to
358
00:27:02.519 --> 00:27:06.839
be a priority. Yeah, what
about you? And this is the biggest
359
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one I pulled out this And this
is the only movie Jack Lemon where his
360
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character dies, the only movie he
was in that's in his contract. There
361
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must be never kill him. Yeah, absolutely. But yeah, I just
362
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a lot of stuff went into this
film to make sure it was done.
363
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I know they fought over the title
of it, too, did they not.
364
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Yeah, they didn't call the China
Syndrome because they thought it was just
365
00:27:30.680 --> 00:27:33.319
confusing title. So they fought over
that one for a little bit. But
366
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at least, you know, they
kept it because they realized what the meaning
367
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of it was. Just so many
things went on behind the scenes, but
368
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I'm glad Michael Douglas was able to, you know, pull this off as
369
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he did. Yeah, I think
considering the context, you know, of
370
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Three Mile Island, I think it
was the perfect choice to keep this title,
371
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even though you know, you're listening
to physicists talk about it and they're
372
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like, well, it would take
a long time. It wouldn't actually go
373
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through the core because gravity would take
care of it, but the release of
374
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the gases and also the kind of
stuff. Yeah, it's it's fascinating.
375
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Really, there's a lot. I
think one thing to let people know it
376
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is a very It is a fairly
technical movie. So if you think of
377
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like Hunt for Red October, I
had to watch that twice to understand what
378
00:28:18.599 --> 00:28:22.240
was going on because of all the
technical terms that are happening, and also
379
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the kind of stuff. But not
in a prohibitive way. Right, you
380
00:28:26.200 --> 00:28:29.720
don't have to have a physics degree
to understand You really don't even have to
381
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understand the the the inner workings of
a power plant. Right. It takes
382
00:28:34.440 --> 00:28:38.039
you through in the right way.
It takes you along for the ride,
383
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and you're just you just know that
the people who are afraid of a worst
384
00:28:42.599 --> 00:28:48.000
case scenario. Know how impending that
worst case scenario is. Yeah, and
385
00:28:48.079 --> 00:28:52.759
the steps that they have to go
through to take it. I just hope
386
00:28:52.799 --> 00:28:56.519
that Evan McCormick never makes another power
plant ever again. Right, Yeah,
387
00:28:56.559 --> 00:29:00.920
no kidding. I felt when they
were explaining when a nuclear power plant how
388
00:29:00.960 --> 00:29:06.920
it worked, it really gave me
the scene from Jurassic Park when they're explaining
389
00:29:06.960 --> 00:29:11.200
the DNA of the dinosaur. That's
what it felt like to me. So
390
00:29:11.279 --> 00:29:14.480
you do get a little bit of
an education there, that's for sure.
391
00:29:15.160 --> 00:29:18.559
Exactly. All right, Well,
let's score it, which you know you
392
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and I have already hinted to this, there is no score to this movie
393
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because it was really important to Michael
Douglas that he wanted to create the realism
394
00:29:30.079 --> 00:29:33.079
of this film of what was going
on. And the only music you hear
395
00:29:33.119 --> 00:29:37.440
in this is what's going on in
the environment. You know, a radio
396
00:29:37.519 --> 00:29:40.799
in the background, or the television
going on, or a jukebox in the
397
00:29:40.839 --> 00:29:44.440
bar, whatever it is. That's
the only music that you're going to hear
398
00:29:44.799 --> 00:29:48.440
is what's actually happening in those scenes. And I thought that was incredibly well
399
00:29:48.480 --> 00:29:52.440
done. And you're talking and this
is coming from somebody who loves movie scores
400
00:29:53.039 --> 00:29:57.440
and should think there should always be
one, But in this movie, no,
401
00:29:59.160 --> 00:30:02.640
I think they made the perfect decision
of not to have a score.
402
00:30:03.400 --> 00:30:07.839
Yeah, and apparently the score was
written for the movie, yeah, by
403
00:30:07.960 --> 00:30:11.319
Michael Small, but they never put
it in. I totally agree. I
404
00:30:11.359 --> 00:30:15.559
think it's a great decision, especially
that end credits. That's usually when you
405
00:30:15.680 --> 00:30:18.960
hear the you know, some kind
of song, even if it's soft and
406
00:30:18.039 --> 00:30:22.279
mournful or something like that. No, leave it quiet because people are going
407
00:30:22.359 --> 00:30:26.000
to have conversations. Yeah, I
guess I should backtrack a little bit.
408
00:30:26.039 --> 00:30:30.680
There is one song at the beginning, somewhere in between by Steven Bishop,
409
00:30:32.680 --> 00:30:34.559
so that one is there, you
know, but that's it. That's it.
410
00:30:34.680 --> 00:30:37.599
Once the movie starts, it's there
is no more, right, And
411
00:30:37.720 --> 00:30:44.960
apparently that was almost what a fool
believes the Doobie Brothers. Yeah, that
412
00:30:44.960 --> 00:30:48.599
would have been a different tone altogether. It would it seems like yacht rock
413
00:30:48.720 --> 00:30:52.039
kind of running scared soundtrack. The
other one not so much. Yeah.
414
00:30:52.400 --> 00:30:56.279
Absolutely, all right, Dave,
Well, I tell you what, let's
415
00:30:56.319 --> 00:30:57.440
take a quick break. I know
we've got a lot more to talk about
416
00:30:57.799 --> 00:31:03.759
when we get back with China Syndrome. Okay, we're back, Dave.
417
00:31:03.880 --> 00:31:07.119
What do we want to talk about
next? All right, well, let's
418
00:31:07.160 --> 00:31:10.839
quote this, Scott. Did you
find anything interesting? Yeah, there was
419
00:31:10.880 --> 00:31:15.440
an interesting quote by Jane Fonda.
She said. On one level, it's
420
00:31:15.440 --> 00:31:19.640
a terrific thriller like Clute she had
made before, which one of the best
421
00:31:19.680 --> 00:31:25.480
actress Oscar. But on a deeper
level, The China Syndrome is quite a
422
00:31:25.480 --> 00:31:30.319
complex human story about the consequences of
choices. Everyone needs a job, almost
423
00:31:30.400 --> 00:31:34.440
everyone wants to advance. People are
constantly compromised or requested to compromise their ethics
424
00:31:34.519 --> 00:31:37.519
and their jobs. I think this
is a movie that we'll speak to a
425
00:31:37.640 --> 00:31:42.240
lot of people. Yeah, not
just in the nuclear industry, but thinking
426
00:31:42.240 --> 00:31:48.039
about other industries where those kind of
check and balances and quality control, quality
427
00:31:48.039 --> 00:31:51.799
insurance is so necessary. Absolutely,
man, Absolutely, what about you?
428
00:31:52.720 --> 00:31:56.720
I got one from Jack Lemon that
I found, He says, I signed
429
00:31:56.799 --> 00:32:00.519
on for The China Syndrome and then
waited over a year for me to begin.
430
00:32:00.200 --> 00:32:05.079
Not only did I get a marvelous
role, but I had the satisfaction
431
00:32:05.200 --> 00:32:07.920
of being part of a film project
that deals with a very dramatic subject and
432
00:32:08.039 --> 00:32:13.480
it makes for a very dramatic movie. Mm hm, And he's not kidding.
433
00:32:13.960 --> 00:32:17.039
He did get nominated for an Oscar
for this role. He didn't win.
434
00:32:17.640 --> 00:32:21.680
I think It's new got four nominations, Is that correct? I believe,
435
00:32:21.799 --> 00:32:24.119
Yeah, yep, they didn't win
any, but at least it did
436
00:32:24.200 --> 00:32:30.039
get nominated. I think uh Kramer
versus Kramer took some oscars, which is
437
00:32:30.079 --> 00:32:34.279
coming up for us to discuss this
year, of course. But Jack Lemon
438
00:32:34.440 --> 00:32:37.960
did an incredible everybody did incredible chop
in this movie. But Jack Lemon just
439
00:32:37.119 --> 00:32:39.839
man. I've always been a big
fan of him, especially the Grumpy Old
440
00:32:39.920 --> 00:32:44.400
Men series, but oh yeah,
man, Jack Lemon, just wow,
441
00:32:44.839 --> 00:32:46.319
what a greatful role for him.
For sure. You know, I wish
442
00:32:46.359 --> 00:32:52.480
I could have found a quote from
Michael Douglas about what flavor his uranium pez
443
00:32:52.680 --> 00:33:00.759
was the black. Seriously, I
was so shocked in that scene, like
444
00:33:01.559 --> 00:33:08.319
the James Hampton is holding up this
thing that says, so this keeps the
445
00:33:09.240 --> 00:33:15.119
nuclear reactions at bay or basically you
know this is a uranium hellen. So
446
00:33:15.279 --> 00:33:19.400
he takes it, pops it in
his mouth and it's kind of like cradling
447
00:33:19.440 --> 00:33:21.680
it in his mouth, and you're
like, oh, let's pit that out
448
00:33:22.039 --> 00:33:28.240
no grow next scene, he's chewing
on it like there will be no China
449
00:33:28.279 --> 00:33:32.119
syndrome too, because that guy's dead
of cancer guaranteed like two days later.
450
00:33:36.160 --> 00:33:38.000
And you're proud of it too,
showing that black tongue. Ah, I
451
00:33:38.319 --> 00:33:43.400
know you, I mean didn't it? Did they flavor it? Because like,
452
00:33:43.519 --> 00:33:45.119
how would you get through that thing? Anyway? A lot of tangent,
453
00:33:45.480 --> 00:33:50.079
right, but you'll know what we're
talking about and when you see that
454
00:33:50.240 --> 00:33:55.519
scene exactly. So what ifs.
There are some very interesting what ifs in
455
00:33:55.599 --> 00:34:00.680
this one. I know one that
I saw was Jack Nicholson turned down the
456
00:34:00.759 --> 00:34:05.880
role of Jack Goodell as he was
busy filming The Shining. Yeah. Jack
457
00:34:05.960 --> 00:34:09.400
Nicholson's awesome, but I'm sorry,
Jack Lemon is the perfect role for that
458
00:34:09.480 --> 00:34:15.719
one. Yeah. I think his
intensity would have been seen as almost equal
459
00:34:16.880 --> 00:34:24.679
or very similar to Michael Douglas's intensity. I don't think he would have gotten
460
00:34:24.719 --> 00:34:29.960
the same kind of empathy that I
think you naturally feel for Jack Cadell.
461
00:34:30.000 --> 00:34:32.000
You talked to before about you know, this is a guy that's on his
462
00:34:32.079 --> 00:34:37.800
own and bolooney sandwiches in a soda, watching nightly news, right, but
463
00:34:38.000 --> 00:34:44.760
just his sincerity, Jack Nicholson could
have achieved it, But nineteen seventy nine,
464
00:34:44.840 --> 00:34:47.119
Jack Nicholson was thought of in a
very different way, correct, And
465
00:34:47.199 --> 00:34:52.320
I just think it would have hit
a little differently. Another what if that
466
00:34:52.440 --> 00:34:55.679
kind of comes on the heels of
our previous episode. What if Jane Fonda
467
00:34:55.719 --> 00:35:06.599
had taken Normal Ray? Would we
have Sally Field replacing her in that's possibile.
468
00:35:07.239 --> 00:35:13.079
Yeah, I think it would not
have worked. I think they probably
469
00:35:13.119 --> 00:35:16.039
could. I haven't heard of other
casting decisions there other than having this role
470
00:35:16.119 --> 00:35:20.760
originally written as a man, which
we both agree is not a good idea,
471
00:35:21.079 --> 00:35:28.079
correct. But I think Jane Fonda
has a certain commanding presence, absolutely
472
00:35:28.239 --> 00:35:31.880
certainly at this point in her career, but inherently the way that she carries
473
00:35:31.960 --> 00:35:37.199
this role. I don't think we
would have gotten the same from other actresses
474
00:35:37.239 --> 00:35:39.880
that I can know. No,
I don't think so. And it's funny
475
00:35:39.920 --> 00:35:44.440
that you bring up the normal Ray
thing too. I remember how noisy the
476
00:35:44.519 --> 00:35:46.960
Textile Mills was so when they were
in the nuclear power plant. It was
477
00:35:47.280 --> 00:35:51.079
ridiculously noisy, and think, oh
wow, it's the textile mill all over
478
00:35:51.119 --> 00:35:55.519
a year, right. I hope
our next movie is quieter Dave kidding.
479
00:35:57.480 --> 00:36:02.079
I also believe Richard Dreyfus was originally
cast as the cameraman, but he pulled
480
00:36:02.119 --> 00:36:06.760
out apparently, and then since Michael
Douglas was producing the film, he decided
481
00:36:06.800 --> 00:36:08.079
to go ahead and take on that
role, which I think was a great
482
00:36:08.079 --> 00:36:12.920
decision too. Richard drivers probably could
have done a great job, because you
483
00:36:12.960 --> 00:36:15.199
know, we've seen him in so
many roles that are very similar to this,
484
00:36:15.239 --> 00:36:20.199
but Michael Douglas just really pulled it
off extremely well. Yeah. I
485
00:36:20.280 --> 00:36:25.199
think Richard Dreyfus absolutely could have done
it from a dramatic perspective, and I
486
00:36:25.320 --> 00:36:32.880
think we'd be so much more focused
on his sarcastic presence yep, and not
487
00:36:34.159 --> 00:36:38.000
necessarily like you know, Michael Douglas's
character is probably like, you know,
488
00:36:38.320 --> 00:36:43.760
jumping across hoods in a chase scene
or something like that, right sliding across
489
00:36:43.800 --> 00:36:47.360
the hood of a car or something. He had a different kind of intensity,
490
00:36:47.440 --> 00:36:51.280
and I think it's an intensity that
we continue to get from Michael Douglas
491
00:36:51.440 --> 00:36:53.800
in his career, and I'm glad
that we had that launching pad. I
492
00:36:53.840 --> 00:36:59.599
think Richard Dreyfus had his own opportunities, his own roles where that came out,
493
00:37:00.400 --> 00:37:04.079
but this was definitely it seems to
me like a landmark in Michaelglass's career.
494
00:37:04.440 --> 00:37:07.199
I agree, I agree. All
right, Well, let's let's do
495
00:37:07.239 --> 00:37:09.119
a little bit of a rewind here
and let's talk about some of our favorite
496
00:37:09.119 --> 00:37:13.639
scenes in this movie. Scott,
you've got any great scenes you love appreciate
497
00:37:14.840 --> 00:37:22.639
aside from the uranium pez secretly filming
the accident I think was pretty a pretty
498
00:37:22.679 --> 00:37:27.599
slick move, just holding that camera
subtly and you know, kind of capturing
499
00:37:27.639 --> 00:37:36.159
everything that they had too. Something
that was very intense was when the chase
500
00:37:36.199 --> 00:37:40.159
scenes from the cover up. That
was shocking. Mm hmm. I know,
501
00:37:40.239 --> 00:37:45.280
there's that cautionary tale from the you
know, the guy that doesn't like
502
00:37:45.440 --> 00:37:47.320
X rays and burn them on the
construction site, like you don't know what
503
00:37:47.440 --> 00:37:50.840
you're digging up, These guys will
come after you, and they did.
504
00:37:51.360 --> 00:37:54.480
Yeah. I did not expect Jack
Lemon to be in a chase scene,
505
00:37:55.519 --> 00:38:00.400
but he held his own really really
well. He did. What about you?
506
00:38:00.079 --> 00:38:02.480
So, I mean we already talked
about, you know, several obviously
507
00:38:02.559 --> 00:38:06.480
the use of natural sounds and stuff
like that, but one of the things
508
00:38:06.480 --> 00:38:10.599
that I really loved was Jack and
Kimberly seen in the bar when Kimberly goes
509
00:38:10.639 --> 00:38:14.400
into the bar looking for Richard and
she finds Jack, and you know,
510
00:38:14.840 --> 00:38:19.199
some of his coworkers are sitting at
the bar and they automatically know who she
511
00:38:19.320 --> 00:38:22.000
is and stuff like that, so
you know, you think right away Jack's
512
00:38:22.000 --> 00:38:24.559
going to shun her, but instead
he asked her, Hey, you want
513
00:38:24.599 --> 00:38:28.199
to join us, you want to
you want to sit down? And and
514
00:38:28.400 --> 00:38:30.920
she does, and you know,
they start getting into a conversation, and
515
00:38:30.000 --> 00:38:34.760
you know, she's obviously being that
news reporter and she's pro being asking those
516
00:38:34.880 --> 00:38:37.960
questions, you know, was the
public in any danger? But he wouldn't
517
00:38:37.960 --> 00:38:40.079
answer that, you know, so
finally he looks at her nods over to
518
00:38:40.239 --> 00:38:44.320
you know, they go over to
the fireplace there and sit separately from everybody
519
00:38:44.360 --> 00:38:47.920
else, and he just starts talking
about his job and stuff like that,
520
00:38:49.039 --> 00:38:52.199
and she kept probing him up,
asking if the public was ever in any
521
00:38:52.320 --> 00:38:54.800
danger, and he just really kept
dancing around it. I love that scene
522
00:38:54.840 --> 00:38:59.280
between those two characters, I really
did. Yeah, It's it's such a
523
00:38:59.320 --> 00:39:05.440
great reviw of kind of that doubt
worm that's going around in his head.
524
00:39:06.039 --> 00:39:10.400
Right, he was so nervous when
the accident was actually happening, trying to
525
00:39:10.480 --> 00:39:14.039
go through You could see him with
his you know, his head on the
526
00:39:14.119 --> 00:39:17.119
console, kind of thinking through like
what do I do? What could I
527
00:39:17.199 --> 00:39:23.880
have done? When he's in the
investigation and he's getting those questions, you
528
00:39:23.960 --> 00:39:30.760
can see him taking personal responsibility for
what's going on and how much that weighs
529
00:39:30.800 --> 00:39:34.639
on him. So then when he
has that sense of relief in that moment
530
00:39:34.719 --> 00:39:37.519
when they finally celebrate, he and
Ted are sitting there at the bar sharing
531
00:39:37.559 --> 00:39:44.920
a drink with friends and family,
I guess, and he seems to be
532
00:39:45.000 --> 00:39:50.679
in a pretty happy moment that he's
he's fighting to hold onto as he's talking
533
00:39:50.800 --> 00:39:55.480
to to Kimberly, and that doubt
just starts to creep creep, creep creep
534
00:39:55.559 --> 00:40:02.239
in And Yeah, it's it's got
away on him a lot. Yeah,
535
00:40:02.679 --> 00:40:07.119
And that was the point of his
character, It really was. Yeah,
536
00:40:07.559 --> 00:40:14.480
Yeah, there there was just Yeah, it's it's a great moment because you
537
00:40:14.519 --> 00:40:20.480
can see that that happiness kind of
melting away in him and the doubts start
538
00:40:20.559 --> 00:40:22.800
to take over. Yeah, because
he had that relief that it was all
539
00:40:22.880 --> 00:40:24.440
over, you know, when they
were getting interrogated and stuff. What was
540
00:40:24.480 --> 00:40:27.800
going on. He had that relief
it was all over, and then here
541
00:40:27.880 --> 00:40:30.960
she comes in and puts that doubt
right back into his head again. You
542
00:40:30.039 --> 00:40:34.039
know, yeah, you're right right, and that bothers him how much he
543
00:40:34.119 --> 00:40:38.159
could he could have done more right, But there's so much that he was
544
00:40:38.280 --> 00:40:43.760
doing, and he seemed to be
all on his own, like searching for
545
00:40:43.840 --> 00:40:46.639
the answers, searching for what's wrong, and nobody else wanted to listen,
546
00:40:47.039 --> 00:40:52.519
no one. Heartbreaking it is again
going back to that tragic hero that he
547
00:40:52.719 --> 00:40:54.639
was in this movie. Man,
it's just it's heartbreaking, it really is
548
00:40:55.840 --> 00:40:59.840
to see what his character ended up
and how he ended and what he went
549
00:41:00.039 --> 00:41:04.400
through and just because he cared so
much and loved his job and loved that
550
00:41:04.559 --> 00:41:07.920
power plant and how it just ended
for him, My goodness. Yeah,
551
00:41:08.920 --> 00:41:13.360
just ridiculous. Or let's talk about
the impact of this film, Scott.
552
00:41:13.760 --> 00:41:16.400
There's so much about this movie that
had an impact on the audience. And
553
00:41:16.480 --> 00:41:20.880
you know, we already talked about
what happened twelve days after this film was
554
00:41:20.960 --> 00:41:23.239
released. But you know, there
was either films that would come later down
555
00:41:23.239 --> 00:41:28.280
the road from this one. You
know, you would have Silkwood Testament the
556
00:41:28.400 --> 00:41:32.559
day after the Atomic Cafe. So
many movies would come after this one that
557
00:41:32.800 --> 00:41:38.239
you know, would have similar lots
to this movie. And let's not even
558
00:41:38.559 --> 00:41:44.360
forget about the Schnobo disaster in nineteen
eighty six. Yeah, you know,
559
00:41:45.039 --> 00:41:46.400
yeah, and I mean one of
the ones that stands out that you mentioned
560
00:41:46.480 --> 00:41:52.000
the day after. I don't know
about you, but like every household seemed
561
00:41:52.000 --> 00:41:55.320
to be talking about that movie.
Oh yeah, yeah, I remember people
562
00:41:55.480 --> 00:42:00.960
in their tracks. Yeah, And
I imagine this had a similar effect,
563
00:42:00.360 --> 00:42:07.400
right, And it got a lot
of people talking. I think I think
564
00:42:07.480 --> 00:42:12.800
I had seen that it. It
didn't necessarily, you know, kill the
565
00:42:12.920 --> 00:42:17.719
nuclear industry or anything else like that, but it definitely did create enough conversation
566
00:42:17.840 --> 00:42:23.599
to give us some pause, which
I think is beneficial obviously, aside from
567
00:42:23.639 --> 00:42:28.880
the movie. Through My Island naturally
does so because people needed to take more
568
00:42:28.920 --> 00:42:34.480
security measures, but it got a
lot more people mindful of it and interested
569
00:42:34.599 --> 00:42:39.039
in it, and a way to, you know, for them to kind
570
00:42:39.079 --> 00:42:44.440
of enter the conversation with at least
a little bit of context. Yes,
571
00:42:44.559 --> 00:42:49.880
there's some embellishment from a Hollywood perspective, of course, but when you see
572
00:42:50.800 --> 00:42:54.000
people that are experts in the field
talking about this movie, there's a lot
573
00:42:54.079 --> 00:43:01.239
of reality in this movie because they
cared enough to make it a realistic story.
574
00:43:01.639 --> 00:43:05.960
Yep, I completely agree. And
for those out there, I hope
575
00:43:05.960 --> 00:43:08.920
you've seen this movie before we talk
about it, because I really want the
576
00:43:09.000 --> 00:43:13.760
impact of this ending to be fresh. I don't want it to be ruined
577
00:43:13.880 --> 00:43:16.239
for anybody. So I really hope
you saw this movie before you've listened to
578
00:43:16.320 --> 00:43:20.760
us talk about it, because with
this being my first time seeing it,
579
00:43:21.360 --> 00:43:23.800
man, it's just I'm still thinking
about that ending. Scott, I really
580
00:43:23.880 --> 00:43:29.360
am along those lines. Just don't
watch an eclipse, yeah, because you'll
581
00:43:29.360 --> 00:43:31.639
get you'll get an understanding for what
happens. Yeah, but when you see
582
00:43:31.679 --> 00:43:36.239
it happen, it's a totally different
thing. It is so definitely dive right
583
00:43:36.320 --> 00:43:38.880
into this. Yeah. Where did
you end up catching this one? I
584
00:43:38.960 --> 00:43:45.920
actually ended up running it on Amazon
Prime. It couldn't be found anywhere for
585
00:43:45.119 --> 00:43:47.639
me, so I just had to
run it. What about you? Yeah,
586
00:43:49.719 --> 00:43:52.400
I ultimately ended up having to watch
it on Amazon Prime, same kind
587
00:43:52.400 --> 00:43:58.599
of idea, although I did get
the handed dandy copy from the library.
588
00:43:59.039 --> 00:44:01.440
Of course, had to do some
travel, so I had to, you
589
00:44:01.519 --> 00:44:07.119
know, catch up on it in
a different schedule. But yeah, it's
590
00:44:07.400 --> 00:44:09.559
you know, this is one of
those movies that I think is an interesting
591
00:44:10.400 --> 00:44:17.599
moment in time, and I don't
know how much we'll be talking about it
592
00:44:17.880 --> 00:44:22.360
forty five years from now. Yeah, I think it'd be a great time
593
00:44:22.880 --> 00:44:27.679
to dust this one off, give
it a look, look into what was
594
00:44:27.719 --> 00:44:34.400
happening at the time, and give
it a chance, because I think it's
595
00:44:34.559 --> 00:44:40.559
a very important milestone in the career
of three amazing actors, and a very
596
00:44:42.239 --> 00:44:45.159
interesting milestone in nineteen seventy nine.
Absolutely, I couldn't agree more with that,
597
00:44:45.239 --> 00:44:49.679
Scott, great assessment. Well.
As always, I wanted to thank
598
00:44:49.760 --> 00:44:54.400
our listeners. I hope you're enjoying
our little adventure through nineteen seventy nine as
599
00:44:54.480 --> 00:44:58.960
much as we are. We have
a lot of great films still coming up
600
00:44:59.000 --> 00:45:02.719
that I know, Scott and I
cannot wait to dig into and explore with
601
00:45:02.920 --> 00:45:07.199
the everyone. But if you want
to leave a comment, discuss what's next,
602
00:45:07.320 --> 00:45:09.599
or even have suggestions, you can
find us at www dot film by
603
00:45:09.679 --> 00:45:14.119
podcast dot com. You can send
us an email at a film by Podcast
604
00:45:14.159 --> 00:45:16.599
at gmail dot com. You can
also find us at a film by Podcast
605
00:45:16.639 --> 00:45:22.199
on Facebook, Instagram. Until our
film reels start rolling again, go out,
606
00:45:22.280 --> 00:45:24.880
watch something new, watch something different, and who knows what you'll discover
607
00:45:25.039 --> 00:45:30.880
next. Thanks everyone, Thanks,
Just introduce a commercial. Pete, go
608
00:45:31.039 --> 00:45:35.920
right to commercial. We'll be back
with more on the than Tanna Nuclear power
609
00:45:36.000 --> 00:45:40.000
plant takeover by one of its employees
right after this rollover on the picture,
610
00:45:40.039 --> 00:45:46.079
please, I k F two Okay. Incredible timing. Did you did you?
611
00:45:46.239 --> 00:45:50.320
Were you anticipating us the end right
or was that just ver timing.
612
00:45:50.840 --> 00:45:52.960
I'll just I checked out, like
that's nine o'clock. We'll see how close
613
00:45:53.000 --> 00:45:57.119
they are. And then I was
like, oh, they're done dead on.
614
00:45:57.400 --> 00:46:00.960
Good job. I just said my
clothing it's perfect, all right.
615
00:46:02.880 --> 00:46:06.800
Did you guys do a promo break? Oh crap, we did not,
616
00:46:07.079 --> 00:46:09.239
Scott, you want to say a
promo break? Sure? Okay, go
617
00:46:09.280 --> 00:46:15.159
ahead, three two one a promo
break. H