Cinema Cycle - War and Peace in the Nuclear Age: Episodes 1 & 2

CINEMA CYCLE

(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)

DATE VIEWED: 03/03/2015

TITLE: War & Peace In The Nuclear Age (Episodes 1 & 2)

FORMAT: VHS

TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 1 hour 53 minutes

DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 27.6 miles

TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 1208.2 miles

SYNOPSIS: The history of nuclear weapons and nuclear détente are examined from their origins in 1939 to the end of the cold war in the late 1980s.

Episode #1: Dawn (1939 - 1945)

Episode #2: The Weapon Of Choice (1945 - 1956)

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: History and where we come from. How the fears and anxieties of previous governments and administrations shaped our foreign policy into the future.  An amazingly accurate portrayal of how we almost annihilated the entire planet.  The series is littered with fascinating interviews of the people who were at the center of the storm, both scientific and political.  

PROS AND CONS: Good luck finding this documentary.  It is out there, but you will probably have to get it online from WGBH.  I only have all 13 episodes because I recorded it off the air when it was first broadcast.

This may be one of the best historical documentaries that I have ever seen.  These first two episodes give a fair and balanced look at how humanity developed the nuclear bomb.  Then goes on to show how the United States almost gave it away in the name of world peace and security.   We changed our minds due to mistrust and deceit which started an arms race that became insane in its magnitude.

Every time I watch the series I get drawn more and more into it because of the interviews with those that were involved, all of whom are now long gone.  The archival footage in this series is stunning, with politicians and scientists whose names will never be known except to the in-depth scholar.  To hear Edward Teller talk about the ‘need’ for a bigger hydrogen bomb or Andre Gromyko talk of the Soviet perception of the NATA allies actions is fascinating.

The series shows the dance of diplomacy and how the will and ideology of the superpowers shaped how we all moved into the future.  What would the world be like now if the great nations had not built tens of thousands of nuclear warheads and moved armies around the globe like playing pieces on a chessboard?  We will never know, but this documentary makes the viewer ask that question.  

To read an overview of this project, check out the initial post for this series.

 

Clicking on the title will take you to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) entry for this film. 

 

This film was viewed while exercising on my recumbent cycle.  A summary of my time spent working out on my journey through movie-land can be found on Strava.com.