The Atomic Cafe(2018)

1h 26m
- Documentary
- History

Release Date: Aug 1, 2018

93%
85%
7.6

Disturbing collection of 1940s and 1950s United States government-issued propaganda films designed to reassure Americans that the atomic bomb was not a threat to their safety.

Official Website

Release Details

Original Release | Aug 1, 2018 | Limited

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Box Office Results

2025-04-15T15:51:58.102Z

Results

Opening Weekend US & Canada:
$4,098
Total US & Canada:
$22,293
Total Worldwide:
$22,293

Current Showtimes

orround

Tue Sep 22
Wed Sep 23
Thu Sep 24
Fri Sep 25
Sat Sep 26
Sun Sep 27
Mon Sep 28

Director & Top Cast

Jayne Loader
Director

Kevin Rafferty
Director

Pierce Rafferty
Director

Paul Tibbets
Self

Harry S. Truman
Self

W.H.P. Blandy
Self - Commander of the Bikini Test

Technical Specifications

Sound Mix: Mono

Aspect Ratio: 1.33 : 1

Other Details

Country of Origin: United States

Language: English

Summaries

Plot Summary

A heartbreaking account of the true cost (in hindsight) of the US's cold war struggle to achieve parity with the Soviet Union (which achieved the first hydrogen bomb), through first-hand accounts from residents in southern Utah, intermixed with contemporary federal public service announcements which are truly disturbing to modern viewers. The secrecy surrounding the effects of nuclear pollution reaches even 30 years later. A heartbreaking exposé of 1950's US government decision to expose thousands of people to unknown risks, even to their third generation of descendants.

Storyline

A compilation of 1960's films about what to do in case of a Nuclear attack and the effects of radiation, also footage of troop tests of the exposure to an atomic bomb. — Michael Edwards Atomic Cafe is a review of the atomic age and the beliefs held by Americans at the time. Many things such as Burt the Turtle who was the figurehead the "Duck and Cover" campaign are featured. Along with these film clips are portions of Army training films and demonstration films concerning atomic testing. All of these clips are combined to show how little the experts knew about atomics at the time. And even more to the heart, the point is to show the extent propaganda was used to mollify the fears of the American public, and her soldiers. — Kovak Following the end of WWII during which the United States dropped nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, there is initial euphoria amongst the American populous. However as other nations acquire nuclear bomb capabilities, especially the Soviets under Communist rule, there is also a new sense that the world is different. To protect themselves, the United States and the Soviet Union rush to develop a hydrogen bomb in the early 1950s. The testing of bombs by all countries has direct negative effects on many people, and indirect but still profound effects on the entire world. As seen through the plethora of training films and public service announcements produced from the late 1940s through the 1950s by the United States military and government, the American public is provided information, or misinformation as the case may be, on the effects of nuclear fall out and how best to protect oneself. — Huggo

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