Watchmen

Watchmen 2009

7.34

In a gritty and alternate 1985, the glory days of costumed vigilantes have been brought to a close by a government crackdown. But after one of the masked veterans is brutally murdered, an investigation into the killer is initiated. The reunited heroes set out to prevent their own destruction, but in doing so they uncover a sinister plot that puts all of humanity in grave danger.

2009

The Day After

The Day After 1983

6.68

In the mid-1980s, the U.S. is poised on the brink of nuclear war. This shadow looms over the residents of a small town in Kansas as they continue their daily lives. Dr. Russell Oakes maintains his busy schedule at the hospital, Denise Dahlberg prepares for her upcoming wedding, and Stephen Klein is deep in his graduate studies. When the unthinkable happens and the bombs come down, the town's residents are thrust into the horrors of nuclear winter.

1983

On the Beach

On the Beach 1959

6.60

In 1964, atomic war wipes out humanity in the northern hemisphere; one American submarine finds temporary safe haven in Australia, where life-as-usual covers growing despair. In denial about the loss of his wife and children in the holocaust, American Captain Towers meets careworn but gorgeous Moira Davidson, who begins to fall for him. The sub returns after reconnaissance a month (or less) before the end; will Towers and Moira find comfort with each other?

1959

When the Wind Blows

When the Wind Blows 1986

7.40

With the help of government-issued pamphlets, an elderly British couple build a shelter and prepare for an impending nuclear attack, unaware that times and the nature of war have changed from their romantic memories of World War II.

1986

The War Game

The War Game 1966

7.70

A docudrama depicting a hypothetical nuclear attack on Britain. After backing the film's development, the BBC refused to air it, publicly stating "the effect of the film has been judged by the BBC to be too horrifying for the medium of broadcasting." It debuted in theaters in 1966 and went on to great acclaim, but remained unseen on British television until 1985.

1966

La Jetée

La Jetée 1962

7.90

A man is sent back and forth and in and out of time in an experiment that attempts to unravel the fate and the solution to the problems of a post-apocalyptic world during the aftermath of WW3. The experiment results in him getting caught up in a perpetual reminiscence of past events that are recreated on an airport’s viewing pier.

1962

Miracle Mile

Miracle Mile 1988

6.96

After 30 years of searching, Harry has finally met the girl of his dreams. Unfortunately, before they even have a chance to go on their first date, Harry intercepts some chilling news: WWIII has begun and nuclear missiles will destroy Los Angeles in less than an hour!

1988

The Man Who Saved the World

The Man Who Saved the World 2014

6.80

The Man Who Saved the World is a feature documentary film about Stanislav Petrov, a former lieutenant colonel of the Soviet Air Defence Forces.

2014

The Atomic Cafe

The Atomic Cafe 1982

7.28

A 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.

1982

Testament

Testament 1983

6.40

It is just another day in the small town of Hamlin until something disastrous happens. Suddenly, news breaks that a series of nuclear warheads has been dropped along the Eastern Seaboard and, more locally, in California. As people begin coping with the devastating aftermath of the attacks — many suffer radiation poisoning — the Wetherly family tries to survive.

1983

Day the World Ended

Day the World Ended 1955

4.98

After a nuclear attack, an unlikely group of survivors, including a geologist, a crook and his moll, and a prospector, find temporary shelter in the remote-valley home of a survivalist and his beautiful daughter, but soon have to deal with the spread of radioactivity - and its effects on animal life, including humans.

1955

Fail Safe

Fail Safe 2000

6.94

Cold War tensions climb to a fever pitch when a U.S. bomber is accidentally ordered to drop a nuclear warhead on Moscow.

2000

Z for Zachariah

Z for Zachariah 2015

5.66

In the wake of a nuclear war, a young woman survives on her own, fearing she may actually be the proverbial last woman on earth, until she discovers the most astonishing sight of her life: another human being. A distraught scientist, he’s nearly been driven mad by radiation exposure and his desperate search for others. A fragile, imperative strand of trust connects them. But when a stranger enters the valley, their precarious bond begins to unravel.

2015

The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu

The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu 1980

4.90

Fu Manchu's 168th birthday celebration is dampened when a hapless flunky spills Fu's age-regressing elixir vitae. Fu sends his lackeys to round up ingredients for a new batch of elixir, starting with the Star of Leningrad diamond, nabbed from a Soviet exhibition in Washington. The FBI sends agents Capone and Williams to England to confer with Nayland Smith, an expert on Fu.

1980

Panic in Year Zero!

Panic in Year Zero! 1962

6.16

While on a fishing trip, Harry Baldwin and his family hear an explosion and realize that Los Angeles has been leveled by a nuclear attack. Looters and killers are everywhere. Escaping to the hills with his family, he sets about the business of surviving in a world where, he knows, the old ideals of humanity will be the first casualties.

1962

The World, the Flesh and the Devil

The World, the Flesh and the Devil 1959

6.30

Ralph Burton is a miner who is trapped for several days as a result of a cave-in. When he finally manages to dig himself out, he realizes that all of mankind seems to have been destroyed in a nuclear holocaust. He travels to New York City only to find it deserted. Making a life for himself there, he is flabbergasted to eventually find Sarah Crandall, who also managed to survive. Together, they form a close friendship until the arrival of Benson Thacker who has managed to pilot his small boat into the city's harbor. At this point, tensions rise between the three, particularly between Thacker, who is white, and Burton, who is black.

1959

Watchmen: Chapter I

Watchmen: Chapter I 1970

1

An upcoming DC animated film based on the "Watchmen" comic book written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons that follows a group of retired superheroes in an alternate history version of 1985 in America.

1970

Countdown to Looking Glass

Countdown to Looking Glass 1984

5.87

A fictional confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union over the Strait of Hormuz, the gateway to the Persian Gulf. The narrative of the film details the events that lead up to the initial exchange of nuclear weapons from the perspective of an on-going news broadcast.

1984

Doomsday Machine

Doomsday Machine 1972

3.10

Following the discovery of a doomsday machine capable of destroying Earth, the launch of a US space mission to Venus is taken over by the military.

1972

Friend of the World

Friend of the World 2020

4.30

After a catastrophic global war, a young filmmaker awakens in the carnage and seeks refuge in the only other survivor: an eccentric, ideologically opposed figure of the United States military. Together, they brave the toxic landscape in search of safety... and answers.

2020

Fallout

Fallout 2024

8.34

The story of haves and have-nots in a world in which there’s almost nothing left to have. 200 years after the apocalypse, the gentle denizens of luxury fallout shelters are forced to return to the irradiated hellscape their ancestors left behind — and are shocked to discover an incredibly complex, gleefully weird, and highly violent universe waiting for them.

2024

Cosmos: A Personal Voyage

Cosmos: A Personal Voyage 1980

8.55

Carl Sagan covers a wide range of scientific subjects, including the origin of life and a perspective of our place in the universe.

1980

Watchmen: Motion Comic

Watchmen: Motion Comic 2008

7.60

When one of his former colleagues is murdered, the outlawed but no less determined masked vigilante Rorschach sets out to uncover a plot to kill and discredit all past and present superheroes. As he reconnects with his former crime-fighting legion — a disbanded group of retired superheroes, only one of whom has true powers — Rorschach glimpses a wide-ranging and disturbing conspiracy with links to their shared past and catastrophic consequences for the future.

2008

Nuclear Terror

Nuclear Terror 2003

1

Now more than ever, terrorist groups are obtaining nuclear weapons. With increasing cases of theft and re-sale at dozens of Russian sites, it's becoming more and more likely for terrorists to succeed.

2003

War and Peace in the Nuclear Age

War and Peace in the Nuclear Age 1989

1

War and Peace in the Nuclear Age, first broadcast in 1989, is a thirteen-part PBS series on the origins and evolution of nuclear competition between the United States and the former Soviet Union. The series examined the rivalry for power and how it shaped the diplomacy, negotiation, ethical debates, and doctrine of deterrence that ran through the forty-year history of the nuclear age. This collection contains the full interviews and selected stock footage from the series.

1989