By Dawn's Early Light (1990) (TV)

Calificación de los usuarios:

7.0/10   

Director:

Jack Sholder

Escritores (WGA):

William Prochnau (novel)
Bruce Gilbert (teleplay)

Fecha de Lanzamiento:

19 mayo 1990 (USA)

Género:

Drama | Suspenso | Acción

Frase comercial:

Four People. Three Minutes. Two Choices. One Chance For Survival.

Plot:

The crew of a nuclear bomber attack the Soviet Union while the President of the United States tries...

Plot Keywords:

Nuclear War | Based On Novel

Premios:

Won Primetime Emmy. Another 2 nominations

Comentarios de los usuarios:

Uncannily close to the real thing

Reparto

Powers Boothe	...	Maj. Cassidy
Rebecca De Mornay	...	Capt. Moreau
James Earl Jones	...	Looking Glass General - 'Alice'
Martin Landau	...	President
Darren McGavin	...	Condor - Secretary of Interior
Jeffrey DeMunn	...	E-4 Admiral - 'Harpoon'
Rip Torn	...	E-4 Col. Fargo
Peter MacNicol	...	Lt. Cmdr. Tom Sedgewicke
Glenn Withrow	...	Lt. Tyler
Ronald William Lawrence	...	Lt. Hooker
Kieran Mulroney	...	Lt. Radnor
Nicolas Coster	...	Gen. Renning - 'Icarus'
Ken Jenkins	...	Looking Glass Colonel - 'Sam'
Randal Patrick	...	Maj. O'Toole
Daniel Benzali	...	FEMA Director Bascombe

Duración:

100 min

País:

USA

Idioma:

Inglés | Ruso

Color:

Color

Relación de Aspecto:

1.33 : 1

Sonido:

Dolby

Clasificación:

Finland:S | Iceland:12 | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Australia:M | USA:PG-13

Compañía:

Home Box Office (HBO)

Trivialidades:

This is the second Cold War-based nuclear thriller to derive its title from the lyrics to the song 'The Star Spangled Banner'. The first was Twilight's Last Gleaming (1977), starring Burt Lancaster.

Errores:

Errores en Geografía: The SAC Alert facility at Fairchild AFB, Washington is located at the end of the runway, adjacent to the flight line area, and is not surrounded by trees.

Citas:

Fargo: Hell, most Soviet bombers are so old they still use propellers. The Minnesota Air National Guard could probably knock them down.
Harpoon: Well, do you want to get on the phone and order them into the air, Colonel, because every transistor in Minnesota is BURNED OUT!

Conexiones de Película:

References Planet of the Apes (1968)

Banda de Sonido:

DON'T CALL HIM A COWBOY

Uncannily close to the real thing

There have been many attempts to portray some of the overall horror of supposed conflict between the Soviet Union and the United States. For many who have been in the forces, By Dawn's Early Light came very close to everything we were taught, everything we had to prepare for, if the real thing ever happened.

Whilst some films seek to show the madness of nuclear conflict (Strangelove) and others try to portray what might happen if things went wrong (Fail-safe), By Dawn's Early Light shows the picture from both the crew doing their job, delivering nuclear ordnance, to the President trying to turn the war off whilst his successor, badly advised, seeks to strike back with all his might to destroy the enemy and win the war. In the end, the conclusion that both the crews and the executive branches reach, is that global thermonuclear war IS madness and that the only safe solution is not to play.

In the film, the conflict is started with a renegade/terrorist attack on the Soviets. All we can hope, is that when the first terrorist nuclear weapon is used (probably on the west), the executive branch realise that the only solution is to find a way to a) take the weapons out of the hands of the irresponsible and b) try not to take retaliatory action.

The performances by James Earl Jones, Rebecca De Mornay and Powers Boothe are exceptional. The film would have been better without the personal relationship between the last two, but even with the limited budget for special effects, they managed to pull off a believable and tense drama.

If America ever has to commit to nuclear war, I hope they have men of the character of James Earl Jones's General. A man who follows orders, but is just as prepared to question if the orders are illegal and insane and act against them.