The China Syndrome (1979)

This Day in History !!!

Just twelve days after the official theatrical release of THE CHINA SYNDROME, Three Mile Island nuclear power plant had a cooling malfunction which caused part of the core to melt-down in the #2 reactor. The TMI-2 reactor was destroyed and some radioactive gas was released a couple of days after the accident.

Wikipedia.org Article for Three Mile Island Accident:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Mile_Island_accident

So, let's check in with...........

The China Syndrome (1979)



Run Time:  122 mins

Genre:  Drama, Thriller
Format:  Widescreen Format, Color
Director:  James Bridges
Starring:  Jane Fonda, Jack Lemmon, Michael Douglas, Scott Brady, James Hampton, Peter Donat and Wilford Brimley 

IMDB.com Entry for the Film:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078966/?ref_=nv_sr_1

Wikipedia.org Article for the Film:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_China_Syndrome

Find the link to Jack Lemmon's Wikipedia.org Article from our The Wackiest Ship in the Army (1960) Post:
http://film366.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-wackiest-ship-in-army-1960.html

Wikipedia.org Article for Jane Fonda:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Fonda

Wikipedia.org Article for Michael Douglas:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Douglas

Wikipedia.org Article for Wilford Brimley:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilford_Brimley

Wikipedia.org Article for Director James Bridges:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Bridges

Trailer for the Film on YouTube:

What is really done very well in this film is the acting.  Having big names like Lemmon, Fonda and Douglas in this film was a great idea.  Lemmon gives a performance alone that keeps you at the edge of your seat.  This is a huge history lesson.   Twelve days before the Three Mile Island accident back in March of 1979, this Michael Douglas produced film was released in theaters.  Directed by James Bridges, this film depicts what would happen if an accident happened at a nuclear power plant and the possible cover-up or response from the plant itself. - Phil 

Three Mile Island Pennsylvania Nuclear Power Station Meltdown - Top Documentary Films from the History Channel on YouTube:



Jane Fonda plays Kimberly Wells, ace reporter from a Los Angeles based TV station, who is tired of doing dumb, boring, local stories about pets and silly human interest stories.  While doing an interview in the Ventana Nuclear Power Plant facility, she and her cameraman, Richard (Douglas), witness what they feel was an accident at the plant.  They soon realize Ventana is covering up the accident and a conspiracy begins to emerge.  The Shift Supervisor of the Control Room at the plant, Jack Godell, played amazingly well by Jack Lemmon, also stumbles across a cover-up and evil-doings by his superiors and he begins his own investigation in an attempt to stop Ventana from staying online.  

The American conscious even back then was nervous about paranoia and big brother cover-ups.  There is a moment when Kimberly talks about people listening in on the telephone and that it isn’t safe, totally giving in to a Post-Watergate world.  Michael Douglas produced this film and he puts all his energy into his acting.  There is even a pretty good car chase scene in the film too. I could feel the stress coming off of Lemmon’s face.  He delivers an amazing performance.  You really do feel like you are in the room with him agonizing over what he knows. This is a very suspenseful and nail-biting film and it has to be good.  It predicted something that would happen twelve days after it came out in the theaters. - Phil

Classic Fred Saxon Interview with Jane Fonda for China Syndrome on YouTube:


Click the link below at GoWatchIt.com to see where you can stream or watch The China Syndrome (1979) online or on TV right now:
http://gowatchit.com/movies/the-china-syndrome-2265

Or check out TVGuide.com to see if this film is playing on TV/Cable in your area:
http://www.tvguide.com/movies/the-china-syndrome/110825/

Check back in tomorrow ......................
For our next Film of the Day .....................