The Day After Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

The Day After Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf August 2, 2018

If you’re a certain age, you probably have a story about the night “The Day After” premiered on network television. The ABC production cut through national consciousness after it aired on November 20th, 1983, finally unleashed on a viewing audience curious about the threat of nuclear war but unprepared to face the realities of its wrath during prime time. It was event television at its most daring and direct, rewarded with massive viewership and ubiquitous conversation, even managing to influence foreign policy after it was revealed most of Washington D.C., including President Reagan, stopped everything to watch the drama. “The Day After” was intended to exploit and educate, but it managed to overwhelm with its power, successfully playing into fears of nuclear arms proliferation even while it held back on the truly gruesome particulars of annihilation.

Tensions are rising in Germany as the Soviet Union begins a campaign to claim Europe, inspiring NATO forces and the U.S. to fight back as hostilities grow from standoffs to violence. In rural Kansas and Missouri, life goes on as normal, with Dr. Oakes (Jason Robards) dealing with empty nest syndrome, trying to comfort his wife, Helen (Georgann Johnson). The Dahlberg Family tends to the routine on their farm (located near a missile silo), but daughter Denise (Lori Lethin) is preparing to get married, causing some domestic disruption, with father Jim (John Cullum) trying to maintain order as they welcome Bruce (Jeff East) into the family. And Airman Billy (William Allen Young) reports for duty at a missile silo as the nation prepares for the possibly of war, leaving behind his wife and child for a military situation that quickly spins out of control.

Director Nicholas Meyer aims to emphasize the Americana aspects of Edward Hume’s screenplay, opening “The Day After” with sweeping shots of the nation’s heartland, flying over corn fields and small towns while a hymn soars on the soundtrack, identifying the innocence of the country right before it faces extinction. It’s not the subtle start, but it’s effective, reminding the viewer of a recognizable and beautiful land filled with families, professionals, and dreamers. Hume accentuates the feeling through characterizations, which all deal with plans for the future, finding the participants juggling domestic changes that upset household order, soon to be confronted by complete global chaos.

“The Day After” sticks with structure, with the first act detailing changing lives and upcoming challenges, while radios and televisions tell the story of a rapidly unraveling situation in Germany which, to these people, is practically on a different planet. Character connections are made and melodrama is tempered, with Meyer remaining as naturalistic as television allows, capturing universal feelings of loss and love before horror rains down from the sky. The blast sequence eventually comes into play, and it’s brief but effective, doing what it can to showcase the nightmare with a limited budget, with Meyer turning to crude special effects and stock footage to generate a large-scale catastrophe. Granted, by today’s visual effects standards, the nuclear attack presented here is practically a puppet show, but Meyer chooses his shock value smartly, making the best effort to detail human life gone in a flash, and those are the lucky ones. The rest of “The Day After” examines survival, with those left behind forced to deal with radiation sickness, overwhelmed resources, and the breakdown of society, which goes feral as order becomes a memory.

“The Day After” is presented in two versions: the T.V. Cut (122:32) and the Theatrical Cut (127:01).

The Day After Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.33:1 aspect ratio) presentation of the T.V. Cut is purported to be a recent scan of "The Day After," and the viewing experience seems to fall in line with such a claim. Detail is agreeable overall, with a few soft passages, capturing facial particulars, which eventually showcase makeup work to identify radiation sickness. Locations retain distances and costuming maintains textures, tracking survival wear and tear. Colors are acceptable, delivering secure primaries with small town life and decoration, and greenery is appealing, selling the farmland vistas. Post- apocalyptic hues are also explored, draining vibrancy out of the frame, capably communicating a darkening of life. Delineation is comfortable. Source encounters mild scratches and speckling, along with a few warped frames. The Theatrical Cut (1.78:1 aspect ratio) is taken from a slight older master, with visible fatigue throughout, including muted colors and unremarkable fine detail.

First 10 screenshots are the T.V. Cut, rest are Theatrical Cut.

The Day After Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix is simplistic, mostly contained to the center, leading with dialogue exchanges that are free of distortion, hitting emotional cues without issue. Sporadic music comes through clearly, with brassy authority, offering decent instrumentation. Some hiss is detected. Sound effects keep their intensity and loudness.

The Day After Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Theatrical Cut:

• Commentary features film historian Lee Gambin and comic artist Tristan Jones.

T.V. Cut:

• Interview (12:41, HD) with JoBeth Williams describes her early casting, with the actress drawn to the part to work with Jason Robards, a commanding seasoned actor who made it his duty to add levity to the shoot, sharing stories from his career with the cast and crew. While the film takes place in Kansas, Williams shot her scenes in Los Angeles, sharing memories about the heavy mood of the set and the uncomfortable makeup other actors had to endure. Already interested in the medical field, Williams found easy access to her character, also detailing her research into radiation poisoning, trying to locate authenticity wherever she could. Rewatching "The Day After" for the interview, Williams recalls the initial ratings success of the picture, and shares her fears about the future, assessing the current political climate.

• Interview (28:06, HD) with Nicholas Meyer shares production origins, with the director electing to face his fears and realize a script by Edward Hume that was originally intended to be a two-night miniseries before settling on a single movie. Meyer describes how he talked Robards into the starring role and work put into beefing up the science of the script, with ABC executives unsure about the details of the nuclear blast. Meyer saves his best anecdotes for Standards & Practices, suddenly faced with censorship issues while making the picture, while his fight with the suits eventually inspired him to leave post-production for months, giving ABC a chance to create their own cut, which erased Meyers's ambiguities. Most interesting is hearing about opposition to the production, with some wanting a pro-nuke angle to the film. Meyer is charismatic and direct, always a treat to listen to, and his feelings on the "public service announcement" tone of "The Day After" are fascinating, also sharing his warning about the dire nuclear future of Earth.

The Day After Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"The Day After" was a big deal in 1983, and it remains so today, returning to public sale as political forces revisit the muscle-flexing of proliferation and testing, while materials are ending up in the hands of those who want to do harm. There will never be another film like it, especially in today's fragmented media consumption, making the picture a time capsule and a warning shot, even with old science and some network television compromise diluting the true impact of the imagery. It's certainly a depressing movie to watch, finding Meyer staying true to the situation, depicting the blunt erasure of life, but he finds a way to maintain interest in the unfolding drama and still deliver the ghastly particulars of unwinnable war. "The Day After" doesn't have the chest-caving emotionality of 1982's "Testament" or the grit of 1984's "Threads," but as television productions go, there's much here to respect, as Meyer captures the brutality of the apocalypse with a distinct American everyman atmosphere.