Wow..."The Day After" crew to reunite for 25th anniversary

One of the most disturbing movies I've watched was The Day After, a made for TV dramatization of a full scale nuclear attack. It zoomed in on the university town of Lawrence, Kansas. Disturbing yes. Must see? Yes again.

During commercial breaks, there were suggestions that viewers should not watch the film alone. Good idea.

As good as The Day After was, I've not had the desire to see it again. But the cast and crew wants to relive it.

Members of the cast and crew of a highly watched 1983 TV movie about a nuclear attack on the U.S. are reuniting in Lawrence this week.

The group plans to meet Thursday as part of a 25-year anniversary screening and reunion of ABC's "The Day After." The TV movie, filmed mostly in the Lawrence area, broke records with nearly 100 million viewers on Nov. 20, 1983.

The movie showed Lawrence enduring fallout from the blasts of nuclear missiles that struck neighboring Kansas City. It captured the fear that blanketed the nation due to the escalating nuclear arms race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.

"We tend to think that with the ending of the Cold War, the nuclear danger has receded; if anything, it has grown worse, with atomic weapons no longer under control of stable governments," said "The Day After" director, Nicholas Meyer.

None of the famed performers from the film are scheduled to make it to the reunion. Steve Guttenberg, JoBeth Williams, and John Lithgow (in a rare understated performance) were among the stars. Jason Robards died in 2000.

Sort of spoiler alert:

If you want a Kansas-set movie with a happy ending, rent The Wizard of Oz.

If you want (some) nuclear-laughs, then watch Dr. Strangelove.

About the pic: Missile Base Road is for real, it's in Wabaunsee County, Kansas.

Related posts:

My Kansas Kronikles: Lawrence

Bob Dole, John Edwards, two 28,000 sq. ft. buildings

Technorati tags: Kansas movies nuclear war culture entertainment