MISSILE follows the 4315th Training Squadron of the Strategic Air Command at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, where Air Force officers are trained to man the Launch Control Centers for the Minuteman Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles. Sequences include discussion of the moral and military issues of nuclear war; the arming, targeting and launching of the missile; codes; communications; protection against terrorist attack; emergency procedures; staff meetings and tutorial sessions.
Direction
Wiseman's invisible hand finds horror in fluorescent lighting.
Editing
Monotony becomes menace through sheer accumulation of detail.
Director
Frederick Wiseman
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Wiseman filmed during the final years of Cold War peak tension; Reagan's 'Star Wars' program was active and officers trained knowing their targets were Soviet cities with pre-programmed coordinates.
The fluorescent-lit conference room where officers debate 'countervalue' targeting (cities) versus 'counterforce' (military sites) contains no music, no cutaways — just the words and the silence after.
US
