Although the Cold War is behind us, the threat of nuclear disaster remains very real. Director Lucy Walker discusses the invention of the atomic bomb and brings the story into the present day, examining the possibility of nuclear calamity under the categories of "Madness," "Accident" and "Miscalculation." With narration by Gary Oldman, the film includes a hypothetical sequence of a nuclear explosion in New York City's Times Square, timed to coincide with the New Year's Eve countdown.
Direction
Walker builds dread like a thriller—no fictional villain needed.
Editing
NYE countdown sequence will ruin fireworks forever.
Writing
Three-word framework: Madness, Accident, Miscalculation. Terrifyingly tidy.
Director
Lucy Walker
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Walker secured interviews with both Jimmy Carter and Mikhail Gorbachev after years of persistence—Gorbachev's first documentary appearance on the subject.
Released during Obama's Nuclear Security Summit push, the film directly influenced policy conversations—rare for a documentary to feel this immediately consequential.
US
