Humanity is at a point where murder, violence, and war don’t surprise people anymore. All we can do is talk about war and politics and feel helpless. Here is a list of the top 10 World War 3 / Nuclear Holocaust War Movies. The following films depict the political atmosphere of conflicts between the United States and the Soviet Union, nuclear attacks, the consequences of war, and more.
Dr. Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
Stanley Kubrick’s political-satire black comedy Dr. Strangelove stars George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden, Keenan Wynn, Slim Pickens, and Tracy Reed. It is loosely based on Peter George’s 1958 novel Red Alert. The story concerns an unhinged US Air Force general who orders a nuclear attack on the Soviet Union. The film separately follows the US President, his advisors, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and a Royal Air Force exchange officer as they try to avert the crew of a B-52 from bombing and beginning a nuclear war.
Fail-Safe (1964)
Cold War thriller film Fail Safe is based on Eugene Burdick’s 1962 novel of the same name. Directed by Sidney Lumet the film features Henry Fonda, Dan O’Herlihy, Walter Matthau, Frank Overton, Larry Hagman, Fritz Weaver, Dana Elcar, Dom DeLuise and Sorrell Booke. Fail-Safe follows a crisis caused by a critical mistake that sent a group of US bombers to devastate Moscow, and the ensuing strives to prevent the group before it can deploy a nuclear first strike.
Threads (1984)
British TV’s realistic depiction of nuclear war Threads is based on 1965’s The War Game. Docudrama Threads explores what would happen in Sheffield, north of London if it was hit with a warhead amidst a conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union. The blast is horrifying, however, the after-effect of it is even worse – executions, disease, looting, famine, rape, economic devastation, and fame.
When the Wind Blows (1986)
British adult animated disaster film When the Wind Blows is based on Raymond Briggs’ graphic novel of the same name. Directed by Jimmy Murakami the film portrays a rural couple’s attempt to survive a nuclear attack and maintain a sense of normality in the following nuclear winter and fallout. The film stars the voices of John Mills and Peggy Ashcroft as the two protagonists.
By Dawn’s Early Light (1990)
The Sum of All Fears (2002)
Phil Alden Robinson’s The Sum of All Fears is based on Tom Clancy’s 1991 novel of the same name. This espionage thriller follows a sinister plot to draw Russia and the United States into the Third World War. When the Russian President (Ciaran Hinds) suddenly passes away, the tension increases. Coupled with missing nuclear scientists and the threat of a nuclear detonation on US soil, young CIA analyst Jack Ryan (Ben Affleck) must uncover the mind behind the conspiracy.
The Creator (2023)
American epic sci-fi action thriller The Creator stars John David Washington, Gemma Chan, Ken Watanabe, Sturgill Simpson, and Allison Janney. Directed by Gareth Edwards the film is set in 2070, 15 years after a nuclear detonation in LA and a war against AI. Amidst a potential war between the AI forces and the human race, an ex-special agent Joshua Taylor (John Washington) grieving the disappearance of his wife (Gemma Chan), is assigned to find and kill the Creator, the elusive architect of advanced AI who has developed an enigmatic weapon with the power to end the war and mankind.
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