The Atomic Cafe (1982)
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Critic Reviews for The Atomic Cafe
All Critics (24) | Top Critics (4) | Fresh (23) | Rotten (1) | DVD (3)
Viewers old enough to remember "duck and cover" drills and homemade fallout shelters (and suits!) will get a special charge out of "Atomic's" many archival gems.
The Atomic Café at times feels like an essay film, but its points come across cumulatively, subtly.
The film fails to offer even the barest social context for its material.
Deserves national attention.
The Atomic Cafe provokes a surprising number of laughs, from a soundtrack of awe-inspiringly tasteless '50s pop songs to its extracts of horribly acted army films warning of Commies on the home front.
The Atomic Cafe is a true horror comedy, with a wealth of death's-head humor that even Dr. Strangelove can't match.
Audience Reviews for The Atomic Cafe
This is easily the most bizarre documentary I've ever seen. Most documentaries use interviews, have a host who guides people through the film (example, Morgan Spurlock in "Super-Size Me"), and have some form a commentary with a narrator. "The Atomic Cafe" is very different. This film is made up entirely of newsreels and propaganda films to tell the story of the world after the atomic bomb and the paranoia of the Cold War. The only alterations the film makers have made is some editing and subtitles so we know who the people are. That's it. The rest is up to the viewer to gather for themselves. I know a lot about this period in history and some of the footage in this is almost as funny as it is disturbing. For example, a happy kids film with a cartoon turtle mascot who cheerfully reminds us "When you see the flash, remember, duck and cover, duck and cover, duck and cover!" If you want to kill an hour and a half, give this a shot. It can get a bit slow at times, but its definitely worth watching.
Super Reviewer
great document of the paranoia of the nuclear age with some of the blackest humor possible. made entirely from archival footage of atomic blasts, scary news reports and pretty hilarious civil defense propaganda full of misinformation. there are some upsetting scenes of blast victims as well. this would make a great double bill with strangelove
Super Reviewer
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