Product: Special Bulletin (TV-Movie) [VHS] (1983)
Rating: 5.0
Dated but excellent TV drama
I remember seeing this when it was originally broadcast and it was one of the first TV movies (or any movie, for that matter) that addressed the modern (at the time) media coverage of disasters. Although the graphics are dated, this is still a timely story. A group of nuclear scientists build a bomb and hold the city of New Orleans hostage. They demand the dismantling of warheads and have them delivered to them for destruction in an attempt to start a worldwide movement to eliminate nuclear weapons. This is a very well written (by Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz) script that deals with this situation in a very realistic manner. The network insisted on inserting graphics stating that this was a TV drama - they remembered the WAR OF THE WORLDS panic from the 1930's - although anyone familiar with TV actors of the time would have recognized most of the excellent cast. This is one of Warner Brothers archive collection, a great idea that of that studio's whereby they release little in demand films on DVD by request. It's a bare bones disc, which in a way is unfortunate - a commentary and/or interviews with the cast would have been fascinating. It's still well worth a purchase.