The Atomic Cafe 169398 215054372 2008-05-26T14:28:23Z 77.96.54.224 {{Infobox Film | | name = The Atomic Café | image = | producer = [[Jayne Loader]], [[Kevin Rafferty]], and [[Pierce Rafferty]] | released = April 1982 | language = [[English language|English]] | imdb_id = 0083590 }} '''The Atomic Café''' is an acclaimed [[documentary film]] about the beginnings of the era of [[nuclear warfare]], created from a broad range of archival of film from the 1940s, 1950s and early 1960s - including newsreel clips, television news footage, U.S. government-produced films (including military [[training film]]s), advertisements, television and radio programs. News footage reflected the prevailing understandings of the media and public. The film was produced over a five-year period through the collaborative efforts of three directors: [[Jayne Loader]], and brothers [[Kevin Rafferty|Kevin]] and [[Pierce Rafferty]]. The filmmakers opted to not use narration and instead they deploy carefully constructed sequences of film clips to make their points. The soundtrack utilizes atomic-themed songs from the [[Cold War]]-era to underscore the themes of the film. Though the topic of atomic holocaust is a grave matter, the film approaches it with black humor. Much of the humor derives from the modern audience's reaction to the old training films, such as the ''[[Duck and Cover (film)|Duck and Cover]]'' film shown in schools. The film was released in [[April 1982]]. Its release coincided with a peak in the international disarmament movement, and the film received much wider distribution than was the norm for politically-oriented documentaries. It rapidly became a [[cult film|cult classic]], and greatly influenced documentary filmmaking. One of the filmmakers, Kevin Rafferty, was later befriended by a young [[Michael Moore]] who was seeking advice on how to make his first film ''[[Roger & Me]]''. Rafferty ended up becoming the cinematographer on the film and acting as a filmmaking mentor to Moore - who has acknowledged the influence on his own filmmaking. The UK premiere screening in the [[British House Of Commons]] in October 1982 tied the film to then ongoing debate in the UK about the deployment of the [[cruise missile]]. The film was also screened at the [[London Film Festival]] and nominated for a [[BAFTA]] award. The film was released on home video in the UK in 1983 by Virgin Video (VVA 028). A CD-ROM companion to ''The Atomic Cafe'' with many of the clips and other materials from the film is available online.[http://www.publicshelter.com/main/tac.html] An illustrated book based on the film was published by [[Ballantine Books]] shortly after the film's release, and a [[soundtrack]] album was issued by [[Rounder Records]]. ==See also== * [[Atomic Age]] * [[Culture during the Cold War]] * [[Duck and cover]] * [[Nuclear weapons in popular culture]] ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== * {{imdb title | id=0083590 | title=The Atomic Cafe}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Atomic Cafe}} [[Category:1982 films]] [[Category:Documentary films]] [[Category:English-language films]] [[Category:Nuclear warfare]] [[Category:Films dealing with nuclear war and weapons]] [[Category:Cold War films]] {{hist-documentary-stub}} [[de:The Atomic Café]] [[ja:アトミック・カフェ]]