By Dawn's Early Light
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Movie Reviews of By Dawn's Early Light
Movie Review: By Dawns Early Light
Summary: 5 Stars
DVD arrived in excellent time and condition. It is a real treat to watch a classic movie.Movie Review: Very Scary
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the most scary thing I ever seen and I would recommend this DVD for everyone.Movie Review: "We're going with the Grand Tour. History can't wait."
Summary: 4 Stars
"By Dawn's Early Light," an HBO film based on the novel "Trinity's Child" by William Prochnau, holds the honorable distinction of being the final cold war nuclear armageddon thriller. Released in 1990 a mere year before the collapse of the Soviet Union, the film clearly harkens back to such memorable thrillers as "Fail Safe," "Dr. Strangelove," "The Day After," and "Testament." Remember those halcyon days when we all lived under the threat of nuclear annihilation? When the Looking Glass plane flew over your house every twenty minutes or so? Well, I do. Nuclear doomsday thrillers really turn my stomach into knots because I lived, and still live, in Omaha, Nebraska. As you will see in the movie, the Strategic Air Command (SAC) sat in Bellevue, Nebraska, mere miles from my home. Those planes roaring overhead while I played in the yard were the aircraft responsible for keeping the national chain of command viable in the event of a Soviet missile attack. We always wondered what we would see first: the vapor trails of the incoming missiles or the flash. Either way it would have been the last thing we would see. Watching these movies now is sort of a trip down memory lane, albeit a horrific one. Films like "By Dawn's Early Light" still tie my stomach up in knots.The nightmare here begins when the Soviet Union, wracked by internal dissolution, suddenly comes under attack by a group of rogue military officers hoping to force the high command to respond to internal threats. A nuclear missile wipes out a city near the Turkish border, and the Russian computer system orders up a limited launch on the United States before the leadership can stop it. Several missiles rain down on American military bases, including Andrews outside of Washington, D.C., SAC in Nebraska (See? I told you so), and a few other places around the country. The generals urge the president (Martin Landau) to reply with a full retaliatory response, but the chief executive hesitates. Then he receives a message from the Soviet premier expressing horror at the mistake and offering three options. The first is to simply ignore the attack. The second is to launch an assault on Russia similar to the one made on the United States. The third is to reply with overwhelming force, which will require the Soviets to do the same. Trusting the Russians is a tough decision, but the president wishes to avoid all out destruction. Perhaps global destruction will not occur when the president decides to follow the second option. Then, disaster strikes.
The president's chopper goes down somewhere over Maryland in the flash of a nuclear bomb. Our government, which cannot find the vice-president or many cabinet members, finally locates the Secretary of the Interior (Darrin McGavin) in Louisiana and declares him president as they load him on the E-4 plane. Known by the code name Condor, the new president is an unapologetic hawk that won't hesitate to escalate the war. Despite the advice of "Harpoon" (Jeffrey DeMunn), an admiral who always preaches restraint but who must ultimately give the president nuclear authorization codes if ordered, Condor falls in with Colonel Fargo's (Rip Torn) line of thinking. This guy advocates a "grand tour" of the Soviet Union, a plan that will use American bombers to vaporize Soviet leadership installations. Of course, this course of action will result in a massive strike on American cities. Also in the mix is the Looking Glass plane-helmed by "Alice" (James Earl Jones)-another back up command aircraft that must carry out the president's orders. Too, we follow the crew of a bomber as it prepares to sweep into the Soviet Union. Flown by Major Cassidy (Powers Boothe) and Captain Moreau (Rebecca DeMornay), the crew of this bomber undergoes several crises both physical and mental as they prepare to nuke their targets. "By Dawn's Early Light" exclusively focuses on the military and the national chain of command and how the two would work together to respond to a nuclear attack.
I first saw the film on cable when it originally aired. I thought it wonderful at the time, a taut, dramatic thriller that had me on the edge of my seat. A recent viewing allowed me to step back and analyze the finer points of the film. I still think it works, especially the hair raising conclusion, but there are numerous problems to contend with. I took exception with a map that showed SAC south of Plattsmouth, Nebraska when the base actually sits due north of that town. I also had difficulty believing the bomber crews sat on the ground for as long as they did. Harpoon even mentions later that most of the bombers were caught on the ground. Why? The head of SAC even says in the film that the nuke aimed at the base won't hit the ground for twenty some minutes. If we can't get our bombers in the air within half an hour, we are in big trouble. Too, other problems plague the film. Continuity errors, poor acting on the part of DeMornay, and mediocre editing brings the movie down a bit in my estimation. Still, the positives outweigh the negatives. The inclusion of James Earl Jones in the cast is probably a sly wink to "Dr. Strangelove," and Darren McGavin and Rip Torn do a great job as the dynamic duo willing to turn the world into a charcoal briquette.
The DVD is unfortunately a disappointment. The picture quality is flawed, there are no extras-not even a trailer-anywhere to be found, and the transfer is fullscreen. HBO discs, at least the ones I have seen, usually don't have much in the way of extras. Fortunately, the movie is good enough to overcome a dearth of goodies. Give this one a watch.
Movie Review: A cautionary tale that's apt for today's uncertain world
Summary: 4 Stars
1990's By Dawn's Early Light is a telefilm adaptation by HBO of William Prochnau's novel "Trinity's Child". The movie when it first aired on HBO seemed dated since the Soviet Union was ultimately going through its death throes as the military build-up initiated during the Reagan Administration crippled the USSR economically as they too tried to match the build-up in conventional and nuclear forces. But now in the early years of the 21st century with nuclear weapons beginning to proliferate to second-tier nations such as Pakistan, India and soon Iran and North Korea, this film has become more timely.
The film is simplicity in the way the plot unfolds. A failed coup by dissident Soviet military commanders fails, but it's after-effects of creating a "hot war" between the US and the USSR succeeds as both US President and Soviet Premiere make mistakes in their decisions. Decisions heavily influenced by their military commanders who see only black and white in how their respective nations should respond militarily. By Dawn's Early Light shares some similarities to the classic 60's Cold War films like Dr. Strangelove and Fail-Safe. Both films deal with the human frailties and flaws helping influence events that could lead to nuclear armagaddon for the whole planet. By Dawn's Early Light concentrates on several storylines to highlight the stress and difficulties individuals must face to either follow their orders to their inevitable conclusion or allow their conscience to help make their decisions in trying to stop the madness spiraling out of control. Though some people's decisions are left wanting, the film ends with a glimmer of hope that may just bring the world from the brink of annihilation.
The acting by the cast of Rebecca DeMornay, Powers Boothe, James Earl Jones, Darrin McGavin, Martin Landau and Rip Torn are well done. Rebeccan DeMornay and Powers Boothe anchor one of the subplots as romantically involved B-52 crew pilots whose conflict comes from their own intimate closeness affecting command decisions and from the stress of families loss by the rest of the bomber crew. Darrin McGavin, Rip Torn and Martin Landau anchor the other subplot of competing Presidents. One a physically incapacitated US leader trying to avert escalating the conflict to the point of no return with another recently sworn in who fears of losing a nuclear war and thus wanting to strike back full and hard. In between these two leaders is the diabolical performance by Rip Torn as a warmongering Army colonel who sees only winning the war as the only objective. For a telefilm the acting is above-par and bordering on excellent. There's not a weak link in this cast.
In the end, the film might look abit dated in its production design, but the story itself is very current. What might have been a nice Cold War relic fairy tale when it first aired in 1990 on HBO has taken on more of a cautionary one as more nations begin to acquire nuclear weapons with some of these nations not just enemies of the US and the world in general, but also led by men whose hold on sanity is tenuous at best. By Dawn's Early Light is a great piece political "what if" that I recommend others to check out and see.
Movie Review: Pure Entertainment
Summary: 4 Stars
By Dawn's Early Light is one of those movies that could only be made by HBO. There are no big name TV personalities thrown in for their star value or any ridiculous plot twists that might appeal to the simple minded viewer. This is one of those movies that came from a time when there was a very real threat for the survival of the world and this movie tells the story of one of those scenarios.
With the dissolution of the Soviet Union control over their nuclear arsenal was, as it is now, suspect. There was a time when hard line stalwarts from an earlier time (on both sides) believed that a nuclear war was survivable and could be won (remember the duck and cover drills we did where if you hid under your school desk you would survive a nuclear blast or the promise that even after a nuclear blast the US Postal Service would still be able to deliver the mail?).
When renegades from the old Soviet Union fire nuclear salvos at the US (including Washington DC), and with most of the communications and elected leadership of this country decimated, a battle ensues between soldiers who have been trained to follow orders without question and those that might question the validity of those orders when considering the current situation. We also have a similar battle of wills amongst the top echelon of what's left of the elected leadership of this country and the remaining military leadership advising them.
The cast is superb, the storyline extrememly believable and well thought out and the production values first rate. This is one of those movies that belongs on people's shelves to be watched from time to time for pure entertainment value. The viewer will walk away from this movie not in awe of the special effects we see all too often these days, nor will he think he has just seen the latest from Masterpiece Theatre. He won't won't walk away suddenly endowed with all of the secrets to life but he will walk away knowing he's been entertained and got his money's worth out of this movie.