Die Nacht der Entscheidung

So, at first, Miracle Mile doesn't appear to be anything that special. Harry (Anthony Edwards) meets Julie (Mare Winningham) and things seem to go along well. But then he misses their date and happens to answer the payphone next to the diner. And from thereon out the film is pure bonkers.

Miracle Mile is the very definition of why you should see movies outside the mainstream media. Its premise is pure madness, its actors are relatively unknown, you won't have heard of anything its director has done. And yet it's one of the most profound films to have come out of the 80s.

Miracle Mile takes a fairly typical apocalypse setting and milks every single possible drop of drama out of it. It focuses on a single individual and their struggle to comprehend the unthinkable.

Definitely not something that could win over mainstream audiences. It's too focused, too out there, to win over audiences.

But for those of us that can see the shape of the forest for the trees, this is something special.

I didn't hold high hopes for 'Miracle Mile'. Directed by Steve De Jarnatt who made the cheesy but fun 'Cherry 2000', and starring two actors (Anthony Edwards and Mare Winningham) that I feel at best indifferent about, it starts off almost like a John Hughes romantic comedy, and your finger might begin to hover off the "off" button. But if you persevere it quickly becomes an utterly compelling thriller. It requires a certain amount of suspension of disbelief to accept the premise of the movie, but once the story kicks in you really get sucked into it! Edwards is actually very good in the lead role, and the film is full of all kinds of familiar faces and character actors like Mykelti Williamson ('Truth Or Consequences, NM'), Denise Crosby ('Star Trek TNG'), Robert DoQui ('RoboCop'), even b-grade SF legend John Agar ('The Brain From Planet Arous'), and 'Reservoir Dogs' Mr. Blue Edward Bunker! This movie really seems to split people down the middle. Some hate it, some love it. I'm in the latter camp. Highly recommended!

I'm a big fan of post-apocalyptic movies; for some reason, the thought of civilization as we know it grinding to a halt on a backdrop of nuclear bombs falling intrigues me to no end.

There are a host of movies that deal with Life After The Bomb, a whole lot more dealing with Life While Preventing The Bomb, but not very many that deal with Life Immediately Before The Bomb. This is one of the latter, and I think it pulls it off really well.

This offbeat movie chronicles a few hours in the life of a character who has just found out that the missiles are on the way.

This movie is rather offbeat; the acting is not bad, but just unlike normal hollywood acting, even despite a few familiar faces. The pacing is different, the sets are different, the colors are different. And in this case, the differences give it an edge that is quite intriguing.

The main character (tom cruise's ill-fated co-pilot in top gun) displays such an acute, personal anxiety that really grabbed my attention and really made the movie hit home.

While some of the other acting is less than stellar, in a movie like this it does not detract.

This movie really did make me think about what I would do in a similar situation. Very thought-provoking.

If you are as intriguied by nuclear war as I am, you should definitely watch this film.

8 / 10

Hello there,

You're definitely interested in this movie if you've got this far on the IMDB...

If you're, like me, a child of the 80's (teenager in the 80's) who saw this movie in the cinema's with that great soundtrack from "Tangerin Dream" in it(in the middle of the cold war),than you really are going to like this movie... I was able to track down this movie on PAL VHS-Tape on Ebay(you can buy it on DVD now,zone 1 only) and saw it last night on my own again. Ok,I'll have to admit that it's dated now (look at the clothes...)but that same sad feeling that creeps slowly into your head while watching this movie is still there! I really hope with the whole of my heart that we never,and I say NEVER,have to witness the day that our chosen leaders make the same stupid mistake of launching a nuclear attack on a country like they do in this movie... This is not your typical big budget,special effects loaded action-vehicle about a full-on nuclear strike but a modest little movie about what happens to a small bunch of people that finds out by accident that their country (USA) has launched a nuclear attack against another unspecified country and are getting back what they've started....

If you have your heart at the right place,then this movie grabs you by the throat and won't let go...

On the other handiIf you ONLY like comedy's and big budget action movies(which I also like very much)then you're probably going to despise this one...

Go now and find this little gem of a movie,I know you want to...

Cheers,

Dirk

Stylistically unique examination of a concentrated cross-section of humanity's real-time reaction to the (potential?) prologue to the apocalypse. Swings effortlessly from quirky to grounded, sweet to severe, & hopeful to bleak. #nitrosMovieChallenge.