Countdown to Looking Glass

Because of the inability of several South American countries to pay their debts the United States is plunged into an economic crisis which has far-reaching repercussions. Oman, for example, experiences a revolution and this results in a communist government which tilts the balance of power over to the Soviet Union and further escalates tension in the Middle East. Soon the United States and the Soviet Union become directly involved in a high-stakes military standoff which neither side seems to be able to resolve. Anyway, rather than disclose the rest of the story and risk spoiling the film for those who haven't seen it I will just say that for a "made-for-television" movie this was a pretty good political thriller. While I didn't particularly care for the ending I liked the performances of Scott Glenn (as "Michael Boyle") and Helen Shaver ("Dorian Waldorf"). I especially liked the scene involving the U.S.S. Nimitz when it reached the Gulf of Oman. Good tension. Be that as it may I think this is a movie that most viewers will probably enjoy and I rate it as above average.

I remember when this movie was first shown on HBO...it had the kind of gripping action that made you sit, watch, and fear for your life...the actors did a great job of realistically portraying their roles...with special kudos to Patrick Watson as Don Tobin and Helen Shaver as Dorian Waldorf...Watson's uneasiness at the end of the movie does not spoil the ending, which will set the hair on your neck straight up and send chills down your spine...but it does provide a view into what might face the American public should the unthinkable occur...add this movie to the growing list of selections that should have been out on DVD way before now...it is dated to some extent, but the overall premise still rings true...and will scare the daylights out of you...

One thing has changed since this movie was shown in 1984. ... At the time, it had been a decade since the war in Vietnam had ended. America had lost its stomach for war, and this film about getting into another one would touch lots of nerves.

Now, three or four wars later (who's keeping count anymore?), it should be required viewing.

"Looking Glass" is the name given to the President's flying command post, called that because there are two such planes that look very much alike, mirror images of each other. One is real, the other is the decoy. A chilling piece of information that would convey, if the two planes ever took off, that we really are in a shooting, nuclear war. And as the steps towards the Big War are taken, there is a "countdown" to the takeoff of the Looking Glass command post and decoy. Hence the title.

Gritty realism, a strong strong strong feeling in my gut that, if "it" ever happened, "it" could look exactly like this. I remember that sober churning inside, when I saw this some time in the 1990s. Only this week I was reflecting on how little they actually spent on special effects, but what an explosive wallop they got out of the effects they had, fast paced by the script, the sets, the commentators, everything that HBO had available to tell the story from a network's point of view.

The film had to make me think, and I immediately realized what was the most hard hitting memorable scene for me.

(Not a spoiler, discloses nothing, and is very early in the film) The news anchor turns to interview a "talking head". It is Newt Gingrich, as he was back then, a young young congressperson on his way up.

The anchor points out that the crisis is very deadly. Gingrich agrees.

"We may die," the anchor persists. Again, an agreement.

Then the anchor asks "Is there anything worth dying for?" And Gingrich responds "Tragically, the answer is 'yes'".

He points out that if the US were to back down, we would be submitting to slavery, and that our freedom is worth dying for. Freedom does not come cheaply and should not be yielded. He comes across as more than a leader, certainly a statesman, and in this film performs the thankless job task of saying something we might not want to hear.

I have said this before -- I say a movie is very, very good if I have continued to remember and ponder on it, years and years later. And Looking Glass has stayed with me in that way.

Countdown to Looking Glass is a good speculative thriller examining the outbreak of World War III. Made during the Cold War, it is rife with the tension of the period. It also gives a haunting portrait of how the apocalypse could have happened.

Through a series of news reports, we see events spiral out of control following a financial collapse in South America. We see both the televised reports and the behind the scenes debates among the reporters and their producers. The film not only has a keen eye for political developments, but also a good sense of the role of media in shaping the world.

The film also wisely avoids showing the actual nuclear exchange. Rather than imitate The Day After, which had come out a year earlier, the film keeps its focus on the lead up to disaster, heightening the tension. It is a worthy entry in the early 80s end of the world genre.

"The Day After" tried to scare us with it's vision of nuclear horror. It failed. But "Countdown To Looking Glass" worked because it fictionalized the events leading up to a nuclear conflict. You basically watch it like you were watching CNN coverage of a Middle East crisis (except you get a little bit more omniscience.) It was made in 1984 yet I can still remember scenes from it. Scott Glenn's live shots from an aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf were so much like Peter Arnett, John Holliman and gang broadcasting from the Al-Rasheed hotel in Baghdad during the first invasion of Iraq. The film doesn't appear to be on DVD which is a shame. This film perfectly captured my fears of nuclear war at this time (I was 18.)