Countdown to Looking Glass

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...

Very uneven, but ultimately effective tale of the build up to a nuclear showdown between the US and USSR, told almost entirely by news reports, using real life commentators like Newt Gingrich, Eugene McCarthy and Eric Severied.

The problem is when the film 'breaks character' to get into the personal lives of Michael Murphy as a government official and Helen Shaver as a reporter. Not only do these (few) scenes feel clunky, melodramatic, and not well written, but they interrupt the whole style and flow of the film, without adding much.

Also, some of the 'news' interviews are frustratingly short – if you're going to go to the trouble to get such interesting real people to play along, why not give them time for more in depth thoughts?

Last, the 'War of the Worlds' type disclaimer at the top of the show isn't great, since it sort of gives away the ending.

But all that said, this is still mostly chilling, thought provoking stuff. Similar to, if not quite as effect as the great 'Special Bulletin'.

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.

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 got up late one night and turn on the telly. I watched in disbelief that soviet troops had entered west Germany, and the nuclear issue was being waved about.

The crosses to an air craft carrier that was actively hunting a Russian sub made me wonder what was going on. Who do I call?. This can't be real, even though we have been trained by the media to trust what the news channels tell us. This can't be happening, the super powers have been getting along fine, but what would it take to start a war. Could world war 3 break out, be fought,be won or lost in a flash. Maybe it was because I was tired and came in part way into the movie, but I got an insight into how those listening to H.G Well's original radio production of War of the worlds must have felt. Never been so glad for an ad break.