The China Syndrome

THE CHINA SYNDROME (PG)

D: James Bridges

Columbia/IPC (Michael Douglas)

USA 🇺🇸 1979

122 mins

Drama/Thriller

W: Mike Gray, T. S. Cook & James Bridges

DP: James Crabe

Ed: David Rawlins

PD: George Jenkins

Jane Fonda (Kimberly Wells), Jack Lemmon (Jack Godell), Michael Douglas (Richard Adams), Scott Brady (Herman DeYoung), James Hampton (Bill Gibson), Peter Donat (Don Jacovich), Wilford Brimley (Ted Spindler)

An Eco-thriller which was probably more powerful at the time of it's release than it is now, especially since the events of Three Mile Island occurred only a few weeks after this film received it's premiere.

The story follows a supervisor at a nuclear power plant who blows the whistle on safety flaws which could lead to an impending disaster, a female reporter gets involved to investigate the story but the plants unscrupulous authorities cover up the truth.

The mysteries and conspiracies concerning nuclear power have been much studied since 1979, so the impact the film once had has been much diluted, but it's still worth watching for the two lead performances, a decent screenplay and good production values.

8/10