i encourage you to read all of the reviews. this film interviews a lot of experts and people involved with this technology, on a global scale. it's nightmarish that humans have gotten to the point of near world destruction but i found the opinions of various world leaders interviewed for this film, along with technical facts, very interesting. the in-depth science behind bomb making and strategies really opened my eyes and made me appreciate international defense agendas and why we need them (and why we should learn to live without them). i don't understand how right-wing republicans can argue the facts, but then again.. they are republicans and prone to that kinda of thing.

After a rather boring last few days, I finally got a bit of a shock after watching Lucy Walker's unsettling documentary, Countdown to Zero.Using the quote "Every man, woman and child lives under a nuclear sword of Damocles, etc." by John F. Kennedy as a structure of storytelling basis, Countdown to Zero explains in an essay-like form of the dangers of nuclear weapons even after decades since the end of the Cold War, and how these could be detonated, intentionally or unintentionally, and blow numbers of the human race off the earth.Walker explains this in three categories: "Madness" "Accident" and "Miscalculation." Examining the back story of the invention of the A-Bomb by Oppenheimer, to more current events of near catastrophe, she exacts just the right tone that is necessary for the film. While the editing and pacing feels very slow, and a bit choppy at times, as well as slipping a little back into madness every so often, it's nothing if not a brilliant piece of research into this very subject.It's a very eye opening movie, probably the best example of this, and the best scene of the film, is a hypothetical nuclear explosion taking place in New York City at Times Square after the New Year's Eve countdown, that features a brilliant sound mixture of audio narrations by many of Walker's sources by Michael Minkler and Tony Lamberti, and boy, is it one intense hypothetical.It's a compelling piece of film making that asks many to help eliminate a major threat, and never becomes sleep inducing.I give Countdown to Zero *** out of ****

I do NOT know how reviewing a documentary can contain a spoiler. Having said that: "Countdown to Zero" is a documentary about nuclear war directed by Lucy Walker. It is one worth seeing to remind us exactly what the destructive capacity of a nuclear explosive device means. One has to see it to really understand it and to impress upon us the reality of the effects of nuclear war for those who might either not know of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, have never seen pictures of it or if they have seen it have forgotten about it. After viewing this documentary it makes the storm cloud under which mankind sits difficult to forget.The documentary retells the history of the construction of the nuclear bomb during World War II, Oppenheimer's horror of what he and others had accomplished through the Manhattan Project, the science of it and, of course, the attempts, however minimal, at nuclear non proliferation treaties signed by the United States and Russia throughout the decades. The documentarian interviews a host of experts on nuclear proliferation including Valerie Pflame (the woman who worked for the CIA exploring the link of terrorism to nuclear weapons whom Rove, Cheney and their henchmen in the Bush administration outed) as well as Mikhail Gorbachev, Tony Blair, the late Robert MacNamara and others including profound statements by Ronald Reagan, John Kennedy and Barack Obama.The minutiae of the historical facts behind the building of the nuclear bomb, although interesting, are not what staggers me. What staggers me is the fact that the US, Russia and seven other countries have the capacity now, as I write this, to annihilate life on earth many times over in a matter of seconds and how relatively easy it could be done whether by mistake, terrorist attempts at purchasing and/or stealing nuclear material, smuggling nuclear devices into ports or simply bad policy – VERY bad policy and how close we have come in the past to having that happen.Moreover, it is astounding the relative ease of creating a nuclear device IF one has the appropriate materials and how many have already attempted such a thing including A.Q. Kahn, the hero of Pakistan's nuclear weapon program. Nuclear weapons in the hands of unstable nation states like Pakistan are a clear and present danger. A destabilized Middle East created by the Iraq War is a threat. A nuclear device either secured on the black market by terrorists or possessed by rogue states like North Korea which does have access to nuclear material or Iran which wants to have access to it is a doomsday scenario. It would take but a single mistake or malfeasance to propel the planet and man on it to extinction.The documentary catapults the viewer into the reality of a nuclear explosion with views of the flash point, evaporation of people and miles of destruction to everything near the blast as well as the destruction from the ensuing tornado like wind and radiation poisoning that follows as the blast eradicates everything. It is a mind numbing experience but one which, I believe, is necessary for all to see. The horror of it is beyond the power of human imagination to truly comprehend. Man in his genius could be the genius behind his own demise. That is the irony and that is the fear.Zero nuclear weaponry world wide is the goal but who do we trust to pursue it? This documentary, in my opinion, is a must see for all who care about the preservation of life on earth for its own sake and for the sake of the generations which come after us. The earth is a gift the beauty of which we must not squander for any reason. Let us hope everyone else thinks that way as well.

When I was a youngster I was keenly aware of the eminent threat of nuclear disaster that could wipe us out at any moment. We had drills in school where we would duck under our desks and run away from the window, as if that could protect us from a nuclear blast. But once the cold war ended, the idea that an Atomic or Hydrogen Bomb could destroy our cities or end our lives was not a concern. Even when the news reported that Iran was trying to become a nuclear power, my anxiety was not raised and I never thought that my life, the safety of my family or our country's well being was in jeopardy. That is until I saw this documentary film written and directed by Lucy Walker and produced and edited by a crackerjack experienced team. They skillfully build the film around the words of John F. Kennedy who proclaimed in a speech in 1961, "Every man, woman and child lives under a nuclear sword of Damocles, hanging by the slenderest of threads, capable of being cut at any moment by accident or miscalculation or by madness." The filmmakers then show us dramatic movie clips of such events as near nuclear accidents where five of six safety devices failed, lost atomic weapons, both American and Russian governments misinterpreting data and being seconds away from launching a retaliatory nuclear strike against an imagined attack on their country. There are interviews with former CIA agent Valerie Plume, Mikhail Gorbachev, Jimmie Carter, Tony Blair, and Robert MacNamara in the last interview before he died, which all discuss the serious dangers that nuclear weapons pose today. The film shows how easy it is to make a nuclear bomb, how destructive it can be and how terrorists are very hot to make one and use it. The film pulls no punches and certainly can scare the living daylights out of you. The goal of this documentary and the various sponsors of the film are encompassed in the title, "Countdown to Zero" with the subtitle " Demand Zero". It is worth noting that JFK followed up the quote mentioned above with the statement, "The weapons of war must be abolished before they abolish us." The filmmakers believe that if the people all over the world demand nuclear disarmament, it will happen. This documentary certainly makes their point and one of their principle producers, Participant Media makes suggestions on their web site: http://www.takepart.com/countdowntozero as to how to get this conversation started. This film will also eventually be shown on the History Channel, which is one of the backers of it, and I also hope it will end up in many schools to pass on this message to new generations who will have to finish the job of nuclear disarmament.