There's a pretty damn interesting chestnut from from 80's-era nuclear nightmare films available on Youtube — 1983's "Special Bulletin." I was surprised I hadn't heard of it. I think most 80's kids remember ABC's "The Day After." That infamous television movie was a cultural touchstone that scared a generation of kids. "Special Bulletin" was produced by NBC the same year, actually preceding "The Day After" by nine months. Instead of a world-ending war with Russia, the feature-length special imagined a single incident of nuclear terrorism in Charleston, South Carolina. (I myself had no idea that Charleston was the strategic military nexus that the movie explains it to be.)"Special Bulletin" was filmed as a "War of the Worlds"-type narrative, consisting exclusively of faux news coverage, and it's pretty damned good. (It won a handful of Emmys.) It's just as frightening today — or maybe more so, given the increased threat of precisely this kind of terrorism from stateless groups.The acting is mostly good, the directing successfully captures the feel of live news coverage, and the absence of a musical score further lends the movie a sense of realism. The story has a few surprises for us, too — the plot setup is creative and interesting, and much more thought went in the the teleplay than I would have expected. The film asks some difficult questions about the role of the media in affecting the outcome of high-profile crimes like the one depicted. (Would such questions be more or less relevant in the age of camera-phones, uploaded ISIS executions and Facebook Live? I'm not sure.)I was also quite impressed with some of "Special Bulletin's" thriller elements. (I'd say more, but I will avoid spoilers.)One thing that detracts from the format's realism is the fact that some of this movie's actors are easily recognizable from other roles in the 80's (although it's fun spotting them as an 80's movie fan).Most viewers my age, for example, will recognize Ed Flanders and Lane Smith. The utterly sexy female reporter who arrives on location at Charleston Harbor is Roxanne Hart, who later played Brenda in "Highlander" (1986). (She's still quite beautiful, guys, and she's still making movies.) Most jarring of all, however, is a prominent role played by David Clennon, who any fan of horror- science fiction will recognize as Palmer from John Carpenter's 1982 masterpiece, "The Thing." This is still fun, though — he has that same disarrayed hair. Was it his trademark back in the day?

Excellent movie, keeps the audience stuck to the TV set. I first saw this picture during one of my trips to USA. I was zapping and I tuned a TV station that was showing this program. As it had no advertising, I thought it was for real and that I was looking at a live show of a TV news broadcast. It wasn't until the end of the movie that I realized it was fiction. Good fiction and I think it caused the same effect that Orson Welles obtained with his radio broadcast of the "War of The Worlds". I do advice anyone having the possibility to get a copy on VHS or DVD of this film to do so, it is a masterpiece of Cinema and ought to be considered among the best films ever made.

"Special Bullentin" may have been made over 20 years ago, but its message has not changed in all these years. Directed by Edward Zwick (Glory, Legends of The Fall), the film (which, despite the dramatization notices through the movie, terrified citizens of South Carolina)is told through RBS, a news station in Chareston, South Carolina. A group of terrorists (Lead by David Clennon) have the city under siege, and have a reporter and a cameraman as hostages at the city docks. The weapon? A nuclear device set to detonate. Their demands? They want ALL of the nuclear detonators in the area destroyed.Looking at it today, it's more relevant today because it shows how the media acts during times of crisis, making it into a circus;the government's inability to help those in need (Think about FEMA during Hurricane Katrina), and how terrorists (no matter where they're from)do extreme things to get their points across.Incredible, thought-provoking film. Look for Michael Madsen and John (America's Most Wanted)Walsh in small parts.

Very ahead-of-its-time story, tremendous commetary on the media and politics among other things. Someone else referred to modern day disaster coverage by the media and disaster response by the federal government, and boy do those both come into play here, amazing for a telefilm made in 1983.The dialogue was also pretty good, and if you look at some of the films that the writers/producers of this gem went on to make, definitely a lot of material there.Also some good performances from great actors, which is always a good thing, of course! Why was this never released on video? The original (and excellent) "Brian's Song" came out on DVD, so certainly a TV movie could be doable for DVD."Countdown to Looking Glass" is another good one. IMO both of these are tons better than "The Day After" which I found cheesy even then. "Special Bulletin" almost has a surreal quality that is very hard to match.