Synopsis
A hot spot in a cold war.
A disturbing collection of 1940s and 1950s United States government-issued propaganda films designed to reassure Americans that the atomic bomb was not a threat to their safety.
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The Atomic Cafe
Cast
Directors
Producers
Editors
Sound
Studio
Country
Language
Alternative Titles
Atomic Café, Атомное кафе, 原子咖啡厅, 원자 카페
Genres
Themes
Releases by Date
Theatrical limited
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USA
Theatrical
11 Nov 1982
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Netherlands
25 Nov 1982
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UK12
Releases by Country
Netherlands
11 Nov 1982
- Theatrical
UK
25 Nov 1982
- Theatrical12 Originally AA
USA
17 Mar 1982
- Theatrical limited
Popular reviews
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Cinematic Time Capsule
1982 Marathon - Film #23”When not close enough to be killed, the atomic bomb is one of the most beautiful sights in the world.”
Hey everybody! We’re having a war mongering party and you’re invited! It’ll be full of atomic age newsreels, military test footage and propaganda films.
After all, it’s the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine!
We’ll also be providing tons of helpful tips on building and stocking your own personal fallout shelter. For instance: Don’t forget the tranquilizers! They’ll help ease the strain and monotany of life in a shelter. It’s recommended that a bottle of 100 would be adequate for a family of four, but I…
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Be sure to include tranquilizers to ease the strain and monotony of life in a fallout shelter. A bottle of 100 should be sufficient for a family of four. Tranquilizers are not a narcotic, and are not habit-forming.
I ran out of tranquilizers so now I have to use Atomic Age stock footage to calm myself. Good stuff, I feel safer already.
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Entertaining and a wealth of clips and music but it feels a little too comfy for me, like it only exists for people to look back on and laugh at naive nuclear paranoia in old instructional Army movies and news reports ostensibly trying to reassure the public but actually making sure they stayed afraid of Russia and communism, ignoring the direct (and intentional) line between that paranoia and stuff like the Vietnam war. Still, everybody should watch it. The most fascinating motif for me is all the religious imagery and justifications for the bomb, imagine being able to say that such a thing was created by God with a straight face.
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What an unbelievable flex to pimp two LA shopping malls before warning America about the dangers of communism.
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Yet another film I haven’t viewed in more than 20 years. The only time was on VHS in college, back when The Cold War had been over with for years and people could chuckle at how silly it all was. Now, in 2024… it plays differently. Then again, once I saw this for a second time, what a surprise to see photos and video footage of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bomb droppings, usually graphic in nature of corpses and radiation poisoning.
That was brief, however; other than that and a minute of testing on animals-an Allison M.-style warning I'll give, the documentary chronologically covers life from the development of Trinity through the entirely of the 1950’s, the creation of the…
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The decision to utilize only pre-existing footage—the vast majority of which was made by the US government itself—in order to depict the peverse American military industrial complex and how it has, as my professor put it, put us in a permanent state of apocalypse since 1945 is such a brilliant and impactful approach. That's the power of editing baby.
Also it's so sweet that before showing this Darl actually shared a BYU AFP(?) student film that was based on a short story he wrote, that was in turn inspired by this film! It's especially endearing because I actually had an idea for a screenplay of my own watching this that made me really excited; art and the cycles of inspiration and adaptation is genuinely one of the most beautiful things we can be a part of in this world. What an awesome class this has been, and what a bittersweet note to end on.
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the atomic bomb was as galvanizing a force for any development in the 20th century as any. perhaps the most significant development our species has had. before, our power of destruction was mostly limited to each other. violence existed on a fathomable and grotesque scale. only natural calamity like plagues and tsunamis could hope to lead to large-scale annihilation. not anymore; by splitting the nature of existence itself, we created a hinge between said existence and absolute obliteration. finally mankind could catch up with their more prominent desire; total destruction of all life on earth. to reduce everything we have to irradiated sickly ashes, from which no recognizable life could emerge.
you could say it was always on the horizon…
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yeah my son is really gonna be safe from nuclear radiation! i got him this cool protective suit made out of lead :)
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If I had to compile a list of fun things that I would like to do during my lifetime, then being in the vicinity of an atomic bomb explosion would not appear on that list.
The archival newsreels, military training films, civil defense instructional videos, advertisements, television news clips, bomb shelter education shorts, and kitschy songs that were compiled for the 1982 documentary, The Atomic Cafe, however, are fascinating relics from a time when preparations for surviving a nuclear attack were pitched in such a rosy and optimistic way that they actually did seem enjoyable. If the “duck and cover” instructions demonstrated by the cartoon character, Bert the Turtle, to the tune of infectiously hummable music for early 1950s classroom…
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1982 In Review - April
#5
Disturbing collection of 1940s and 1950s United States government-issued propaganda films designed to reassure Americans that the atomic bomb was not a threat to their safety.This is a rather terrifying look into the past. A look at Americas pre-occupation with the Atom bomb seen through a collection of 40s and 50s government issued propaganda films. It's terrifying to note just how little they actually knew about radiation and the after effects. So you see soldiers at bomb blasts coming out their fox holes seconds after the blast with no protective clothing, no helmets, but that's ok says the video, because radiation only goes into openings like nostrils or the mouth. The skin will repel radiation. Crazy!
This brings to mind the wonderful When The Wind Blows, that haunting 1987 British animation that shows in horrifying tiny detail just how you deal with the after effects of the bomb. ie you don't.
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