Interesteg What makes it different from others?

SoTrumpBelieve Must See Movie...

RipDelight This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

Hayden Kane There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

mike_71 I have been looking for a world war iii thriller for years. I came across a list on wikipedia of nuclear war based movies. So I finally located this one which looked the most promising on the list considering its good actors and being produced by HBO who is known for excellent miniseries. And let me tell you, it does not disappoint! We are talking about no joke nuclear war and started in a way you can swallow. No annoying love stories, just one close relationship between a b52 pilot and his co-pilot but at least its done in flight. All and all a great thriller. If you are a wwiii movie junkie like me, you MUST see this film!

savagesteve13 I don't know anything about Norad, SAC, ALC, or have been a nuclear submariner so sue me. The movie depicts us as we want our military leaders to be...ones that don't want war. The loose cannon in the fray is the psychotic vice president and the everybody else trying to reverse the end of the world. Liberal propaganda? If it is, then the conservative view is that if we tossed enough nukes at the USSR in the movie we could have won! Ooookay, sure yeah right thats how you win mutually assured destruction wars. Geez some folks that comment on here are nutjobs.I liked the acting, and I found it far more gripping than fail safe or any other nuclear war movie since it concentrated on the people rather than the nukes. If you are a nuke lover who gets aroused at the sight of an LGM-118A taking off than this movie's not for you. Low budgets don't necessarily mean low quality cinema. Another low budget flick about nuclear war I highly recommend along with this one is "Miracle Mile". Another leftist tree hugging commie loving movie you rightwing nuke missile shaft stroking types will hate.

domunited I remember seeing this many years ago, and having fond recollections of the special effects (not at all bad for a made for TV movie) and the subject (I like 'death & disaster' themes).Found it again last week as a bargain DVD and could not resist. Was not disappointed. Yeah - if you want an historically accurate document, or if procedural compliance is your thing - then look away, coz you will get very frustrated. I struggle and struggle with the Russian president getting through to the American one on hospital radio but, hey, it is made up, after all! What I like about this film is that it attempts to show the futility, horror, and damn stupidity of all out war, and then (in an albeit rather simplistic way) tries to re-assure us that, after all, good people will save the day.Daft, yes.But there are some very haunting themes in this film - powerful visual treats. I love the scene where the plane banks away, having dropped the bomb to destroy the Russian pursuers. I also like the surreal chase at the end, when Alice closes in on the President's plane through the mushroom clouds. I like the fact that the film is brave enough to actually confirm that nuclear bombs have exploded - and that millions are dead - rather than the "phew, disaster averted" plot of most similar films.So yeah, there are some flaws but......this is a good little film, with enough about it to raise it above the usual made for TV rubbish and I, for one, am impressed.

nigelpwsmith There have been many attempts to portray some of the overall horror of supposed conflict between the Soviet Union and the United States. For many who have been in the forces, By Dawn's Early Light came very close to everything we were taught, everything we had to prepare for, if the real thing ever happened.Whilst some films seek to show the madness of nuclear conflict (Strangelove) and others try to portray what might happen if things went wrong (Fail-safe), By Dawn's Early Light shows the picture from both the crew doing their job, delivering nuclear ordnance, to the President trying to turn the war off whilst his successor, badly advised, seeks to strike back with all his might to destroy the enemy and win the war. In the end, the conclusion that both the crews and the executive branches reach, is that global thermonuclear war IS madness and that the only safe solution is not to play.In the film, the conflict is started with a renegade/terrorist attack on the Soviets. All we can hope, is that when the first terrorist nuclear weapon is used (probably on the west), the executive branch realise that the only solution is to find a way to a) take the weapons out of the hands of the irresponsible and b) try not to take retaliatory action.The performances by James Earl Jones, Rebecca De Mornay and Powers Boothe are exceptional. The film would have been better without the personal relationship between the last two, but even with the limited budget for special effects, they managed to pull off a believable and tense drama. If America ever has to commit to nuclear war, I hope they have men of the character of James Earl Jones's General. A man who follows orders, but is just as prepared to question if the orders are illegal and insane and act against them.