AllMovie

When the Cold War mercifully ended sans a global apocalypse, and the Iron Curtain fell, many assumed that serious nuclear threats no longer existed. Yet these assumptions were naïve at best, given the fact that nuclear missiles still exist in the U.S. and the former Soviet Union, with both countries remaining on "high alert" status. In this tense, often alarming documentary, director Bud Ryan sets out to uncover the truth behind the nuclear status quo of the early 21st Century, with trips through such environments as the houses of Japanese A-bomb survivors, a now-defunct uranium mine in New Mexico, and an underground missile silo in Arizona. Central to Ryan's search are the questions of why a 'MAD' (Mutually Assured Destruction) platform still exists, and what can be done to rid the world of nuclear weapons for all time. The film includes candid interviews with such individuals as politicians, authors, statesmen and atomic scientists.