'The Day After' (1983 nuclear holocaust TV movie that changed history): 16 Weird Secrets You Didn't Know-- and 'Threads' [View all]

Last edited Thu Apr 30, 2026, 11:49 PM - Edit history (2)

"The Day After (1983) shocked millions with its unflinching portrayal of nuclear war—but not everything made it to air. In this video, we explore the hidden truths surrounding the film, including rumored cuts, network concerns, and the deeper message some believe was softened for television."

MY notes on this video--- Some of the film was actually filmed in Kansas, and the movie pyrotechnics creating mushroom clouds actually panicked people in Kansas who could see them, but knew nothing about the film being made, and they believed that a nuclear war had actually started! Official phone lines were overwhelmed with calls from panicked people---

Also, about an hour's worth of scenes were deleted, judged as being too horrible for the viewing audience to be able to bear---
(but the final product was bad enough to influence President Ronald Reagan himself to 'change direction'---
and thank God for that!)

&t=356s


Full version of the original TV movie:




The television airing of 'The Day After' in 1983 was a very major television event in my life,
possibly on a par with with the closing episode of 'MASH'. It had ample prior promotion...

At the time, I was a 20-year-old delivery driver for Domino's Pizza, in community college.
A good number of Domino's Pizza employees from my store planned to meet
at the home of one of the other drivers to view this movie..
.
(quite possibly he had auto-taped it on his VCR, for us to view later,
since store hours were 4:30 pm to 1:00 am, but I don't recall for sure
whether we might have actually viewed it live or not---
only that we planned this affair at least several days in advance).

I do remember at least one of the comments on the movie by a fellow employee,
about the scene with the African American missile site technician,
whom, after their missile has already been launched exclaims

"THE WAR IS OVER! WE DONE OUR JOB!" But their orders were to remain at the missile site
'until the helicopters come' to pick them up... but he shouts

"The bombs will be here before the choppers will!"

My coworker's comment was

"that guy has a real healthy attitude!"




A year after 'The Day After', the British movie about a possible impending nuclear holocaust,

"THREADS" (full movie link)

was even more graphic and frightening than 'The Day After',
as it also depicted nuclear winter, starvation, and birth defects
which would be likely after such a war---

The last scene is the killer---
a young girl who survived the war. but was subsequently raped
and conceived in the aftermath, gives birth to her child---
and begins to SCREAM after she SEES it!

((OK, she didn't actually scream in the film, now that I have re-watched the final scene---
but after seeing her baby, she recoiled from it and withdrew her hands---
and was CLEARLY about to scream when the film ended---
I imagined the scream that was clearly coming,
and that is how I remember the end!))

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Threads_(1984_film)


Rather too ironic now, that the nuclear war depicted in 'Threads'
was precipitated by a RUSSIAN invasion of IRAN,
to which the U.S. felt it had to respond with troops----
(because of O.I.L., what else!--- although that is never mentioned...)

and the escalation resulted in this fictional nuclear war!


EVERYONE who voted for the madman TRUMP
should have been REQUIRED to VIEW BOTH of these movies---
BEFORE being allowed to cast such a fucking stupid vote!

(for the guy who once said 'we HAVE nuclear weapons,
so why can't we use them?')

((well diaper Don, we already DID 'use them',
and we are the ONLY country who EVER DID!))


I'm glad I am getting old, and most of my life is already behind me---
and that if the demented orange fool decides to push the button
late at night, such as when he makes his "Lies Social" tirades,
I will most likely be asleep and oblivious of his
murders of myself and much of the world, if it happens!