On the Brink: Doomsday

This intermittently riveting video examines flirtations with apocalypse in the form of nuclear brinkmanship, technology glitches and close calls in general involving the U.S. and the Cold War-era Soviet Union. Vintage footage and declassified documents are the stuff of the story, and for the most part the dramatic presentation matches the hushed narration in intensity. However, the video is 110 minutes long and the storyline doesn't so much meander as sink into a morass of oppressive tension (not wholly a bad thing, given the fact that nuclear war is a tense, oppressive topic). Speaking of tense and oppressive, former Air Force officer and Vice Presidential candidate Curtis LeMay apparently impressed the Russians, one of whom remarks, "we knew that LeMay...would always be ready to strike the Soviet Union." After losing so many fighters over Japan in WWII, LeMay viewed the bomb as a "lifesaver" for its ability to end conflicts quickly, a position that seems ludicrous now, but had plenty of adherents in what we foolishly refer to as a simpler time. Political leaders in the Cold War didn't understand their countries' nuclear arsenals and relied on experts, which again seems foolish now, but think about it--do you understand the vagaries of series authority? Do you want to? Probably not, and issues of thermonuclear weapons and mass destruction raise even uglier quandaries than cataloging rules. A little mawkish, a little overwhelming, this is a good historical source, but it definitely needs an intermission about half way through. A strong, optional purchase. Aud: J, H, C, P. (M. Tribby)