Cold War tensions climb to a fever pitch when a U.S. bomber is accidentally ordered to drop a nuclear warhead on Moscow.
Acting
Dreyfuss's trembling commander-in-chief, powerless and aware.
Direction
Frears strips it raw: no score, no relief, just ticking doom.
Production
Shot live-to-tape, black-and-white, like a nightmare newscast.
Director
Stephen Frears
Walter Cronkite
Self - Host
Richard Dreyfuss
President
Noah Wyle
Buck
Brian Dennehy
Gen. Bogan
Sam Elliott
Congressman Raskob
James Cromwell
Gordon Knapp
John Diehl
Col. Cascio
Hank Azaria
Prof. Groeteschele
Norman Lloyd
Defense Secretary Swenson
Bill Smitrovich
Gen. Stark
Don Cheadle
Lt. Jimmy Pierce
George Clooney
Col. Jack Grady
Harvey Keitel
Brig. Gen. Warren Black
Doris Belack
Mrs. Johnson
Grant Heslov
Jimmy
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Shot in real time on CBS, this competed directly with a George Clooney live remake of the same novel—on a different network, same night. TV history beef.
Released April 2000, months before a disputed election; its paranoia about broken systems and accidental apocalypse feels almost prophetic now.
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