80s movie on WWIII hauntingly similar to past 10 years...

Anyone who lived through the 80s remembers the fears of a nuclear WWIII. And more specifically, we all remember the two famous movies that so chilled our collective culture to the bone: The Day After and its British counterpart Threads.

But there was another telemovie back then, one that I don't remember seeing until I just watched it recently, that, quite frankly, is even more harrowing.

That's because the scenario played out in this movie "Countdown To Looking Glass" is almost like the script was written by Nostradamus, playing out like a condensed history of the past decade that ultimately leads up to a nuclear confrontation between the West and East (in this case, still called the Soviet Union).

Amazingly, I found it in full on youtube:



While, obviously, the specifics are different, the over-arching reasons for war are very familiar: Major terrorist attack, followed by the economic collapse of three sovereign governments in debt lead to a new tax on oil shipments thru Hormouz. That's when the US and Russia go head-to-head.

This is mostly filmed as a CNN-like news broadcast details the events, making this even more realistic than the drama we saw with The Day After or Threads.

Enjoy and be scared...

I have watched it several times and I can not agree more. I also have thought of the nastradanus where Orswen Wells narrates and they talk about WWIII starting with US troops being attacked in Turkey. I'll look it up.

"The Man Who Saw Tomorrow", 1981

Had Red Dawn not even been considered?

Originally posted by AFewGoodWomen
Had Red Dawn not even been considered?

In terms of realism? Not really. But it's a great movie.

Anyone who likes realism in movies about warfare and a parallel to our current dilemma in Afghanistan should not hesitate to watch "The Beast". About the Russians in Afghanistan, specifically a Russian tank in Afghanistan and the trouble that ensues when the tank and crew become lost. Good David and Goliath stuff as the Mujahideen struggle to find the chink in a T72's armor.

The Beast

reply to post by behindthescenes


That was scary, thanks for sharing! In fact having just finished Countdown to Looking Glass I found "Threads" on Youtube as I've never seen it either!

Thanks for posting both...will have to watch the second one tomorrow..

anyways...loved the cameos, especially Gingrich..guess he always did have bad fake hair

reply to post by BobM88


I had to watch "Threads" in a class last fall. NEVER AGAIN. For one, the ending is heartbreaking, and two, I can't handle seeing hurt animals. The class was over the 1960s, but we spent most of it talking about nuclear war. "Testament" is another really good one that isn't as heart wrenching, but it will still get you. We also had to read several books. The one that stands out the most to me is "Level 7." It was a very good, quick read, and it made me completely re-think what I thought about underground bases and how they function during nuclear war.

You guys should watch Rambo 3. It may not be terribly realistic but the plot is funny. Rambo goes to Afghanistan to help the brave freedom fighters defeat the invading forces of a particular world power. Things sure have changed lol