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The China Syndrome movie storyline. A true nailbiter, The China Syndrome is a potent harbinger of the potential devastation that can be wrought when humans attempt to harness an energy source they don’t fully understand, an energy that can leave no leeway for such human foibles as avarice and sloth.
Most of the story is set at a small nuclear reactor in California and centers on a free-wheeling cameraman, the chief engineer at the reactor, a man who truly believes that nuclear energy is a safe and efficient form of power, and a female reporter who is trying to prove that she is better suited to hard news than the never-ending stream of fluff pieces she is handed. The trouble begins when the reporter Kimberly Wells (Jane Fonda) and her cameraman Richard Adams go to the reactor to film a story. While speaking with engineer Jack Godell (Jack Lemmon) in the plant something goes horribly wrong.
During the ensuing panic, Adams continues filming and captures some potentially damning information on his camera. When it is safe to leave, the newspeople quickly leave and race back to their station. Unfortunately, the station managers will not show the story, for fear of generating wide-spread panic. They take the film, but later, the cameraman steals it back to show to nuclear experts. Meanwhile, Godell becomes increasingly frustrated when his superiors refuse to listen to him. He knows that something is terribly wrong at the plant, but they are more interested in finances and public relations, and cover the entire matter up.
Against orders, Godell continues investigating and learns that cost-cutting in the plant’s construction has compromised its safety. If something isn’t done soon, the plant could cause an unprecedented catastrophe. In desperation, he breaks into the reactor’s main control room and threatens to kill his co-workers unless the populace is warned and the reactor shut down. The only ones he allows in with him are the newspeople Wells and Adams so they can broadcast his statement.
From here, the drama becomes psychological as Godell begins to break down before Wells and Adams arrive. At the same time, the reactor administrators try to portray Godell as crazy. Adding to the tension is the fact that the reactor is very close to a breakdown and could go at any moment. Though not all viewers appreciated the film’s unwavering anti-nuclear sentiments, it proved to be chillingly prophetic; only a short time after its release the nearly catastrophic nuclear reactor accident at Three Mile Island occurred.
The China Syndrome is a 1979 American drama neo noir thriller film directed by James Bridges and written by Bridges, Mike Gray, and T. S. Cook. It tells the story of a television reporter and her cameraman who discover safety coverups at a nuclear power plant. It stars Jane Fonda, Jack Lemmon, and Michael Douglas, with Douglas also serving as the film’s producer. The cast also features Scott Brady, James Hampton, Peter Donat, Richard Herd, and Wilford Brimley.
“China syndrome” is a fanciful term—not intended to be taken literally—that describes a fictional result of a nuclear meltdown, where reactor components melt through their containment structures and into the underlying earth, “all the way to China.”
The China Syndrome premiered at the 1979 Cannes Film Festival, where it competed for the Palme d’Or while Lemmon received the Best Actor prize. The film was released theatrically on March 16, 1979, twelve days before the Three Mile Island nuclear accident in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, which gave the film’s subject matter an unexpected prescience.
Upon release the film was a critical and commercial success with critics praising the film’s screenplay, direction and thriller elements and Fonda’s and Lemmon’s performances. The film grossed $51.7 million on a production budget of $5.9 million. It received four nominations at the 52nd Academy Awards: Best Actor (Lemmon), Best Actress (Fonda), Best Art Direction (George Jenkins, Arthur Jeph Parker), and Best Original Screenplay.
The China Syndrome (1979)
Directed by: James Bridges
Starring: Jane Fonda, Jack Lemmon, Michael Douglas, Scott Brady, James Hampton, Wilford Brimley, Richard Herd, Michael Alaimo, Donald Hotton, Khalilah ‘Belinda’ Ali, Paul Larson
Screenplay by: Mike Gray
Production Design by: George Jenkins
Cinematography by: James Crabe
Film Editing by: David Rawlins
Costume Design by: Donfeld
Set Decoration by: Arthur Jeph Parker
MPPA Rating: None.
Distributed by: Columbia Pictures
Release Date: March 16, 1979
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