Countdown to Zero

PG

Released Jul 23, 2010

1h 30m

Documentary

List

80%

88 Reviews

Tomatometer

72%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Although the Cold War is behind us, the threat of nuclear disaster remains very real. Director Lucy Walker discusses the invention of the atomic bomb and brings the story into the present day, examining the possibility of nuclear calamity under the categories of "Madness," "Accident" and "Miscalculation." With narration by Gary Oldman, the film includes a hypothetical sequence of a nuclear explosion in New York City's Times Square, timed to coincide with the New Year's Eve countdown.

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Critics Consensus

Countdown to Zero is more genuinely frightening than many horror movies -- and more soberly enlightening than the average documentary.

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james b

An interesting documentary. This will make you lose some sleep. I had no idea that nuclear weapons were held by so many countries. This is worth a watch.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The Western World gets paranoid and hysterical over a problem it created in this interesting documentary. Plenty of negative propaganda about other countries whilst the US is passed off as a guardian of the good. Nuclear weapons were created by the west and now we fear them perhaps this is our collective punishment for inventing them in the first place.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/14/23

Full Review

Audience Member

WOW, this was an eye opener.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/11/23

Full Review

Audience Member

More learning for me.... wonder what the count is now? Film made in 2010....

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/17/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Scariest show you'll see this year. Especially the parts about the false alarms, ease of making or buying fissile material, and the description of what happens within a few miles of a detonation. Didn't feel alarmist but was measured in its delivery with the contribution of so many experts and politicians from both sides of the aisle. This film is essential because we've forgotten the risks we're living with, instead focused on other (albeit often related) news. Who knew the danger was still so real?

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/15/23

Full Review

Audience Member

this movie was more likely to get a response during the cold war. there are a couple country's that might set off nukes but US and Russia aren't them. Now ones gonna take the threat of a nuke going off seriously until it happens.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/29/23

Full Review

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Lucy Walker

Director

Gary Oldman

Narrator

Lawrence Bender

Producer

Bruce Blair

Executive Producer

Matt Brown

Executive Producer

Jeff Skoll

Executive Producer

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J. R. Jones

Chicago Reader

This documentary from producer Lawrence Bender (An Inconvenient Truth) attempts to shake up the equation, portraying a future attack as probable yet making the gradual elimination of weapons-grade material seem achievable.

Aug 10, 2022

Full Review

Derek Malcolm

London Evening Standard

We've gone backwards rather than forwards. To watch a film such as this is to shudder all over again.

Rated: 3/5

Jun 24, 2011

Full Review

Antonia Quirke

Financial Times

The film's most sobering fact: any world leader has a maximum of 10 seconds to decide to retaliate in the event of a nuclear attack.

Rated: 3/5

Jun 24, 2011

Full Review

Sr. Rose Pacatte

National Catholic Reporter

The scope of Countdown to Zero is as vast as it is frightening.

Jun 29, 2017

Full Review

Roe McDermott

Hot Press

Unfortunately Walker's arguments come wrapped in layers of stars and stripes, with America's 'Us .v. Them' mentality seeping from every shot.

Rated: 2/5

Mar 14, 2016

Full Review

Ed Whitfield

What Culture

A whirlwind tour of human failure ...

Rated: 3.5/5

Jul 6, 2011

Full Review

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Synopsis

Although the Cold War is behind us, the threat of nuclear disaster remains very real. Director Lucy Walker discusses the invention of the atomic bomb and brings the story into the present day, examining the possibility of nuclear calamity under the categories of "Madness," "Accident" and "Miscalculation." With narration by Gary Oldman, the film includes a hypothetical sequence of a nuclear explosion in New York City's Times Square, timed to coincide with the New Year's Eve countdown.

Director: Lucy Walker
Producer: Bruce Blair, Matt Brown, Jeff Skoll
Screenwriter: Lucy Walker
Distributor: Magnolia Pictures
Production Co: Lawrence Bender Productions, Participant Media
Rating: PG (Thematic Material|Incidental Smoking|Images of Destruction)
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 23, 2010, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 26, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $271.3K
Runtime: 1h 30m

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