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Disco and Atomic War

Play trailer Disco and Atomic War 2009 1h 20m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
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92% Tomatometer 13 Reviews 94% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
People grow up in the Soviet Union.

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Disco and Atomic War

Critics Reviews

View All (13) Critics Reviews
Keith Uhlich Time Out The fancifulness of this whimsical documentary wears out its welcome, and you often wish the film would treat its subject with a bit more seriousness. Rated: 3/5 Feb 24, 2023 Full Review Stephen Holden New York Times A playful compendium of archival footage, dramatic reconstructions with a surreal comic edge and solemn talking heads. Rated: 3.5/5 Nov 12, 2010 Full Review V.A. Musetto New York Post It's the true story of how the Soviet government that ruled Estonia into the 1980s began to lose control when somebody discovered they could illegally tap into Western TV from neighboring Finland. Rated: 3/4 Nov 12, 2010 Full Review Vladan Petkovic Cineuropa The film is fantastically entertaining and thoroughly informative, a real treat for viewers of all preferences. Aug 10, 2020 Full Review Shelagh Rowan-Legg That Shelf The film uses Kimli's personal story and his family's almost daily risk of arrest in an irreverent manner to look at the larger story of the USSR's hopeless attempt to control the hearts and minds of its citizens. May 18, 2018 Full Review Ethan Alter NYC Film Critic Don't be completely deceived by the film's light touch; Disco and Atomic War still makes a number of salient points. Rated: 3.5/4 Nov 19, 2010 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (5) audience reviews
Audience Member I saw it and I want to see it again! It's amazing documentary of real life (idiotism) in Soviet Union! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Audience Member One of the best documentaries I have seen. Both informative and humorously amusing. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/21/23 Full Review Audience Member Just a reminder to all of us who was growing up behind the iron curtain. Painfully entertaining and truthful. P.S. Soviet occupied Estonia in 80's still lived better than my family in Moscow. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/08/23 Full Review Audience Member Disco and Atomic War is an entertaining and intriguing documentary about a lesser known aspect of the later years of the Soviet Union. It focuses on how people in Northern Estonia were able to peek out from behind the Iron Curtain through Finnish television and radio, which enables the people to learn about things such as, well, Disco. The way the information is presented is entertaining. They use clips of television shows and commercials of the time and tell amusing stories of the inhabitants of Tallinn (the capital of Estonia, located in the North), and of the powers that be, who tried to somehow control the "westernizing" of the local people. The stories are somewhat absurd, and provide some fun humor into this documentary, a genre of movie which usually isn't all that "entertaining". The effects of the subject matter, tv and radio, on the fall of the Soviet Union is blown a bit out of proportion, but that is normal for a documentary. This is an excellent film about a topic, that is not as well known, even by the younger people in Estonia, who weren't alive at the time. Final rating: 9/10 Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/27/23 Full Review Audience Member Wonderful Finnish/Estonian documentary about the Cold War broadcasting wars in the 1980s between Finland and Estonia (then part of the USSR). Separated by a narrow body of water, Estonians could pick up Finnish broadcasts with appropriate adjustments to their television receivers. By this means, they were able to view such TV classics of Dallas and Knight Rider. They were also exposed to Western opulence and the disco craze. There was an element of hide and seek between the authorities and the underground Western broadcast Estonian culture. The cultural influence of this soft revolution is chronicled in humorous detail as kids talked to their watches in front of foreign cars ala Knight Rider and people read about the latest episode of Dallas at small village gatherings for those who did not have access to the broadcast. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/07/23 Full Review Read all reviews
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Movie Info

Synopsis People grow up in the Soviet Union.
Director
Jaak Kilmi
Producer
Kiur Aarma
Screenwriter
Kiur Aarma, Jaak Kilmi
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
Estonian
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 11, 2017
Runtime
1h 20m
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