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The Man Who Saved the World

Play trailer 1:40 Poster for The Man Who Saved the World 2015 1h 50m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
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68% Tomatometer 19 Reviews 63% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings
In 1983, Russian Lt. Col. Stanislav Petrov prevents a nuclear disaster after receiving false information about U.S. missiles heading toward the Soviet Union.
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The Man Who Saved the World

Critics Reviews

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Bilge Ebiri Spirituality & Health 03/24/2020
This is a strange movie. But it nevertheless brings to light a momentous act by a seemingly ordinary man. Go to Full Review
Tom Long Detroit News 09/25/2015
B
The mix of the intensely personal with the global keeps "The Man Who Saved the World" from feeling too politically preachy. Go to Full Review
Martin Tsai Los Angeles Times 09/24/2015
Even if it does feature Lt. Col. Stanislav Petrov visiting America to be feted at the United Nations and rubbing elbows with glitterati, the film is a disingenuous, thoroughly dramatized reenactment at best and a reality show at worst. Go to Full Review
Patrick Taylor One Room With A View 05/10/2019
2/5
Whilst the message of peace and reconciliation is undoubtedly worthy, The Man Who Saved the World is communicated in a distinctly clunky and occasionally patronising fashion, with a televisual feel. Go to Full Review
Allie Gemmill CineVue 04/05/2019
3/5
The Man Who Saved the World's oddly conflicting styles creates a strange uncertainty -- making it hard to gauge precisely whether the narration is reliable, despite the fact that these are true events. Go to Full Review
Rosalynn Try-Hane Battle Royale With Cheese 08/21/2018
The Man Who Saved The World is a humbling, inspirational and entertaining documentary that everyone should and must watch and it is more relevant today than ever before. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Mike B 11/10/2024 A travesty of a documentary, so poorly directed, written & executed it takes a deeply troubling historical event and transforms it into a cheap & phoney TV drama. Thank God Peter Alexander never made a another movie. See more Garry F 11/08/2022 Loved, loved this movie. A story everyone should know. Yes, he's a bit of an old crank now. That doesn't change a thing. He made the right decision, under terribly difficult circumstances. A fascinating tale, well told. See more 05/05/2021 Obviously an important story to make public. When the subject how close humanity has come to a total nuclear disaster, it's nearly always about the Cuban missile crisis, which was more than serious enough. But this was probably closer, and the reason that I'm able to write this review really is Stanislav Petrov and his ability to not panic in the most stressful moment imaginable. However, there have been several other close to doomsday situations with nuclear arms during the Cold War and beyond, but the public rarely or never get to know. The Man Who Saved the World is a documentary, but some of it is obviously staged, with Petrov appearing to be a lonely and misserable old man, opposed to talking to journalists or being followed by any documentary team, but still with a camera crew present at his home to show it. That part is only for the drama, but the basic is very real. The film is free on YouTube and everyone should see it. See more 04/11/2021 A charming look at an unassuming man who was in the position of making a world changing decision, and the path his life took as a result. This docudrama felt more like a Borat or Chloe Zhao style film at times, and there is no way this could be categorized as a straight documentary. Through flashback reenactments to 1983 we see our subject/main character forced with the decision of whether to fire retaliatory nuclear strikes as Russian satellites were showing America had launched an attack. The film, rightly so, highlights how important Petrov's decision ultimately was but unfortunately this was not as rare an occurrence as one may think. Many similar films could probably be made highlighting the other instances where miscommunication, technical failures, or just dumb human error, almost caused a nuclear disaster or war. *This brought to mind a book I read many years ago called Command and Control and I would not be surprised if Petrov and this close call were one of the examples highlighted in it. See more 12/20/2020 Essential, compelling, insightful portrait of the man whose decision means I can write this, and you can read this, See more 04/19/2020 Absolutely brilliant & riveting, could not take my eyes off it for 1 second. It's incredible to see just how close we came to world wide obliteration. See more Read all reviews
The Man Who Saved the World

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Movie Info

Synopsis In 1983, Russian Lt. Col. Stanislav Petrov prevents a nuclear disaster after receiving false information about U.S. missiles heading toward the Soviet Union.
Director
Peter Anthony
Producer
Jakob Staberg
Screenwriter
Peter Anthony
Distributor
The Film Collaborative
Production Co
Statement Film, Beofilm, WG Film, Light Cone Pictures, Ego Media
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
Russian
Release Date (Theaters)
Sep 18, 2015, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Sep 19, 2018
Runtime
1h 50m
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