| Special Bulletin (TV-Movie) | 
 enlarge | Director: Edward Zwick
Actors: Arthur R. Nuzzo, David Vandebrake, William A. Gimble Jr., Charles Lanyer, Virginia Gourdin
Studio: Karl-Lorimar Home Video
Category: Video
Buy Used: $53.99
Collectible (3) from $75.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  29 reviews
Sales Rank: 13996
Format: Color, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Media: VHS Tape
Running Time: 95 minutes
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.3 x 4.2 x 1.1
ISBN: 6301650662
UPC: 012569035034
EAN: 9786301650663
ASIN: 6301650662
Theatrical Release Date: March 20, 1983
Release Date: January 1, 1998
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Very Gently Played Once (tape and box are PRISTINE) Ships Next Day! GUARANTEED
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| Customer Reviews:
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 one of the best TV movies of the 1980s! July 31, 2008
SPECIAL BULLETIN (1983)
dir. Edward Zwick
approx. 1 hour 40 minutes
This is an excellent movie about nuclear anxiety during the Cold War.
It is shot to resemble a series of TV broadcasts, cutting between a newsroom and its correspondents. The story involves a group of anti-nuclear activists who threaten to set off a nuclear explosive in Charleston, South Carolina. They say that they will dismantle their own device if the government agrees to let them destroy a surplus of nuclear items being housed in the Charleston area. A newsman covering a nearby event is taken hostage, and the terrorists use his reporting equipment as a megaphone for their crusade. The terrorists declare a deadline when their bomb will explode if their demand isn't met. The movie grows more and more intense as the deadline approaches.
The movie raises a lot of interesting questions, and not only about nuclear weapons. For example, there is a debate about whether or not the TV station should air any of the terrorists' opinions, even if it makes them angrier. This is similar to the debates that occurred after several US newspapers published the so-called Unabomber manifesto in 1995. When the station decides to broadcast live feed from the boat that the terrorists are occupying, it becomes clear that they are somewhat attention-starved and unstable. The station interviews several experts who analyze the situation, and one terrorists complains that he is being exploited by the media. It is never evident who is in control of the situation, or whether the media really did make matters worse (or how much of a choice they had in the matter). The movie also shows that while the anti-nuclear fanatics shown are indeed terrorists, the possibility of nuclear flames is still a horrifying one.
This movie certainly deserves to be on DVD!
Director Edward Zwick went on to direct several big movies such as 'THE SIEGE' and 'GLORY'.
Deserving the DVD treatment November 1, 2007
An incredibly effective presentation. Awaiting a (remastered) DVD release of this feature, as well as a DVD of its nearest sibling, HBO's COUNTDOWN TO LOOKING GLASS.
 If you've ever seen it, I know you remember it well August 12, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
So there I was, sitting in my apartment in Chapel Hill (Carrboro, actually), flipping channels on the TV, when I came across this breaking news report about a group of crazy liberals threatening to detonate a nuclear device in Charleston harbor. It's sort of embarrassing, but I have to admit that it scared the bejesus out of me for a few minutes - until I flipped over to CNN and the networks and saw that they weren't covering any such story, asked myself what the heck the RBS network was, and realized that I was tuned in to the Lifetime Channel. (The movie originally aired on NBC in 1983, but I have no memory of that original broadcast.) Fifteen minutes into the film, I should note, a disclaimer does appear on the screen assuring viewers that the events being dramatized are not in fact happening. It certainly made for interesting conversation the next day, and I have been dying to see this film again ever since then (it still hasn't been released on DVD).
The beauty of Special Bulletin was the fact that the movie was designed to play exactly as if it were an actual live news event - complete with technical problems, reports from correspondents in Charleston and Washington, D.C., announcements from political leaders, etc. Watching it again now, I have to laugh about it because it's obviously low budget and some of the acting really wasn't all that good. Still, it boasts a brilliant concept for a film, and, now that I've finally rediscovered this movie, I know I'll be watching it on and off for many years to come. Even when you know it's fiction, it still makes for compelling viewing.
As for the story, you have this group of five terrorists (led by two former defense scientists) who take over a tugboat in Charleston harbor, engage in a firefight with the Coast Guard, take two Guardsmen as well as a journalist and his cameraman hostage, and demand a live network feed. In an effort to get the hostages released, the RBS network gives them what they want, at which time they demand that all trigger devices on nuclear weapons housed in the Charleston area be brought to them for destruction. This act of unilateral disarmament, they argue, will surely inspire the Soviets to follow their lead. If their demands are not met, they then announce, they will detonate their own nuclear device right there in Charleston. Government spokesmen cast doubts upon the truth of the threat early on, but the tension soon ratchets up as more and more evidence comes to light indicating that this terrorist threat could very well be frighteningly real.
The film raises a number of fairly obvious and important questions. Should a network be permitted to hand over a live feed to terrorists, for any reason? What would the government do in such a case of nuclear blackmail? Would we stick to our policy of never dealing with terrorists, even if it meant the destruction of a major American city? Would the government undertake the logistical nightmare of evacuating such a large city? At one point, the network hosts even get in to a debate with the terrorists themselves about the influence of the media on something like this.
Obviously, Special Bulletin now looks and feels its age, but the issues it addresses are more pertinent than ever before - and it still delivers quite a thrilling conclusion. This made-for-TV movie will always be a cult favorite in this reviewer's heart.
A largely overlooked MASTERPIECE! July 7, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a fictional news "report - bulletin" about an imaginary nuclear confrontation between terrorists and the police. It is presented as if it were "REALLY" happening...
And...it is so good...that if you didn't know you were watching a videotape..you would SWEAR it was "real".
ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT!
Right now, it's only on VHS but get it and burn it on to a DVD.
Hopefully they come out with a DVD edition of this. It is one of my ALL-TIME FAVORITE VIDEOS EVER!
I give it 5 stars ONLY because I can't give it more. It deserves it.
AWESOME & RIVITING at its release!! February 14, 2007
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I remember like it was yesterday when I first saw this movie on TV. The TV and law enforcement dispatchers nationwide were flooded with frantic callers thinking it was real.There were several heart attacks and even some deaths due to the frenzy created from this flick in news reports the next day. Remember this was in the 80's during tense nuclear/political times.(gee kinda like NOW)A very cleverly made movie.And based on how screwed up our U.S. government is, the end result WOULD be similar if this type of event really happened. A very thought prevoking,must see movie.
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