Nuclear Rescue 911 - Broken Arrows & Incidents (2001) Review

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(More customer reviews)Thankfully, Director and Special Effects Guru Peter Kuran has taken it upon himself to become a force for preservation of an important part of America's past - the nuclear age, and all of the trials, tribulations, horror, progress, humor, and stupidity that time entails. His other films, Trinity and Beyond, Atomic Journeys, and Nukes In Space all address various aspects of the atomic generation: Trinity is a general overview, Journeys a "tour" of sites around the US and the world, and Space studies in-depth the high-altitude nuclear detonations the US conducted. (Fans will also note that Kuran did a tribute film to the men who originally shot this footage called Atomic Filmmakers, which according to Peter himself will debut on DVD soon in an extended, "Director's Cut" version).
Kuran's latest work, Nuclear Rescue 911, centers around the various accidents surrounding the use of nuclear weapons in the US program. Like the others, it is a documentary, comprised mostly of old restored footage, narration, and some interviews. Like the others, much of the restored footage is stuff we've seen before, either in Trinity or Journeys. Unfortunately, there is depressingly little new footage in this film, although the focus of the narration almost makes up for that problem. I suspect that Kuran is running out of usable source material, which is fine, and the voiceovers on the different subjects make these films equally as educational as the originals. Perhaps it is the romantic in me that wishes Peter could come across a lost archive of material, restore it, and cut an entirely new film as engaging as Trinity was.
To be sure, the educational (and horror) value of Nuclear Rescue cannot be stressed enough. As always, the DVD is packed with supplemental materials, and expect your subwoofer to get a good workout from the bass-intense 5.1 track. Kuran fans will want to add this disc to their collection; others will want to check out Trinity and Beyond first, and perhaps Atomic Journeys, as many of the subjects in this film are introduced in those two as well. The value of Kuran's efforts at restoring these old films should be apparant to anyone who has any kind of historical sense, but, as indicated, there isn't a whole lot of new material here.
Now, we just have to wait for Atomic Filmmakers and - dare I suggest it - The Atomic Cafe to find thier way to DVD.

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Since 1950, there have been 32 nuclear weapon accidents, known as "Broken Arrows." A Broken Arrow is defined as an unexpected event involving nuclear weapons that result in the accidental launching, firing, detonating, theft or loss of the weapon. To date, six nuclear weapons have been lost and never recovered.Now, recently declassified documents reveal the history and secrecy surrounding the events known as "Broken Arrows".There have been 32 nuclear weapon accidents since 1950. Six of these nuclear weapons have been lost and never recovered. What does this say about our defense system? What does this mean to our threatened environment? What do we do to rectify these monumental "mistakes"?Using spectacular special effects, newly uncovered and recently declassified footage, filmmaker Peter Kuran explores the accidents, incidents and exercises in the secret world of nuclear weapons.

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