{"id":42390,"date":"2019-02-02T16:21:01","date_gmt":"2019-02-02T23:21:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=42390"},"modified":"2021-01-24T10:15:00","modified_gmt":"2021-01-24T17:15:00","slug":"china-syndrome-the-1979","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=42390","title":{"rendered":"China Syndrome, The (1979)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;There is no conspiracy, there is no cover-up.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/China-Syndrome-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/China-Syndrome-Poster-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-42394\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/China-Syndrome-Poster-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/China-Syndrome-Poster-85x128.jpg 85w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/China-Syndrome-Poster.jpg 645w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA TV journalist (Jane Fonda) and her cameraman (Michael Douglas) discover that all is not well at a local nuclear power plant. While it&#8217;s clear the plant supervisor (Jack Lemmon) is alarmed by an accident that&#8217;s taken place, he&#8217;s hesitant to speak out given warnings by his boss (Scott Brady) &#8212; but Fonda and Douglas are determined to unearth and expose the truth.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Amateur Sleuths<\/li>\n<li>Corruption<\/li>\n<li>Jack Lemmon Films<\/li>\n<li>James Bridges Films<\/li>\n<li>Jane Fonda Films<\/li>\n<li>Journalists<\/li>\n<li>Michael Douglas Films<\/li>\n<li>Nuclear Threat<\/li>\n<li>Strong Females<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary\u2019s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPeary writes that this &#8220;cautionary film about the possibilities of a meltdown at a nuclear plant&#8221; &#8212; featuring &#8220;sharp direction by James Bridges&#8221; &#8212; &#8220;achieved tremendous box office success not only because of its quality and the integrity of the filmmakers and stars, but also because the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Three_Mile_Island_accident\">accident at Three Mile Island<\/a> happened just when the picture was released&#8221;. Peary argues that &#8220;Lemmon&#8217;s performance is too mannered, and [the] film&#8217;s ending (outside the plant) doesn&#8217;t have Fonda or anyone else making the necessary strong statements (it&#8217;s as if the filmmakers backed off)&#8221; &#8212; both opinions I disagree with. Lemmon&#8217;s performance is as strong as ever, fully grounding his &#8220;side&#8221; of the story, and I find the ending eerily opaque. Peary does write that &#8220;otherwise this is a sold film, proof you can make an exciting movie that has political relevance&#8221; &#8212; though he once again quibbles that &#8220;it would have made a stronger antinuclear statement if the plant were unsafe despite meeting NRC [Nuclear Regulatory Commission] standards&#8221;. He adds that &#8220;Fonda has one of her best roles, another of her smart but naive women who break out of a secure world and risk looking foolish to learn <em>what&#8217;s going on<\/em>.&#8221; I also appreciate Douglas&#8217;s small but vital role as a determined videographer who secretly films the nuclear plant accident despite being told not to (his actions remind one of modern-day phone-cam users recording pivotal interactions on the sly), and who will stop at nothing to make the evidence available. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Jane Fonda as Kimberly Wells<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/China-Syndrome-Fonda.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/China-Syndrome-Fonda.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"688\" height=\"368\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-42392\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/China-Syndrome-Fonda.png 688w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/China-Syndrome-Fonda-128x68.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/China-Syndrome-Fonda-300x160.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 688px) 100vw, 688px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Michael Douglas as Richard Adams<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/China-Syndrome-Douglas.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/China-Syndrome-Douglas.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"688\" height=\"368\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-42395\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/China-Syndrome-Douglas.png 688w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/China-Syndrome-Douglas-128x68.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/China-Syndrome-Douglas-300x160.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 688px) 100vw, 688px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Jack Lemmon as Jack Godell<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/China-Syndrome-Lemmon.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/China-Syndrome-Lemmon.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"688\" height=\"368\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-42393\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/China-Syndrome-Lemmon.png 688w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/China-Syndrome-Lemmon-128x68.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/China-Syndrome-Lemmon-300x160.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 688px) 100vw, 688px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, as a still-compelling story and for the fine performances. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Noteworthy Performance(s)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0078966\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/4489\/the-china-syndrome#articles-reviews?articleId=18756\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.moriareviews.com\/sciencefiction\/china-syndrome-1979.htm\">Moria Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1979\/03\/16\/archives\/film-nuclear-plant-is-villain-in-china-syndromea-question-of-ethics.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;There is no conspiracy, there is no cover-up.&#8221; Synopsis: A TV journalist (Jane Fonda) and her cameraman (Michael Douglas) discover that all is not well at a local nuclear power plant. While it&#8217;s clear the plant supervisor (Jack Lemmon) is alarmed by an accident that&#8217;s taken place, he&#8217;s hesitant to speak out given warnings by his boss (Scott Brady) &#8212; but Fonda and Douglas are determined to unearth and expose the truth. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Amateur Sleuths Corruption&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=42390\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42390","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42390","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=42390"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42390\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65554,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42390\/revisions\/65554"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=42390"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=42390"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=42390"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}