THE ATOMIC CAFE

Director: Jayne Loader, Kevin Rafferty, Pierce Rafferty.

1982, 86, NR

Screenwriter: Jayne Loader, Kevin Rafferty, Pierce Rafferty.

The co-director of Atomic Café, Pierce Rafferty, will be attending the Sunday matinee screening at 2:30pm. He will take part in a Q. and A. after the film.

 

Back in the 1950s & 60s, if you weren’t afraid of nuclear annihilation, you weren’t paying attention. And with ‘Little Rocket Man’ and ‘the dotard’ in a flame-throwing contest, let’s just say it’s a good time to check out the new 4K digital restoration of the funny AND terrifying documentary THE ATOMIC CAFE. Made in the late 70s, when governmental offices were sharing their archives, filmmakers Jayne Loader, Kevin Rafferty, Pierce Rafferty requested – and got – a treasure chest of footage: everything from ‘duck and cover’ films for kids, to shorts that boasted about ‘our’ deadly bombs, while pooh-poohing the damage that radiation could inflict on U.S. soil. With skeptical scientists weighing in and a pitch perfect soundtrack, ATOMIC CAFE is required viewing for mature kids, to those who remember the Cold War’s daily menace.
“Bitterly funny, beautifully restored and back to remind us how f**ked we truly are, and perhaps have always been.” Bilge Ebiri, Village Voice.