The Atomic Cafe

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2:21

The Atomic Cafe

1982

1h 28m

Documentary

History

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

92%

Tomatometer

25 Reviews

86%

Popcornmeter

2,500+ Ratings

This darkly humorous documentary consists of archival footage about nuclear warfare. Drawing largely on government propaganda and training films for American soldiers, the movie, presented in collage form, features clips from early in the Cold War era that are filled with alarming misinformation. Some segments address the alleged safety of nuclear radiation, "duck and cover" drills and other related topics, including instructions for living in a fallout shelter.

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Critics Consensus

The Atomic Cafe deconstructs the beginnings of the Nuclear Age with pitch-black humor and a dread-inducing view of history.

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

May 8, 2019

3/4

The Atomic Cafe is a chilling memory of life in the first years under the mushroom umbrella.

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Gary Goldstein

Los Angeles Times

Aug 10, 2018

Viewers old enough to remember "duck and cover" drills and homemade fallout shelters (and suits!) will get a special charge out of "Atomic's" many archival gems.

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Bilge Ebiri

Village Voice

Jul 31, 2018

The Atomic Café at times feels like an essay film, but its points come across cumulatively, subtly.

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Dennis Harvey

48 Hills

Oct 15, 2020

A repertory/midnight-movie staple...

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Michael Lasky

Bay Area Reporter

May 12, 2020

We get the message in the first ten minutes.

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Dan Schindel

Hyperallergic

Feb 14, 2020

Despite its supremely dark subject matter (or maybe partly because of it), The Atomic Cafe is one of the funniest documentaries ever made.

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Skky S

@RT83461154 Sep 24, 2025

I got this from the library and on the back of the box it describes the movie as a comedy, the only funny part about this movie is how evil and incompetent the United States is. Watching this makes me wish the United States never discovered nuclear energy. This also may be one of the first depictions of the effects the atomic bomb had on the innocent people of Japan.

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Blobbo X

@Blobbo Nov 10, 2021

Worth for Yertle Turtle song alone.

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Jul 27, 2018

I’m looking forward to the sequel when they expose the Global Warming, sorry Climate Change propaganda machine. Even more absurd & filled with lies.

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Jul 15, 2015

I've watched this film multiple times and it honestly never loses both the humor and the shock value. It's still hard to process that period of time, and this piece manages to capture some of the hysteria and strangeness of that period of American history.

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Feb 15, 2015

A very clever, at times amusing documentary.

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Dec 30, 2013

One of the greatest documentaries about the Cold-war Ever made. Portraying war politics and mass hysteria through the perspective of pop-culture and mixed-media. Pitch-black comedy at its finest.

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Kevin Rafferty

Director

Jayne Loader

Director

Pierce Rafferty

Director

Jayne Loader

Producer

Kevin Rafferty

Producer

Pierce Rafferty

Producer

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Synopsis

This darkly humorous documentary consists of archival footage about nuclear warfare. Drawing largely on government propaganda and training films for American soldiers, the movie, presented in collage form, features clips from early in the Cold War era that are filled with alarming misinformation. Some segments address the alleged safety of nuclear radiation, "duck and cover" drills and other related topics, including instructions for living in a fallout shelter.

Director: Kevin Rafferty, Jayne Loader, Pierce Rafferty
Producer: Jayne Loader, Kevin Rafferty, Pierce Rafferty
Production Co: The Archives Project
Genre: Documentary, History, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 17, 1982, Limited
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Aug 1, 2018
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 6, 2018
Box Office (Gross USA): $22.3K
Runtime: 1h 28m

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