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Reviews
Panic in Year Zero! (1962)
Solid low budget film with some character.
Interesting film. It does involve some suspension of disbelief, as by the early 60's the possibility of a limited nuclear war between the US and Soviet Union was probably no longer possible due to the sheer number of atomic bombs each had in their arsenals. That said, the story isn't about all that. It's a post apocalyptic type of piece, focused on this man, his family, and how they deal with the veneer of civilization being stripped away. In that, it is successful, in spite of budgetary and other flaws in the film.
Ray Milland gave a strong performance. I jokingly refer to this movie as Apocalypse Dad. During the course of events, he stocks them up on supplies, sets out for a mountain hide out, essentially steals guns and ammo, punches the lights out of a price gouging gas station owner along the way, and deals out frontier justice to a small band of rapists/killers that victimized his daughter.
He also course corrects his son, telling him that he wants him to use a gun if he has to, but he wants him to hate it.
He also says to not count out the law. It's coming back. I just want us to be alive when it does.
He struggles with what he feels he has to do, and that plays out in conversation with his wife.
It is an imperfect movie in a lot of ways, but there is a lot of good in there too.
In Pursuit of Honor (1995)
Not a true story, but it is a great movie anyway.
As I am sure others will point out, this particular event with the horses didn't occur, as the cavalry wasn't officially disbanded until 1946 or so, and the cavalry horses were actually sold.
But that is beside the point. The story is fake, but it's talking about real stuff. Like most everyone else today, the hardest thing I've had to do is work two jobs to pay the bills. This film is about people to whom words like honor, duty, and country aren't something just seen in a dictionary. Much like the Colonel said to Buxton, I hope to God I could do the same if placed in an ethical quandary on that scale.