Customer Reviews

Dark Circle

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I had the honor and privilege of helping Chris Beaver with the NY premiere of DARK CIRCLE back in the day. I have never ever been so affected by a documentary as I have with DARK CIRCLE. Aside from the meticulaously researched and detailed scientific information made available in the film, the presentation is one that cannot be argued with. And even though it was done in the days of the anti-Nuke movement (where has that movement gone, btw?), I have watched it every year since, and it is frightening how relevant it is today - still. This is a film that must not be missed, must be discussed and watched over and over. The style of the docurama, as Amazon calls it, is riveting. Judy's narration is to the point and non-dramatic which makes it all the more moving, the interviews are dramatic AND true stories from everyday people, and YES! with the current administration's pro-nuke attitude, if you don't see this film, you will be left in - the dark circle. SEE IT NOW.

This film will haunt your days and nights, it is a deep inside look at the U.S. nuclear weapons program, its cost in financial and human terms, and security or lack of it is at times frightening.

Produced by a highly talented team originally aired for POV on PBS, now hard to find, but definitely worth a watch for scientists, historians, and anyone interested in the MADness of mutually assured destruction.

This is a great film. I saw it years ago on television and was very moved by it. Years later, I saw "The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill," by the same director (Judy Irving). Another excellent film. I'm glad "Dark Circle" is now available on DVD. It's a classic. Informative yet emotionally wrenching.

Upsetting, disturbing documentary about the nuclear power industry, and its
self-professed safety versus the facts.

The film is dated now, both in technique and some issues, and it never even
tries to be even handed. There are places where the lines between fact, theory
and personal point of view get unfortunately muddy. This is a film definitely
more for preaching to (and whipping up) the choir, than making converts.

Yet, some of the uncovered facts are indeed shocking (e.g. a huge, dangerous
construction and design flaw in a nuclear plant discovered only after years of
insisting it was not only safe, but `one of the most carefully examined structures ever built.' )

The film may be less than perfect , but that doesn't mean it doesn't still pack a punch.

I first saw this film in 1984 and never forgot the impact it made. I was pleased to see recently that I could buy a DVD. The information is not outdated and the message - nuclear power and the waste it engenders is incredibly dangerous with the potential to wipe out most if not all life unless much more carefully managed than it was in the 1980's (and is today) - seems even more relevant after Chernobyl and Fukushima. Buy a copy and watch with your friends. Then think about Indian Point or it's equivalent near you.

For a decade I taught film, specializing in personal documentary. Dark Circle was one of the films I repeatedly screened for my classes. I have watched it so many times that it is in my blood and I still consider it to be one of the most important and passionate documentaries of the 20th century. It may have saved the lives of my children because, when I was hired by the University of Colorado, it inspired me to contact Ed Martell at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Ed (see his profile on Wikipedia) advised me on the radiation plumes so I could make an educated decision on where to live, steering me clear of south Boulder, Broomfield and other downwind communities. In light of Fukushima this documentary needs to be shown in more classrooms. It is imperative that the nuclear industry be seen in its own eerie green light, as the evil it truly is. Thank you, Judy! Your film will certainly be a record of knowledge for deformed film students of the future.