The DVD disc Minutes to Midnight: The Cold War Chronicle is a treasure trove for history buffs. It features over a dozen PSAs and programs from the early days of the cold war. The Cold War was a time period where the U.S.S.R. and the U.S.A. were the only remaining world superpowers left standing in the wake of World War II. Their opposing ideologies left them at odds with each other. Because both nations had nuclear weapons, a decades long stand-off started. The vintage videos offered on this disc give a glimpse into the fear that gripped the world during the Cold War. People truly believed nuclear annihilation was right around the corner.
Besides these archival films, Minutes to Midnight also includes a documentary on B-45 bombers entitled “Cold War Remembered”. The documentary takes us to an airfield in the United Kingdom during the early 1950’s. It features real life retired pilots as they discuss what it was like being on the front lines of the Cold War. We hear stories about how they were actually readying their planes and given target assignments when some unidentified aircraft were sighted over the Balkans. As we all know now it was cleared up and the strikes were called off but it is a chilling reminder how close we came to nuclear war. There are also very human stories as well such as how their boots used to get frozen to the floor of the plane and how a terrible flood wreaked havoc in the nearby town and interrupted a big party that the soldiers were engaged in to blow off some steam.
This DVD will be a joy to history buffs since it acts like a time capsule of the early 1950’s American war effort. But for those who have a milder interest in history, the DVD may prove too dry and focused. The documentary doesn’t go into the broader aspects of the political and cultural forces behind the Cold War. The Cold War had many different fronts and the film remains firmly planted on only one. Also all the archival footage is American based so it fails to give any perspective outside the American propaganda machine of the Cold War era. That being said, although these things are very specialized they do a good job of showcasing that speciality. The full scope of this very complicated and intricate time period in world history is narrowed down and put under a microscope.
So for those who love anything historical and who really love taking a sharp lens to days gone by this will be a welcome treat of a disc. It puts you right there in ways I have seen few other historical pieces accomplish. However, for those who like a broader historical presentation or those who are not as familiar with the Cold War and need to get their feet wet, you will be better served by other examinations. Thus Minutes to Midnight is an interesting and nuanced disc but definitely one that serves a very particular audience.
RORSHACH RATING:
Mental Health Moment: The Cold War was a span of several decades where many people feared nuclear annihilation. The immense war machines built by the Soviet Union and by America were very intimidating. In fact, as noted at the end of “Cold War Remembered”, the Cold War marks the only time in history such war machines were never actually put to full use. Unfortunately, feuds between national superpowers are nothing unusual when you look back on the past. What made this instance unique was the atom bomb. The A-bomb was a weapon capable of destroying the entire world if unleashed in full. It sadly had already proved devastating to the nation of Japan. But the two bombs used on that country were a drop in the bucket compared to what the Soviet Union and America had in their combined arsenal. This presented an unprecedented situation in humanity’s history. The collective of the human race had a gun to its own head. Luckily in over seventy years we have never pulled the trigger. I think this is due to the fact that behind these war machines were human beings with kindness, dreams, and the capacity to love. Humanity wants to move toward goodness inherently, even if we may be tempted away from it by fear. Both nations had their huge stockpile because they were afraid the other side was going to attack them. But they never let that fear corrupt them completely. Humans have a great capability to transcend fear and push forward. Therein lies the lesson of hope that the Cold War offers.
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Victims and Villains is written (and produced) by Josh "Captain Nostalgia" Burkey and others, and edited by Cam Smith. Music by Mallory Johnson and others. Minutes to Midnight is property of Mill Creek Entertainment. We do not own nor claim any rights.
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