Slideshow
THE CHINA SYNDROME
U.S., 1979
Directed by James Bridges
Starring Jane Fonda, Michael Douglas, Jack Lemmon
WINNER Cannes Film Festival – Best Actor (Jack Lemmon), 1979
WINNER BAFTA – Best Actor in a Leading Role (Jack Lemmon), 1979
Approx 122 min. DCP.
“Famously predicted America's biggest nuclear fiasco, but its swinging-'70s milieu, its news-station hijinks, and the caveman sexual politics of its male newsmen all equally anticipate ANCHORMAN. Jane Fonda stars as a spunky reporter aching to do hard news, but stuck serving as eye candy in degrading puff pieces involving zoo animals and singing telegrams. While doing an innocuous segment on a nuclear power plant, Fonda and dashing cameraman Michael Douglas (who also produced) stumble upon an accident that brings them into the orbit of Jack Lemmon, a true-believer power-plant employee who becomes an unlikely whistle-blower.” – The A.V. Club
Reviews
“The performances are so good, so consistently, that THE CHINA SYNDROME becomes a thriller dealing in personal values.”
– Roger Ebert
“Smashingly effective, very stylish suspense melodrama.”
– Vincent Canby, The New York Times