"Amerika" (1987) TV mini-series

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Donald Wrye

Writer:

Donald Wrye (writer)

Release Date:

15 February 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Fantasy

Tagline:

1997. The world is different. The dream is the same. Let freedom ring.

Plot:

America has been bloodlessly taken over by the Soviet Union, leading to slave-labor camps for some,...

Plot Keywords:

Intentionally Misspelled Title | Soviet Invasion | TV Mini-Series

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 4 nominations

Cast

Kris Kristofferson	...	Devin Milford
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Graham Beckel	...	Clayton Cullen
Wayne Best	...	Cliff
Richard Blackburn	...	KGB Agent
Pete Boughn	...	High School Principal
Lara Flynn Boyle	...	Jacqueline 'Jessie' Bradford
Richard Bradford	...	Ward Milford
Turner Stephen Bruton	...	Enos
Sheila Lynn Buckley	...	Modern Dance Judge
George Buza	...	Rick
Ivan Dixon	...	Dr. Alan Drummond
Steve Drury	...	Scott
Deanna Dunagan	...	Betty Milford
David Ferry	...	Laird
Dorian Harewood	...	Jeffrey Wyman
Mariel Hemingway	...	Kimberly Ballard
Hanna Hertelendy	...	Gerta
Marcel Hillaire	...	Dieter Heinlander
Wendy Hughes	...	Marion Andrews
Patricia Idlette	...	Melanie Blackstone
Christine Lahti	...	Alethea Milford
Piotr Lysak	...	Mikhail
Keram Malicki-Sánchez	...	Young Caleb
Joseph Moser	...	Puncher (as Joe Moser)
Armin Mueller-Stahl	...	General Petya Samanov
Sam Neill	...	Colonel Andrei Denisov
Cindy Pickett	...	Amanda Bradford
Ken Pogue	...	Sittman
Kelly Proctor	...	Billy Milford
Ford Rainey	...	Will Milford
Don Reilly	...	Justin Milford
Allan Royal	...	President (as Alan Royal)
Mag Ruffman	...	Sally, VFA
Reiner Schöne	...	Major Helmut Gurtman
Kurt Schweickhardt	...	Gary Milford
Peg Sheldrick	...	Dierdre's Mother
Timothy Skulish	...	Body Guard
Errol Slue	...	Reverend Blackstone
Sherry Smith	...	Louise
Sam Stone	...	Rebel
Toby Tarnow	...	Helen
Barbara Tirrell	...	Esther
John Towey	...	Herb Lister (as John Madden Towey)
Robert Urich	...	Peter Bradford
Vlasta Vrana	...	Sergei
Jason Wild	...	Youth Communist Leader

Runtime:

870 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-12

Filming Locations:

Cobourg, Ontario, Canada

Company:

ABC Circle Films

Trivia:

Amerika sparked much controversy from many camps long before it even aired. Many liberals dismissed the mini-series as right wing paranoia, while many conservatives complained that the Soviet brutality that was depicted was seriously underplayed. Several re-writes and production delays resulted. Many objected to it on the basis that it could damage American-Soviet relations. The United Nations publicly objected to the depiction of United Nations Peacekeeping Forces as a Soviet controlled occupying force. The Soviet government at one point threatened to shut down the ABC News Moscow Bureau if the mini-series aired (although this threat was never carried out.) This prompted ABC President John B. Sias to state "We're going to run that program come rain, blood, or horse manure."

Quotes:

Peter Bradford: Damn, I'm so tired of this "I'm an American" bull! Where was all that patriotism when it counted? Where was that willingness to sacrifice? Nobody wanted to join the damn army to defend the country unless they got paid well! Nobody wanted to give any time to public service unless they could make a career out of it! And I didn't notice a lot of us giving up our lives in the last 10 years!

It was better the second time around!

Certainly, after twelve long years, one tends to forget quite a bit of the content of a long movie. I'm no exception. It was hard to believe just how much I'd actually forgotten.

It remains one of the best pictures I've ever seen, from beginning to end. Theoretically, the events that occur are imaginable, the powerful acting awakens a feeling of patriotism and kinship with fellow Americans.

Although some feel the ending offers little closure, they were captivated by the plot as the rest of us were, feeling like one of the people of Milford with little else to lose but our self respect.

What can I say. . . everyone should see this movie at least once in their lives.