The China Syndrome (1979)

Starring a very young looking Michael Douglas, alongside Jane Fonda and Jack Lemmon, James Bridges' film comes across now as very much ahead of its time; not necessarily for its cinematic impression, but for the fact that it was released a mere twelve days before the Three Mile Island nuclear accident in Pennsylvania (not to mention Chernobyl a further seven years down the line).

The film centers on reporter Kimberley (Fonda) and her cameraman Richard (Douglas) who obtain permission to film the inside of a nuclear power station, and whilst there, witness what seems to be a near disaster in the control room.

The rest of The China Syndrome plays like many seventies' paranoia thrillers before it, but there's more at stake here; could this sort of disaster really happen? On release audiences were terrified; over forty years on the film seems even more prescient than it did on release.

Of course we know a lot more about nuclear power and its obvious benefits (and safety) now, which perhaps allows us to watch Bridges' film through slightly rose tinted glasses, but that doesn't remove any of the films' tension or power, and the performances are all terrific; most notably Jack Lemmon who puts in a hugely stirring turn as shift supervisor in the power plant's control room who slowly realises the dangers that the plant is posing due to the lack of attention to safety regulations. 7.5/10