IMDb RATING
6.9/10
7.2K
YOUR RATING
The life of a suburban American family is scarred after a nuclear attack.The life of a suburban American family is scarred after a nuclear attack.The life of a suburban American family is scarred after a nuclear attack.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 2 wins & 6 nominations total
Rossie Harris
- Brad Wetherly
- (as Ross Harris)
William G. Schilling
- Pharmacist
- (as William Schilling)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaKevin Costner has said that he has never forgotten this film and the powerful influence it has had on him. Costner would later star during the 1990s in such post-apocalyptic movies as Waterworld (1995) and The Postman (1997).
- Quotes
Brad Wetherly: [after finding Hiroshi abandoned at home] I'd better take you home with me, Hiroshi... because I don't think your dad is coming back.
- SoundtracksAll My Loving
(1963)
By John Lennon and Paul McCartney
Produced by Andrew Dorfman
Performed by Mitch Weissman
Courtesy of Mac Len Music
Featured review
I'm in serious need of antidepressants after seeing this film!
I've been a fanatic of disaster movies and post-apocalypse Sci-Fi for practically my entire life already, but I have deliberately been avoiding the actual "nuclear bomb impact" films. There were several of these released during the early 80's. Apart from "Testament", there's also "The Day After", "Threads", "Letters from a Dead Man" and "When the Wind Blows". All these aforementioned films have high ratings, favorable reviews and impeccable cult-reputations. So, then why haven't I seen them before? Because the impact of these films, pretty much like the H-bomb itself, is downright devastating, and yours truly is a very sensitive person!
There's a world of difference between sci-fi films set in post-nuclear wastelands, where a handful of human survivors drive around in dune buggies and battle each other over a tank of fuel, and actually witnessing the long and excruciatingly painful process which leads to the complete extinction of mankind. And even though writer Carol Amen and director Lynne Littman absolutely restrain from turning "Testament" into a sentimental tearjerker, the film is inescapably harrowing, and numerous sequences caused me to burst into tears.
The story takes place in the peaceful little community of Hamlin, a suburb of San Francisco, and introduces the model family of Tom and Carol Wetherly and their three children. Everything they love and worked for literally vanishes in a bright and sudden flash. Hamlin's unusual geographical location, in a sort of mountain bowl, safeguards the town from instantaneous destruction, but this rapidly proves to be a curse instead of a blessing. Without any form of sensationalism, or raising idle hope, Littman depicts how the townspeople and loved ones succumb around Carol, whilst radio contact with the rest of the world fades even further away.
The aptly titled "Testament" is a beautiful, frustrating, haunting, infuriating and noble film all at once. The performances are stellar, and the use of music is staggering. The only remote default, according to me, isn't even a shortcoming in the film itself. I find it unjust that so many people must emphasize in their reviews that "Testament" was directed by a woman, and hence make the film somewhat of a monument of feminism. As far as I'm concerned, gender equality is incontrovertible, and women are just as skilled and talented as directors as males. Lynne Littman did a fantastic job as a director; - period!
There's a world of difference between sci-fi films set in post-nuclear wastelands, where a handful of human survivors drive around in dune buggies and battle each other over a tank of fuel, and actually witnessing the long and excruciatingly painful process which leads to the complete extinction of mankind. And even though writer Carol Amen and director Lynne Littman absolutely restrain from turning "Testament" into a sentimental tearjerker, the film is inescapably harrowing, and numerous sequences caused me to burst into tears.
The story takes place in the peaceful little community of Hamlin, a suburb of San Francisco, and introduces the model family of Tom and Carol Wetherly and their three children. Everything they love and worked for literally vanishes in a bright and sudden flash. Hamlin's unusual geographical location, in a sort of mountain bowl, safeguards the town from instantaneous destruction, but this rapidly proves to be a curse instead of a blessing. Without any form of sensationalism, or raising idle hope, Littman depicts how the townspeople and loved ones succumb around Carol, whilst radio contact with the rest of the world fades even further away.
The aptly titled "Testament" is a beautiful, frustrating, haunting, infuriating and noble film all at once. The performances are stellar, and the use of music is staggering. The only remote default, according to me, isn't even a shortcoming in the film itself. I find it unjust that so many people must emphasize in their reviews that "Testament" was directed by a woman, and hence make the film somewhat of a monument of feminism. As far as I'm concerned, gender equality is incontrovertible, and women are just as skilled and talented as directors as males. Lynne Littman did a fantastic job as a director; - period!
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- Coventry
- Mar 14, 2021
Details
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $2,044,892
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $317,996
- Nov 6, 1983
- Gross worldwide
- $2,044,892
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