Silkwood

Starring:Meryl Streep, Kurt Russell, Cher, Craig T. Nelson, Fred Ward, Diana Scarwid, Ron Silver, Charles Hallahan, Josef Sommer, Sudie Bond, Henderson Forsythe, E. Katherine Kerr, Bruce McGill, David Strathairn, J.C. Quinn, Kent Broadhurst, Richard Hamilton, Les Lannom, M. Emmet Walsh, Graham Jarvis
Director: Mike Nichols
Studio: Anchor Bay
Product Type: DVD

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Based on the harrowing account of whistle blower Karen Silkwood, this 1983 film directed by Mike Nichols (The Graduate, Postcards from the Edge) is as much a character study of a woman galvanized by injustice as a story of the dangers of nuclear power and the extremes of corporate greed. When Karen discovers unsafe conditions and reckless protocol at the plant where she works, her actions in uncovering the dangers that lie at the plant not only cause a rift between her and her lover (Kurt Russell) and her best friend (Cher), but they threaten her very life. Streep gives yet another bravura performance as a wild child in Oklahoma forced to confront the harsh realities of her life, and the supporting cast, from Cher to Russell to Diana Scarwid is first rate. This true story of the woman who disappeared under mysterious circumstances while trying to find the truth is a well-told, challenging, and emotionally complex tale. --Robert Lane

Description

Meryl Streep is stunning (The New York Times) in this shocking true story about one woman's struggle against a huge corporation. Nominated* for five Academy AwardsÂ(r), including Best Actress (Streep) and Best Supporting Actress (Cher), this daring, provocative and critically acclaimed drama just 'shouldn't be missed (Newsweek)! Karen Silkwood (Streep) lives a free-spirited existence with two friends (Kurt Russell and Cher) who work with her at an Oklahoma nuclear facility. It's only when she discovers she's been exposed to radiation that Karen's conscience awakens, and soon she is digging for evidence of wrongdoing at her company. But her sudden zeal for safer working conditions may come at a high price as she alienates friends and possibly even puts herown life in peril.

Customer Reviews:

The trio goes to work everyday.......2007-06-13

Karen got very sick, dying. But Drew or Dolly never got sick.

silkwood.......2007-05-12

i thought this movie was really good and it was based on true events.

Streep is very convincing as Karen Silkwood.......2007-05-05

I am always amazed at the vastly different characters Meryl Streep has believably played in her long career. Her portrayal of Oklahoma nuclear plant worker/activist/martyr is particularly memorable. Though I believe the movie was actually filmed in Texas the filmmakers do a great job of creating working class Oklahoma in the 1970's. Both Kurt Russell and Cher are surprisingly good in their parts and the secondary characters are also well cast. An important movie that should not be overlooked.

Red alarm still keeps turned on!.......2007-02-28

Under the smart and talented direction of Mike Nichols, this veridical dramatis personae acquired bindings of special attention around the world when focused all the attention the existential premise generated by the employment of the nuclear energy.. Previously the China syndrome had sounded the alarms; and although the face fact the world still seemed not understand in its exact dimensions the magnitude of the ethic challenge, the picture two years before the historical catastrophe of Chernobyl, the collective conscious was shocked with certain intensity.

A female worker of just 28 years old dies "in weird circumstances because a crash car, due these curious and random twists of fate" just when she was already to expose the alleged dangers of a plutonium plant in Oklahoma.

Intriguing and absorbing film that meant for many people who lived at the edge of the precipice, deaf and disinterested about a theme which claimed since that first call of Mother Nature in 1953 when traces of radioactive isotopes were found in cows, notably depicted by Barry Commoner in his famous text "The circle which encloses."

Conspiracy Theory.......2007-02-18

I saw "Silkwood" for the first time last night and I came away thinking that it was a pretty good movie with a few faults. The acting and directing were largely outstanding (with one exception I'll get to). Meryl Streep has always impressed me with the subtle way she uses her talent. Her charactors generally don't scream, sob, or rally the troops yet her presence is quietly powerful. Kurt Russell's charactor plays well along side Streep's Silkwood. The director, Mike Nichols, does an excellent job of letting us get to know the characters and their community though a good range of seemingly casual scenes. He may overdo the "dumb reckneck" a bit but I've seen other directors do far worse in that regard. He allows the movie to move along slowly yet purposely. Some may argue that it goes too slowly at times but we, generally, remain emgrossed in the plot.

The movie is part suspense and part political and we are clearly led toward a conclusion. This is not a documentary so I should not care that we are directed toward one conclusion. It may be the right one, after all, but the truth could be far more innocuous than we are led to believe. There are a lot of things that MIGHT be true but not much that we can be certain of. In many ways, that is part of the excellence of "Silkwood". Too many other directors are far more blunt about their causes than Nichols is in this movie.

One final note about "Silkwood" and one that I'd prefer not to make but it's one I just can't overlook. Cher, in what I think was her second movie, was nominated for a Best Supporting Oscar. I knew this before the movie began so I was somewhat focussed on her character. There was never so much as one scene that led me to understand why she was nominated. If anything, her character seemed to be totally extraneous and insignificant to the plot. At times, it was actually embarassing to watch her deliver her limited lines. The nomination made no sense to me. I have seen her in other movies and I know that she can act but she was in basic training in "Silkwood"

ABC News Nightline The Most Dangerous Building in America

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ABC News Nightline The Most Dangerous Building in America

Manufacturer: ABC News
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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The case of Karen Silkwood, one young woman contaminated by plutonium, shocked the country when a movie was made about her life. But what's happening now in nuclear weapons plants around the country is more shocking still. Tons of radioactive waste threaten to contaminate not just workers and their plants, but the surrounding environment as well. One of the most egregious examples of poisonous buildings was at Rocky Flats, Colorado. The situation there was so bad that the Department of Energy had decided there was nothing left to do but tell the truth and say publicly that what happened at Rocky Flats was a terrible mistake.

Average customer rating:

The trio goes to work everyday
silkwood
Streep is very convincing as Karen Silkwood
Red alarm still keeps turned on!
Conspiracy Theory

Silkwood [Region 2]
Starring: Meryl Streep , Kurt Russell , Cher , Craig T. Nelson , and Fred Ward
Director: Mike Nichols
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Thrillers | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

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ASIN: B00004YN6J

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Customer Reviews:

The trio goes to work everyday.......2007-06-13

Karen got very sick, dying. But Drew or Dolly never got sick.

silkwood.......2007-05-12

i thought this movie was really good and it was based on true events.

Streep is very convincing as Karen Silkwood.......2007-05-05

Red alarm still keeps turned on!.......2007-02-28

Conspiracy Theory.......2007-02-18

Average customer rating:

The trio goes to work everyday
silkwood
Streep is very convincing as Karen Silkwood
Red alarm still keeps turned on!
Conspiracy Theory

Silkwood
Starring: Meryl Streep , Kurt Russell , Cher , Craig T. Nelson , and Fred Ward
Director: Mike Nichols
Manufacturer: Anchor Bay
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video