Countdown to Looking Glass
| Countdown to Looking Glass | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Written by | Albert Ruben |
| Directed by | Fred Barzyk |
| Starring |
Scott Glenn Michael Murphy Helen Shaver Patrick Watson |
| Country of origin | Canada |
| Original language(s) | English |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Fred Barzyk W. Paterson Ferns David R. Loxton |
| Cinematography | Miklos Lente |
| Editor(s) | Bernie Clayton Peter C. Frank Leah Siegel |
| Running time | 86 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original release | October 14, 1984 |
Countdown to Looking Glass is a Canadian made-for-television movie that premiered in the United States on HBO on 14 October 1984 and was also broadcast on CTV in Canada. The movie presents a fictional confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union over the Strait of Hormuz, the gateway to the Persian Gulf. The narrative of the film details the events that lead up to the initial exchange of nuclear weapons, which was triggered by a banking crisis, from the perspective of an ongoing news broadcast.
Unlike similar productions such as the previous year's Special Bulletin and the later Without Warning, the producers of this film decided not to make the entire production a simulated newscast, but instead break up the news portions with dramatic narrative scenes involving Shaver and Murphy. The appearance of real-life newscasters, as well as noted CBC Television host Patrick Watson (although he does not appear as himself in this film) lent additional authenticity to the production.
The CVN news network's nightly program, starring Don Tobin (Watson), with reports from correspondents Michael Boyle (Glenn) and Dorian Waldorf (Shaver), discusses a terrorist bombing of the American embassy in Saudi Arabia that killed the American ambassador. The week before, a global banking crisis, caused by several South American countries defaulting on their loans, led to turmoil in Southwest Asia. Before the unrest spread to Saudi Arabia, Soviet-backed militants led a coup in Oman when the Omani economy collapsed. Shortly after, a new report shows the banking crisis may soon begin to ease.
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Wikipedia