Explore the inside story of the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962, when the world teetered on the brink of nuclear holocaust. In the first major feature documentary on the subject, the film brings to life the three central characters - Kennedy, Castro and Khrushchev - and explores how the world's most powerful men fell into an abyss of their own making and outlines the courage and luck it took to climb out again.
On October 22, 1962, President John F. Kennedy informed the world that the Soviet Union was building secret missile bases on the island of Cuba, 90 miles off the shores of Florida. The events of the next 13 days brought the world closer to nuclear disaster than it had ever been before or since.
This is the story of the Cuban Missile Crisis, exploring how the earth teetered on the very brink of nuclear holocaust and the fate of the planet lay in the hands of three iconic characters - Nikita Khrushchev, Fidel Castro and John F Kennedy.
As the anniversary of the Crisis approaches, nuclear brinks-manship is still high on the international agenda today and the events of October 1962 hold invaluable lessons for a generation too young to remember just how close we came to the end. Capturing the drama of those fateful days, this authored and cinematic film also focuses on the very strong human stories of the witnesses and participants in the Crisis.
Producer: John Murray, Siobhan Ward
Production Company: Crossing the Line Productions, LLC
Production Year: 2012
Copyright Year: 2012
Rating: TV-PG
Number of Discs: 1
Length: 55 minutes
Subtitled: Y
Subtitle Languages: English (SDH)
Audio Format: Stereo
Aspect Ratio: 16x9 Widescreen
VIDEO USAGE RIGHTS
Why the AV version? Because it provides additional usage options for PBS videos. AV versions come with limited performance rights so they can be shown in classrooms, at PTA meetings, during after school programs, and transmitted on a closed-circuit system within a building or on a single campus. They also can be enjoyed in admission-free public screenings, which also makes them ideal for use by library patrons and businesses involved in community clubs and organizations.