The Atomic Cafe

The Atomic Cafe (1982) — watch online on iFILM — is a documentary assembled entirely from U.S. government footage shot in the 1940s and 1950s. Directors Kevin Rafferty, Jayne Loader, and Pierce Rafferty cut together training films, civil-defense shorts and newsreel clips with no narration whatsoever.

Truman announces the Hiroshima bombing. Army instructors explain, with cartoon diagrams, how close a soldier can stand to a nuclear blast. Schoolchildren practice hiding under their desks. The Rosenbergs go to the chair while radio announcers read reassuring copy. No critic needed: the government filmed its own indictment. Stream The Atomic Cafe (1982) on iFILM.