Power of Decision, is a little known documentary from the late-50s about a nuclear attack on 'The West' from who is referred to in this 55 minute film as either 'The Aggressor' or simply as 'Him,' probably referring to Khrushchev, the leader of the USSR at the time. It is obvious that the intended enemy is the Russians but little reference is made to this throughout the documentary apart from the maps which are used throughout.
The film revolves around the Operation Control Room, Nebraska, US. 100 feet below ground and surrounded by thick walls of concrete, it can withstand a nuclear attack and the radioactive fallout from any Communist attack. Operation Control Room's most important mission throughout is to prevent war by whatever means possible.
As is shown throughout, their theory behind this is to constantly monitor the airspace of the United States and the world around them by having an advanced network of bases throughout allied territory - stretching from Alaska to Europe and the Far East. With 'almost immediate' contact between the bases and the all important, 'Red Phone,' which is often referred to as, 'a conference call,' the Operation Control Room can do all in its power to stop war happening, 'no matter how big or small.'
During the documentary, and I'd suggest this is hardly a spoiler, there are unauthorized crafts in the air - suspected to be an aggressor, aka, those crafty Russians. This causes the immediate launch of a full scale defense mission whereby the biblically sized B planes - namely the B-52 being the most famous alongside B-47s and B-58s - are sent out on pedantically planned missions to attack key targets in enemy territory.
As the saga carries on it appears this is a legitimate attack and all hell breaks loose. The difference between this and a Holywood style nuclear apocalypse film however is that there is very little action throughout - basically this is a bunch of men talking, mostly saying how many people have died, how many planes blew up or how many enemy/ally bases have been destroyed - spoiler alert...the death toll in this film is in excess of 60 million.
The realistic nature of this observational piece creates a gripping nature that can only be put across in the apocalyptic, docudrama style. It reminds me very much of Peter Watkins', The War Game (1965), another docudrama masterpiece on a potential Russian attack - this time on the United Kingdom.
The twist in Power of Decision is that it was not intended for entertainment purposes. In fact this is actually a declassified US Government film that was intended to train members of the United States Air Force, whom it was also produced by. Therefore this is an educational piece but with a certain 'entertainment' value to it - I suppose I'd use the term far looser had I actually been living in 1958 when this was a situation that really could happen at any point.
If you are interested in the Cold War, East vs. West politics, apocalyptic films, nuclear war or just enjoy watching important men talking about people dying at their will, then this is something you need to watch. If you aren't familiar with older style documentaries then please excuse the less than desirable production quality that you may be used to - in my opinion it just adds to the strange vibe that it gives off.
Meta-note: I will be writing and RT'ing the last two articles again at a more reasonable hour when I have the mental capability to correct my errors - so if you keep seeing this pop up on Twitter then do accept my apologies. If you somehow got here not through Twitter however then gis' a follow @TheUlsterScot, if you enjoy watching someone lose their patience with everyone then you'll enjoy my tweets - I regard it my civil duty.
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