Amerika trailer

[TJIRISH44]

I saw this miniseries. The premise was that USSR said we are going to invade you. This country had lost soo much patriotism. That USA just waved white flag and said "OKAY." LOL Robert Urisch would lead a puppett American gov't. The series fell apart because kris Kristofferson was totally miscast as an inspiring new American leader that would lead the revolution. He inspired nothing by his wooden performance.

[zombiefan011]

The reason I think not many people watched this is because of it's length. Including commercials, this 7, that's right, 7-miniseries runs at 14 and a half hours I am dead serious

[tzinanechumah]

omg, i was an extra in this film. rofl! i would love to see it (and me 30 years ago) if anyone finds a copy please post it. thanks.

[radioblueheart]

We stole that land from the Indians fair and square! How dare those Russians try to take from us!

[acehighpat]

I finally found it a few months ago after being denied watching it when I was a kid (see my previous comment). It wasn't too bad. It would get uneven at times, but would get back on track. Kristofferson and Urich are in fine form.

[CKO92]

The irony is that by the time this series started broadcasting, the Soviet Union was on its last legs.

[seanpdineen]

One of the greatest mini series ever.

The use of rehab for brainwashing, is a take off on the real life ideas of Ewen Cameron, and Physical therapist Bertha Bobath who belived free will can be erased.

Its also an aparthied satire, Kristopherson's charecter is Mandela, Robert Urich the Homeland leaders and Sam Neil, P.w. Botha.

[riceboy1701e]

Hrm...life under Obama. Fascinating.

[scribe56]

Thanks to biggestkrisfan for the info.

[scribe56]

It is available on video but hard to find. I saw it when originally broadcast and it was labeled right wing, left wing, etc. People were boycotting it. However, I highly recommend it -- the characters had depth and dimension -- and they actually talked about things like the responsibility of citizenship -- what democracy means -- it was a bit talky at times, but interesting -- and also there were moments that were thrilling as people began to take their country back.

[biggestkrisfan]

@scribe56 Have just been told that it's available on the internet to download - 5 parts - haven't watched it yet, but just finished the download :-)

[biorgymd]

Is this the 2011 reality TV show where the TSA the Department of Homeland Secruity take over America. Wake Up America, the AMERIKANS are coming. The Department of Homland Security will head the Polcied state of America.

[TimelordR]

I still don't know why this hasn't been released onto DVD, even though the miniseries has been criticized as being long-winded & boring with a downbeat ending.

I'd still see it as a cultural curiosity.

[acehighpat]

My dad wouldn't let me watch Amerika when I was a kid because he said it was a "communist program".

[diddymuck]

(astonished and yucky face look) Brooke Shields?

[DetroitLove4U]

I'm trying to download this film series

[sirus10]

the choppers where Aérospatiale SA-341G Gazelle modified same choppers used in the movie blue thunder

[generalbullmoose]

"Amerika": what the "progressives" & the media wanted it to be. And still want it to be.

[dakotagerman1]

@generalbullmoose

Well (in that case) I take my chances with such rather than what the Tea Baggers have in mind, like what we see in "Red Dawn". "Libertarians" in Colorado: just one stop away from Thunderdome.

Say "hi" to Aunt Entity for me.

[MattShizzle]

anyone know where you can download the movie?

[Rabbitt26]

@MattShizzle matt the movie is no longer being produced and the last time I tried to get a copy it was on ebay for over $400.

how ever if you ever get a copy let me know from where as I really been looking for one. thanks

[Rabbitt26]

@MattShizzle Matt the movie is no longer being produced and the last time I tried to get a copy it was on eBay for over $400.

how ever if you ever get a copy let me know from where as I really been looking for one. thanks

[MattShizzle]

@Rabbitt26

It's available on torrent sites.

[kraorh]

Don't get me wrong - there was A LOT wrong with this miniseries. But it's so rare to find high-budget, professional films depicting alternate history, and many of the few I can think of were crappier (Fatherland, for example - the novel was great, but the adaptation was embarrassing). This attempt was hopelessly muddled and confused, but it had some well-done scenes here and there, and gave you a pure taste of life on Bizarro Earth.

[TheVoiceOfReason93]

I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE UNITED STATES OF CORPORATIONS AND TO THE DOLLAR FOR WHICH WE STAND, ONE NATION-UNDER DEREGULATION-UNACCOUNTABLE FOR CORPORATE GREED AND LOBBYISTS FOR ALL...

I got this quote from some other comment, but the idea's basically the same

[TariqAlSuave]

They Soviets didn't have a reliable first-strike capability against Britain or France, much less the US. They simply didn't have the hydrophone capability to track the boomers, or any quiet submarines necessary to tail them covertly (everything they made was really fucking loud).

Basically, any Soviet invasion of the US would have to rely on lucky asteroid strikes or an alliance with Klingons.

[TheVoiceOfReason93]

@TariqAlSuave

This proves Right Wingers are paranoid retards

[kraorh]

@TariqAlSuave This only gets vaguely alluded to in the actual series, but apparently in the original script, the idea was that the Soviets were to have used nuclear explosions in the upper atmosphere to create EMP pulses that would have rendered most electronic technology in the US useless. With no ability to respond in kind with nuclear force, the US surrendered when it was made clear that the Soviets would nuke American cities until they did. (Of course, in real life, that overlooks subs.)

[nAeL0s]

Anyone knows the name of the song at the end of the movie or by who at least ?

[pure2warrior]

Rothschild plan of genocide. They allways prepare us as if some satanic law requires them to tell the sheeple what they are going to do before they do it. Perhaps to cause Fear, Meybe to install a sense of desperation if you cant find a way out you will calmly submit. Much like the cops do to the public.

[TheVoiceOfReason93]

@pure2warrior

Fuck you paranoid maniac

[pure2warrior]

@TheVoiceOfReason93 fuck u ignorant imbacile anytime you see truth you call it paranoia sheep go back to sleep you dont need to get involved in growen up talks.

[lollercaust]

@pure2warrior "imbacile" heh...ironic

[MasterSanders]

This is unusual in that America is portrayed as the good guy. Today, America is constantly being put down as a racist, sexist, homophobic entity that has pillaged and raped the world of its resources, even by its citizens. It is hard to believe that this program was aired on a regular network station.

[TheVoiceOfReason93]

RIGHT WING PARANOIA

Its just one of the reasons why NOT to vote a Right Wing Hardliner into office (you know which party) - they are completely deluded from reality, sees Russia as the ultimate evil and ignore their weaknesses, and wanted to kill anyone who doesn't share their beliefs. their demonizing of USSR appears similar to how Nazis demonize the Jews, and the willingness of many to support nuking USSR borderlines support for genocide. The Right Wingers are the ultimate enemy, not USSR

[eric777100763]

This is dujmb. We would crush the commie invaders!! and what about our subs?? Our aircraft carriers?? We would destroy the ussr if they tried!!

[bluevidcam]

PS  it was like a TV news report happening live.

[bluevidcam]

Anyone here old enough to remember a tv film about a group of American "Freedom fighters/terrorist" who have a nuclear weapon and threaten to set it off (I think on a sub) and finally do so. I think it was in washington DC . I Can't find the name of it anywhere. It came out after The Day After. It's not this and it's not Testament. If you remember the name please pm me or reply.

[packerlandmike]

@bluevidcam It was called "Special Bulletin". Aired about 1983 or so, and it took place in Charleston, SC. The weapon did go off, destroying Charleston and its environs.

[samking12]

wow this looks good  can isee the whole thin somewere?

[metalbikini2002]

I wish this would come out on DVD.

[MegaPepapepa]

don't forguet, the world needs Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. If we don't have any of those the equation didn't work.

sovietic comonism forgot it and the USA have forgoten that too

[THEFRANKLINFILM]

The Soviet Empire has Fallen, the American Empire is following the same path.

[finalascent]

It was pretty boring, but the uprising scene at the end had some good action.

[chulengoleo]

It's funny to see how the inhabitants of United States are so naives. I mean, fearing communism, thinking of themselves as americans (hey, I'm from Chile, a country in the american continent, so I'm american too! ), and, yes, giving the great blah, blah about patriotism.

and it semms that all the criticism about this miniseries is about who won, and not about the filming or the writing quality!

Really, you are lack of common sense. It was TV , just that.

[swami1]

Go back to your third world hellhole.

[bostonalext]

communism doesnt work, is largly hypocritical (only the proletariat has to follow it, but the politicians don't) and stifles progress. how can you defend this political ideology??

[phdecora]

@bostonalext i dont know.. how can you outsource all our factories to this political ideology? i know... because communist china represses unions which conservatives hate.

[Catholicism777]

Communism doesn't have politicians. There are 2 forms of communism. Negative and Positive. The Negative is that there is a single leader who is required to lead the people and create a communist state and then withdraw into the ranks with everyone else. The positive idea is that everyone simply adopts it because they believe it is for the greater good.

I'm not a communist I'm just telling you that there's never really been a true communist state.

[bostonalext]

you obviously have never been to China then. I have. Go there and come back with the news that there aren't any communist politicians.

[THEFRANKLINFILM]

your only criticism seems to be because I don't think capitalism works I want to live in a communist country which is foolish.

[bostonalext]

ok, so what are you doing to change things besides talking $hit on youtube? anything productive?

[THEFRANKLINFILM]

We will all be forced into change in the coming years and local solutions will be the only solutions to local problems of food etc. Forget government, forget state, think small.

[bostonalext]

again, what are you doing to change things? or do you just like to talk on the internet?

[THEFRANKLINFILM]

starting a local farm, to feed people, what are you doing? Katrina showed us government is either incapable or just not interested in keeping society together and they had the money then. With so called "socialised" health care (which is turning out to be a proxy to guarantee insurance and big pharma tax payers money) and fear mongering, I think we're fucked.

[bostonalext]

i think the system, while imperfect, is fine the way it is. You're the one criticizing things, not me.

[THEFRANKLINFILM]

give it time.

[bostonalext]

So you're an expert now? From what university do you hold an economics PhD in?

[THEFRANKLINFILM]

a degree not economics but political science.

[bostonalext]

that makes two of us. And we both have different opinions.

[THEFRANKLINFILM]

we'll meet in the middle.

[THEFRANKLINFILM]

Capitalism doesn't work either as has been proved in recent years.

[bostonalext]

yeah you're right...i mean society as we know it doesnt work. Things seem to function a lot better in North Korea.

[THEFRANKLINFILM]

Just wait until foreign countries stop lending money to the bankrupt USA to keep it's wars of occupation going, then you'll see how well the system works.

[bostonalext]

no system is perfect...but its the one that works the best. if you dont like it, move to north korea and then let us know how much you like it over there

[THEFRANKLINFILM]

Capitalism only works best as long as there's money spread around but as can be seen from the USA, more and more people have less of it as the top 1% attain it all so it is no longer the better system as wil be borne out in subsequent years. Both Russia and the USA have become Oligarchies, the same entity. The rich rule more and more.

[notredamemike]

This is the opposite of "Red Dawn". We won in "Red Dawn".

[THEFRANKLINFILM]

Red Dawn is a fantasy.

[packerlandmike]

Yes, I remember this miniseries well. There's a reason why it has never been rebroadcast on American television, or released on DVD. "Amerika" was a massive dud, and I'm surprised that it didn't become a code word for failure. It was depressing, had an unhappy ending (SPOILER ALERT - when things are starting to go well for the resistance, and there is hope, Kristofferson's character is killed, and that's basically where "Amerika" ends), and was the biggest sin of all in television - BORING.

[Romulan007]

I am in 100% agreement! I remember watching this crap when it came out. I will take Red Dawn any day over this piffle. Stink, Stank, Stunk!!!!

[56LC]

I remember watching it, but its end is actually realistic. most resistance movements unless they can build up enough momentun fail evetually. So the reason why it failed on TV was because it accurately depicted the defeat of the American resistance?. I guess the only ones that dare to touch alternative historical events are the British. 1984, Fatherland, C.S.A., etc. No wonder we do not know when to quit even if we are clearly going to lose at something, worse wars.

[oxmys]

So that's what those people behind Blue Thunder were planning to do. They were dirty communists!

[Uberaoshi]

hollywood was using Blue Thunder as Fake Ka-50Hokum, Ka52 Alligator and Mi28 Havoc.

[nomadnametab]

Anybody got the scene where they machine gun the joint session of Congress ? Shows how Commies do things. They always kill off those who help them take over. Word to Capitol Hill. The only differance between a Commie and a Nazi is the Nazi is too stupid and will TELL you what he wants to do to you. The Commie is a bigger bull-shitter.

[twh115]

In asnwer to the comments about the misconceptions of Americans regarding the Soivet Union, it is hard now in this Information Age to remember how little exposure to the world we had back in the 80's. There was no Internet, no free access to other viewpoints. CIA guessed numbers, fed them to the Gov't. The press reported them as gospel across the 3 major TV networks. People trusted the news back then far more than today.

[newcomedyfan1973]

Cobblers

[tonyp74]

It might seem dated now, but it was strong stuff at the time. Man, I might be the only one who was fascinated by this.

[keliata]

I remember Amerika and the miniseries before it, The Day After. After the fall of the Soviet Union people forgot about the threat of nuclear war, but Iran is bringing that threat into the 21 century.

[backplane]

Iran has neither the nukes, nor the icbms, nor a suicidal determination.

North Korea and an unstable Pakistan are MUCH more of a threat.

[Scientisticsoviet]

@backplane Infinitesimally more. America can crush them, as long as they don't fight a land war.

[frostfireforge]

@backplane beg to differ on the suicidal determination part ! lol

[mikeoxen70]

oh no i watched this mini-series when i was 17 and i agree it was something at the time that was taken quite seriously

[backplane]

I also remember this series being aired, and I don't remember it being taking all that seriously, and given that its ratings fell off quite dramatically after the first episode (check wikipedia), it certainly seems like it wasn't.

[SixtiesFan90]

I am the 8,000th viewer. Wow.

Seriously, did people really believe the Soviet government was this crazy{as crooked as they were}?

[conelrad]

I don't think they meant that when they coined the term "Black Helicopters" - but your paranoia is admirably old school. Good to know there remains a market for this sort of feverish fantasy, after all Ben Stein is still cranking out paranoid 'victim' pulp like "Expelled."

[TommygunNG]

Ah, an image of Barack Hussein Obama's second term?

Nah. It won't take him that long.

[LittlePinky82]

Good grief.  Joe McCarthy would be proud. And yes that's sarcasm.

[drright71]

McCarthy was a lunatic for certain. But he was right.

[j2xl]

SNL did a genius parody of this called "Amerida" starring (Canadian actor) Phil Hartman as an American angry and vengeful about the Canadians who are occupying the U.S. Does anyone have a copy of it?

[PoPoNellie]

ABC gave Ben Stein a small fee for suggesting the premise of this miniseries after "The Day After" aired.

[Earthrush]

I freaking love this serie when it was showed I personal think it was a good One

[Paniked68]

I didn't even watch this when it came out. It looks very lame.

[21stCenturyEuropean]

Roger Moore was right - no other nation is as hopelessly paranoid as the United States. Waging war allover our planet, threatening peace and escalating conflicts, and still, they always feel like poor little innocent children in the middle of a dark, evil world ...

[jenniferhuse]

We were sure paranoid in 1941. Or was it Churhill that had the problem?

[BustySusie]

Another hopelessly-statist, nihilistic European weighs in.

[AnyThingButWindows]

You and your EU. HAHAHA. Fuck the EU, I hope Briton gets nuked off the face of the earth.

[skywarp1]

This what happens when two Blue Thunders turn Russian.

[Hammer07Sickle]

its like the communists invaded and then it took an american communist movement to go back to an america where everyone has equal rights, gotta love these film makers

[bguwripabuip]

we all living in amerika, amerika, it's wunderbar!

[Discosaturn]

This miniseries looks interesting to me, as it's a Cold War epic story of Soviet-occupied America. I've heard that "Amerika" was once released on VHS in 1995 but it hasn't made it to DVD yet. Of course, I never saw "Amerika" because I was born on the year it was first broadcast.

[BrezhnevIsMyCoPilot]

Beware the Soviet war machine and its ATVs!!!

[KennyWalley]

most of hollyweird is propaganda which I stopped watching but this may be worth a look

[desidono]

I completely agree with you. Fox News is mostly propoganda.

[cadotnet]

Who said anything about fox news? This Video has nothing to do with them.

[desidono]

I associate Fox News with Hollywood, they both make up stories and film them.

[cadotnet]

Name one time fox news (with proof) made up a story.

Fox news may be bias to the right, but no more then cnn or msnbc is to the left.

[desidono]

YouTube doesn't seem to like links in comments, so... Do a search on here for "Fox and Friends presents ham sandwich satire as real news" and also do a search on the internet for "Fox apologizes for fake Kerry quotes."

That's double what you were looking for. Not a good sign.

Anyway, it's been fun talking about the lack of integrity of Fox News with you. Thanks for posting the clip!

[jenniferhuse]

You're kidding, right? The CBS Evening News with Dan Rather - making up documents regarding W's military record. Making up Documents. Come on friend, get real - Fox news. Please.

[mikeoxen70]

fox news didn't even exist when this mini-series was broadcast in 1987

[cadotnet]

Who said anything about Fox News? This has nothing to do with them.

[haomani]

This video should be played on TV all the time, following a video of the evils of terrorism and the war we face today.

(Then slip something in about how communism STILL is a great threat)

[Bthackrey]

wow you can see the two helicopter gunships .. these were the original choppers built for the movie Blue Thunder check it out if you dont belive me .

[EyeSoarProduXinZ]

I remember somewhat of when this movie came out on TV. I was living in Abilene, Texas at the time. However, while I had plans to watch the miniseries, I was restricted by my folks. Anywhere I can obtain a copy so I can finally watch it?

[LittlePinky82]

Check your local library or places like Blockbuster. Maybe even Netflix?

[6079smythw]

"We're going to run that program come rain, blood, or horse manure," said ABC president John B. Sias

clssic.... LOL LOL

[Robodoon]

HEY AMERICANS ITS HERE! NOW!

[Mavlik]

Look on the bight side. If USA have been occupied, maybe there would have been lass arrogance and hatred within you.

[Slatch35]

great movie, i have this on vhs! Good thing the commies lost the cold war. What do you say? Are they ready for Cold War II? We'll crush 'em again!

[TwisterAce]

I think America's in a situation right now where there's a lack of patriotism. (If Hillary Clinton becomes president, then America's screwed (patriotism outlawed) for good).

[cubbie72]

If you took this miniseries seriously, then it doesn't surprise me you would think a president would outlaw patriotism.

[BrezhnevIsMyCoPilot]

Yeah man, just like when Bill Clinton outlawed patriotism when he was president. Thank God George W. Bush reinstated it the day he came into office...

[metalbikini2002]

Thanks for posting this!  I've seen Red Dawn a million times, but I only remember bits and pieces of this when it was aired in the 80's. Hopefully it's on DVD soon.

[mycrt52]

I am almost 60 yrs old ,I remember the mini series and the those times,If they release it ,it would yank way to many political chains and the people would be stirred,IF--- its ever released it will be heavily edited,Many of the scenarios are recently on their way to reality,Make a ruckus to release on DVD and see what happens.OOOps its lost,WIki this mimi series

[conelrad]

Today marks the historic 20th anniversary of the premiere of one of the most controversial and boring miniseries in broadcast history: AMERIKA. Indeed, it was on February 15, 1987 that ABC unleashed the 14- 1/2 hour (including commercials) meditation on what the United States might look like ten years into a Soviet occupation. Writer-Director Donald Wrye's (BORN INNOCENT; ICE CASTLES ) vision of this strange future resembles something akin to DYNASTY as written by Tolstoy.

[blbaskind]

I *liked* it -- I thought it made important points about the nature of patriotism, and the need to stand up for freedom when it *counts* -- not when it's been lost already.

Think about it!