Amerika 06 (of 13)

"Amerika" Miniseries, 1987
playlist for the movie http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=...
"Amerika" -- suggesting a Russified name for the United States -- is an American television miniseries that was broadcast in 1987 on ABC. It starred Kris Kristofferson, Mariel Hemingway, Sam Neill, Robert Urich, and a 17-year-old Lara Flynn Boyle in her first major role. "Amerika" was about life in the United States after a bloodless takeover by the Soviet Union. Not wanting to depict the actual coup, ABC Entertainment president Brandon Stoddard instead chose to set the action of the miniseries ten years after the event, focusing on the demoralized American people a decade after the Soviet conquest. The intent, he later explained, was to explore the American spirit under such conditions, not to portray the conflict of the Soviet takeover.

Described in promotional materials as "the most ambitious American miniseries ever created," Amerika aired for 14½ hours (including commercials) over seven nights, and reportedly cost US$40 million to produce. The program was filmed in Toronto, London, and Hamilton, Ontario, as well as various locations in Nebraska -- most notably the small town of Tecumseh and Milford, the setting for most of the action of the series. Donald Wrye was the executive producer, director, and sole writer of Amerika, while composer Basil Poledouris was hired to score the miniseries, ultimately recording (with the Hollywood Symphony Orchestra) eight hours of music -- the equivalent of four feature films. (from Wikipedia)

Main characters:
Devin Milford (Kris Kristofferson)
Colonel Andrei Denisov of the KGB (Sam Neill)
Peter Bradford (Robert Urich)
Peter Bradford's wife, Amanda (Cindy Pickett)
Devin Milford's ex-wife, Marion (Wendy Hughes)
Devin's sister Alethea (Christine Lahti)
Bradford's teenage daughter, Jackie (Lara Flynn Boyle)

"Kris played the part of right-leaning former presidential candidate Devin Milford, who leads a rebellion against the Soviets.
The Soviet's forces are kitted out in uniforms much like those of United Nations peacekeeping troops.
The series managed to upset just about everybody; the Soviet Union threatened to shut down ABC's Moscow bureau, American conservatives felt that the Soviet brutality was understated, while left-wingers saw it as a case of right-wing paranoia that might threaten détente" (Stephen Miller in his Kris Kristofferson -- biography)

Kris about this movie in an interview (2003):
Q: And you mentioned "Amerika," which was a controversial show about if the Nazis had actually won World War II.
Kris: Yeah. Well, you know, I was trying to justify how that could have happened, that scenario where the - I think it was the Russians that end up taking over the U.S. - and I thought at the time, it could only happen if the rest of the world finally got together and said, "Enough." Now, what's been going on lately could cause that - to the rest of the world to just finally just say, "Listen, you got no right to be the only superpower of the world, going around fighting anybody you want to in whatever name you want to call it". I mean, they look at what we did in Iraq as terrorism. And it was state-sponsored terrorism, you know? I'm in an awkward position because I grew up in the Second World War, and before, during, and after, and believing in God and honor and country and duty. And, I still respect the troops. I just don't agree with the policy.

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• Category

  Film & Animation

[Josef Feldkirch]

This is teaching me a lot about Communism.

[biggestkkfan]

No, it does NOT. It's just ONE view at it by the film makers. And it's fiction...

[TimmyLongfellow]

How Sam Neil explains how the USA lost its passion and found itself isolated sounds like how things are going in Amerika now. Kind of Scary!

[wagonertim]

The tanks in the refugee camp reminds me of Waco, TX

[scifi75]

That is correct. We have lost our passion as Americans. We look at our own people and we want to know if they are Republican, Democrat, Neo-Conservative, Liberal, Gay, Religious, etc, etc, before we even to get to thinking that they are American. I believe that we are are on a low slide to becoming a completely divided nation. How long until the laughable idea of succeeding from the Union today becomes reality tomorrow?

[leadcreator]

the problem is this has already happened here

[brasso4u]

Keep that thought.

[GOPsithlord]

15:20 Watch this answer and ponder where we were then...and where we are now. It's depressing.

[Lal Wynstrom]

I was a bit surprised. That "disciplinary" action was waaay too soft for a Communist "lesson". I expected everybody in that camp to be massacred. But I suppose the major acted within the boundaries imposed on him without actually violating any standing orders. And it helps spread terror, the communist way.

Boy, is this movie engaging. The researchers really did their homework in dramatizing what Red Statism is.

[sugarcubicle]

Ha ha, so is the Communist Manifesto.

[AZ762SHOOTER]

if you want to learn about communism look to labor unions. they are as close as youre going to see...

[TyrionLannister1000]

If Occupy got too cocky this is what would have happened to their camp.

[residentfan2]

You need some time in a rubber room dude.