Editing The Day After (section)

== Production ==
{{unreferenced section|date=February 2024}}
''The Day After'' was the idea of ABC Motion Picture Division President [[Brandon Stoddard]],<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/24/business/media/brandon-stoddard-77-abc-executive-who-brought-roots-to-tv-is-dead.html|title=Brandon Stoddard, 77, ABC Executive Who Brought 'Roots' to TV, Is Dead|last=Weber|first=Bruce|date=2014-12-23|newspaper=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=2016-03-18}}</ref> who, after watching ''[[The China Syndrome]]'', was so impressed that he envisioned creating a film exploring the effects of nuclear war on the United States. Stoddard asked his executive vice president of television movies and miniseries, Stu Samuels, to develop a script. Samuels created the title ''The Day After'' to emphasize that the story was about, not a nuclear war itself, but the aftermath. Samuels suggested several writers, and eventually, Stoddard commissioned the veteran television writer [[Edward Hume]] to write the script in 1981. ABC, which financed the production, was concerned about the graphic nature of the film and how to portray the subject appropriately on a family-oriented television channel. Hume undertook a massive amount of research on nuclear war and went through several drafts until ABC finally deemed the plot and characters acceptable.
[[File:Dayafter1.jpg|thumb|A scene from the film, in which a nuclear weapon detonates near [[De Soto, Kansas]].]]
Originally, the film was based more around and in Kansas City, Missouri. Kansas City was not bombed in the original script although [[Whiteman Air Force Base]] was, which made Kansas City suffer shock waves and the horde of survivors staggering into town. There was no Lawrence, Kansas in the story although there was a small Kansas town called "Hampton." While Hume was writing the script, he and the producer Robert Papazian, who had great experience in on-location shooting, took several trips to Kansas City to scout locations and met with officials from the Kansas film commission and from the Kansas tourist offices to search for a suitable location for "Hampton." It came down to a choice of either [[Warrensburg, Missouri]], and Lawrence, Kansas, both college towns. Warrensburg was home of [[Central Missouri State University]] and was near Whiteman Air Force Base, and Lawrence was home of the [[University of Kansas]] and was near Kansas City. Hume and Papazian ended up selecting Lawrence because of the access to a number of good locations: a university, a hospital, football and basketball venues, farms, and a flat countryside. Lawrence was also agreed upon as being the "geographic center" of the United States. The Lawrence people were urging ABC to change the name "Hampton" to "Lawrence" in the script.

Back in Los Angeles, the idea of making a TV movie showing the true effects of nuclear war on average American citizens was still stirring up controversy. ABC, Hume, and Papazian realized that for the scene depicting the nuclear blast, they would have to use state-of-the-art special effects and so took the first step by hiring some of the best special effects people in the business to draw up some [[storyboards]] for the complicated blast scene. ABC then hired Robert Butler to direct the project. For several months, the group worked on drawing up storyboards and revising the script again and again. Then, in early 1982, Butler was forced to leave ''The Day After'' because of other contractual commitments. ABC then offered the project to two other directors, who both turned it down. Finally, in May, ABC hired the feature film director [[Nicholas Meyer]], who had just completed the blockbuster ''[[Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan]]''. Meyer was apprehensive at first and doubted ABC would get away with making a television film on nuclear war without the censors diminishing its effect. However, after reading the script, Meyer agreed to direct ''The Day After''.

Meyer wanted to make sure that he would film the script he was offered. He did not want the censors to censor the film or the film to be a regular Hollywood disaster movie from the start. Meyer figured the more ''The Day After'' resembled such a film, the less effective it would be, and he preferred to present the facts of nuclear war to viewers. He made it clear to ABC that no big TV or film stars should be in ''The Day After''. ABC agreed but wanted to have one star to help attract European audiences to the film when it would be shown theatrically there. Later, while flying to visit his parents in New York City, Meyer happened to be on the same plane with [[Jason Robards]] and asked him to join the cast.

Meyer plunged into several months of nuclear research, which made him quite pessimistic about the future, to the point of becoming ill each evening when he came home from work. Meyer and Papazian also made trips to the ABC censors and to the [[United States Department of Defense]] during their research phase and experienced conflicts with both. Meyer had many heated arguments over elements in the script that the network censors wanted cut out of the film. The Department of Defense said that it would cooperate with ABC if the script clarified that the Soviets launched their missiles first, which Meyer and Papazian took pains not to do.

Meyer, Papazian, Hume, and several casting directors spent most of July 1982 taking numerous trips to Kansas City. In between casting in Los Angeles, where they relied mostly on unknowns, they would fly to the Kansas City area to interview local actors and scout scenery. They were hoping to find some real Midwesterners for smaller roles. Hollywood casting directors strolled through shopping malls in Kansas City to look for local people to fill small and supporting roles, the daily newspaper in Lawrence ran an advertisement calling for local residents to sign up as extras, and a professor of theater and film at the [[University of Kansas]] was hired to head up local casting. Out of the eighty or so speaking parts, only fifteen were cast in Los Angeles. The remaining roles were filled in Kansas City and Lawrence.

While in Kansas City, Meyer and Papazian toured the [[Federal Emergency Management Agency]] offices in Kansas City. When asked about its plans for surviving nuclear war, a FEMA official replied that it was experimenting with putting evacuation instructions in [[telephone book]]s in [[New England]]. "In about six years, everyone should have them." That meeting led Meyer to later refer to FEMA as "a complete joke." It was during that time that the decision was made to change "Hampton" in the script to "Lawrence." Meyer and Hume figured since Lawrence was a real town, it would be more believable, and besides, it was a perfect choice to play a representative of [[Middle America (United States)|Middle America]]. The town boasted a "socio-cultural mix," sat near the exact [[Geographic center of the United States|geographic center of the Continental U.S.]], and was a prime missile target according to Hume and Meyer's research because 150 [[Minuteman missile]] silos stood nearby. Lawrence had some great locations, and its people were more supportive of the project. Suddenly, less emphasis was put on Kansas City, the decision was made to have the city annihilated in the script, and Lawrence was made the primary location in the film.

=== Editing ===
ABC originally planned to air ''The Day After'' as a four-hour "television event" that would be spread over two nights with a total running time of 180 minutes without commercials.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Naha|first=Ed|date=April 1983|title=L.A. Offbeat: A Lesson in Reality|url=https://archive.org/details/starlog_magazine-069|journal=Starlog|pages=[https://archive.org/details/starlog_magazine-069/page/n23 24]–25}}</ref> The director Nicholas Meyer felt the original script was padded, and suggested cutting out an hour of material to present the whole film in one night. The network stuck with its two-night broadcast plan, and Meyer filmed the entire three-hour script, as evidenced by a 172-minute [[workprint]] that has surfaced.<ref>{{Citation|author=((nisus8))|title=The Day After (1983) - 3-Hour Workprint Version|date=2018-08-10|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MobwUGgdI3A| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180911120906/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MobwUGgdI3A| archive-date=2018-09-11 | url-status=dead|access-date=2019-05-23}}</ref> Subsequently, the network found that it was difficult to find advertisers because of the subject matter {{Contradictory inline|reason=The first sentence of this paragraph indicates the network planned to air the movie without commercials.|date=September 2024}}. ABC relented and allowed Meyer to edit the film for a one-night broadcast version. Meyer's original single-night cut ran two hours and twenty minutes, which he presented to the network. After that screening, many executives were deeply moved, and some even cried, which led Meyer to believe they approved of his cut.

Nevertheless, a further six-month struggle ensued over the final shape of the film. Network censors had opinions about the inclusion of specific scenes, and ABC itself was eventually intent on "trimming the film to the bone" and made demands to cut out many scenes that Meyer strongly lobbied to keep. Finally, Meyer and his editor, Bill Dornisch, balked. Dornisch was fired, and Meyer walked away from the project. ABC brought in other editors, but the network ultimately was not happy with the results they produced. It finally brought Meyer back and reached a compromise, with Meyer paring down ''The Day After'' to a final running time of 120 minutes.<ref name="fallout">{{cite web|last=Niccum|first=John|title=Fallout from ''The Day After''|url=http://www.lawrence.com/news/2003/nov/19/fallout_from/|work=lawrence.com|access-date=October 11, 2011|date=2003-11-19}}</ref><ref>Meyer, Nicholas, "The View From the Bridge: Memories of Star Trek and a Life in Hollywood", page 150. Viking Adult, 2009</ref>

=== ''The Day Before'' campaign ===
Josh Baran and Mark Graham were [[anti-nuclear movement|anti-nuclear activists]] who were secretly given a bootleg copy of the film by Nick Meyer prior to the ABC broadcast. They sent copies of the film to various peace groups, interviewed peace leaders about the film, and held screenings in homes, bars, and restaurants. There were post-screening discussion groups and town hall meetings. They held private screenings for the media, like ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine, the ''[[New York Times]]'', and the BBC. As word got out about the film, higher ups wanted to see it including members of the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]], and even the Pope. Baran and Graham called it ''The Day Before'' project to hijack ABC's marketing of the film. One scholar said they "pioneered the piggybacking of a public issue onto the release of a commercial media product", and ''Variety'' called it "the greatest PR campaign in history."<ref name="Craig" />

The consequences of Meyer's bootleg copy and subsequent ''The Day Before'' PR campaign was a groundswell of public interest and discussion before the film was ever broadcast. This made it difficult for ABC executives to kill the film, because there were rumors they wanted to quietly shelve it, including rumors that Ronald Reagan had hinted to studio executives he didn't want the film broadcast.<ref name="Craig">{{cite book |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/apocalypsetelevi0000crai/page/85/mode/2up?admin=1&view=theater |chapter=Chapter: Hijacked |title=Apocalypse Television: How The Day After Helped End the Cold War |publisher=Applause |location=Essex, Connecticut |first=David Randolph |last=Craig |year=2024 |pages=85–98 |isbn=9781493079179 }}</ref>

=== Broadcast ===
''The Day After'' was initially scheduled to premiere on ABC in May 1983, but the post-production work to reduce the film's length pushed back its initial airdate to November. Censors forced ABC to cut an entire scene of a child having a nightmare about [[nuclear holocaust]] and then sitting up screaming. A psychiatrist told ABC that it would disturb children. "This strikes me as ludicrous," Meyer wrote in ''[[TV Guide]]'' at the time, "not only in relation to the rest of the film, but also when contrasted with the huge doses of violence to be found on any average evening of TV viewing." In any case, a few more cuts were made, including to a scene in which Denise possesses a [[diaphragm (contraceptive)|diaphragm]]. Another scene in which a hospital patient abruptly sits up screaming was excised from the original television broadcast but restored for [[home video]] releases. Meyer persuaded ABC to dedicate the film to the citizens of Lawrence and also to put a disclaimer at the end of the film after the credits to let the viewer know that ''The Day After'' downplayed the true effects of nuclear war so it could have a story. The disclaimer also included a list of books that provided more information on the subject.

''The Day After'' received a large promotional campaign prior to its broadcast. Commercials aired several months in advance, and ABC distributed half-a-million "viewer's guides" that discussed the dangers of nuclear war and prepared the viewer for the graphic scenes of mushroom clouds and radiation burn victims. Discussion groups were also formed nationwide.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Atomic War Film Spurs Nationwide Discussion|last=McFadden|first=Robert D.|date=November 22, 1983|work=The New York Times}}</ref>

=== Music ===
The composer [[David Raksin]] wrote original music and adapted music from ''[[The River (1938 film)|The River]]'', a documentary film score by the concert composer [[Virgil Thomson]], by featuring an adaptation of the hymn "[[How Firm a Foundation (hymn)|How Firm a Foundation]]". Although he recorded just under 30 minutes of music, much of it was edited out of the final cut. Music from the [[First Strike (1979 film)|''First Strike'']] footage, conversely, was not edited out.

=== Deleted and alternative scenes ===
{{more citations needed section|date=October 2011}}
The film was shortened from the original three hours of running time to two, which caused the scrapping of several planned special-effects scenes although storyboards were made in anticipation of a possible "expanded" version. They included a "bird's eye" view of Kansas City at the moment of two nuclear detonations as seen from a [[Boeing 737]] airliner approaching the city's airport, simulated newsreel footage of U.S. troops in [[West Germany]] taking up positions in preparation of advancing Soviet armored units, and the tactical nuclear exchange in Germany between NATO and the Warsaw Pact after the attacking Warsaw Pact force breaks through and overwhelms the NATO lines.

ABC censors severely toned down scenes to reduce the body count or severe burn victims. Meyer refused to remove key scenes, but reportedly, some eight and a half minutes of excised footage still exist, significantly more graphic.{{cn|date=October 2024}} Some footage was reinstated for the film's release on home video. Additionally, the nuclear attack scene was longer and supposed to feature very graphic and very accurate shots of what happens to a human body during a nuclear blast. Examples included people being set on fire; their flesh [[carbonization|carbonizing]]; being burned to the bone; eyes melting; faceless heads; skin hanging; deaths from flying glass and debris, limbs torn off, being crushed, and blown from buildings by the [[shockwave]]; and people in [[fallout shelters]] suffocating during the [[firestorm]]. Also cut were images of radiation sickness, as well as graphic post-attack violence from survivors such as food riots, looting, and general lawlessness as authorities attempted to restore order.

One cut scene showed surviving students battling over food. The two sides were to be athletes and the science students under the guidance of Professor Huxley. Another brief scene that was later cut related to a firing squad in which two U.S. soldiers are blindfolded and executed. In that scene, an officer reads the charges, verdict, and sentence as a bandaged chaplain reads the [[Last Rites]].{{Citation needed|date=November 2020}} A similar sequence occurs in a 1965 British-produced faux documentary, ''[[The War Game]]''. In the initial 1983 broadcast of ''The Day After'', when the U.S. president addresses the nation, the voice was an imitation of President Reagan, who later stated that he watched the film and was deeply moved.<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211205/7QdZqBKwTMs Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20131209131151/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QdZqBKwTMs Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QdZqBKwTMs| title = The Day After: "Reagan-esque" Presidential Address | website=[[YouTube]]| date = July 11, 2010 }}{{cbignore}}</ref> In subsequent broadcasts, that voice was overdubbed by a stock actor.

Home video releases in the U.S. and internationally come in at various running times, many listed at 126 or 127 minutes. [[Fullscreen (aspect ratio)|Full screen]] (4:3 aspect ratio) seems to be more common than widescreen. [[RCA]] [[videodisc]]s of the early 1980s were limited to 2 hours per disc so that full screen release appears to be closest to what originally aired on ABC in the U.S. A 2001 U.S. VHS version ([[Anchor Bay Entertainment]], [[Troy, Michigan]]) lists a running time of 122 minutes. A 1995 double laser disc "director's cut" version (Image Entertainment) runs 127 minutes, includes commentary by director Nicholas Meyer and is "presented in its 1.75:1 European theatrical aspect ratio" (according to the LD jacket).

Two different German DVD releases run at 122 and 115 minutes respectively; the edits reportedly downplay the Soviet Union's role.<ref>[https://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=193898 Movie-censorship.com]</ref> A two disc Blu-ray special edition was released in 2018 by the video specialty label [[Kino International (company)|Kino Lorber]] and present the film in high definition. The release contains the 122-minute television cut, presented in a 4:3 aspect ratio as broadcast, as well as the 127-minute theatrical cut, presented in a [[16:9 aspect ratio|16:9 widescreen aspect ratio]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kinolorber.com/product/the-day-after-2-disc-special-edition-blu-ray|title=The Day After (2-Disc Special Edition)|access-date=January 25, 2021|archive-date=January 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210127142842/https://www.kinolorber.com/product/the-day-after-2-disc-special-edition-blu-ray|url-status=dead}}</ref>