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What if human consciousness could be digitized? Would the digital version still be human, or would it be a meaningless string of data that no longer has a soul? In Neil Sharpson’s When the Sparrow Falls, the Caspian Republic is the last holdout nation of natural-born humans. There, the populace refuses to submit to the Machine, believing that neither digital humans nor AI have souls. Unfortunately, the Caspian Republic is also a totalitarian nightmare of a nation, where not one but two police organizations could disappear you in the night.

Nikolai South, whose first-person narration leads readers through this strange future, is an agent for State Security. When he’s called in to the office of the Deputy Director, he believes it’s the end: though he’s stayed under the radar of both the State and Party Security for more than twenty years,...

Roger Waters has released a new recording and video for “The Gunner’s Dream.” The song from Pink Floyd’s 1983 album, The Final Cut, tells the story of a dying airman who dreams of a safer, better world, without war.

The black-and-white visual opens on Waters playing the piano and singing alone in his studio. His bandmates — guitarist Dave Kilminster, drummer Joey Waronker, bassist Gus Seyffert, guitarist Jonathan Wilson, pianist and keyboardist Jon Carin, Hammond player Bo Koster and Lucius’ Jesse Wolfe and Holly Laessig — join him from their respective...

Read More: Kevin Costner's 7 Best Performances Peter Anthony's fiction-documentary hybrid features the untold story of "true, real-life hero" Peter Stanislav, whose life-altering decision proved to have implications that stretched across the world. According to the official synopsis, "On September 26th, 1983, an alarm sounded to indicate that five American nuclear missiles had been launched against the Soviet Union. Russian Lt. Colonel Stanislav Petrov defied military protocol, ignoring the incoming attack and declaring it a false alarm. His decision spared the world a nuclear holocaust. Decades later, this forgotten hero travels to the United States to accept an award from the United Nations and finally receives acknowledgement for his historical act. 'The Man Who Saved the World' melds together non-fiction and narrative filmmaking depicting the actual events that took place more than thirty years ago. Featuring Kevin Costner with appearances by...

How did this sneak by? It's a combo escapist spy story, engrossing soap opera, and historically accurate Cold War flashback to the time of Duran Duran and Blondie, produced in Germany with a great cast of young and/or unfamiliar actors. Sure, the expected unlikelihoods are there, but so is an essential authenticity. Great fun! Deutschland 83 DVD (Season 1) Kino Lorber 2015 / Color / 1:78 enhanced widescreen / 336 min. / Street Date September 29, 2015 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95 Starring Jonas Nay, Maria Schrader, Sonja Gerhardt, Ulrich Noethen, Ludwig Trepte, Sylvester Groth, Alexander Beyer, Nikola Kastner, Errol Trotman Harewood, Godehard Giese. Cinematography Philipp Haberlandt, Frank Küpper Music Reinhold Heil Written by Anna Winger Produced by Joerg Winger, Nico Hoffman, Henriette Lippold Small>Directed by Edward Berger, Samira Radsi

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

This is something extraordinary, an exciting TV serial about the misadventures of an East German spy during the Cold War's '80s high point,...

★★★☆☆ Peter Anthony's The Man Who Saved the World (2014) is an odd duck much like its protagonist, the steely curmudgeon Stanislav Petrov. Part documentary, part docudrama, this film probes the post-Cold War consciousness of one who operated at the source. Petrov is a man who, for a few moments, held the threat of nuclear war in his hands and decided to act against it. Documenting the contemporary fallout of such a decision brings forth issues of national identity and personal repercussions. However, The Man Who Saved the World's oddly conflicting styles creates a strange uncertainty - making it hard to gauge precisely whether the narration is reliable, despite the fact that these are true events.

Meet the crotchety, bitter old man who, back in 1983 as a crotchety, bitter younger man, refused to initiate global nuclear war. A true story! I’m “biast” (pro): nothing

I’m “biast” (con): nothing

(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)

If you’re alive and not spending your days wandering a blasted radioactive afterscape in search of food — and I’m pretty sure we’re all doing that this weekend only for fun with Mad Max — then you have former Soviet Lieutenant Colonel Stanislav Petrov to thank. No, I had never heard of him, either, which is a disgrace that The Man Who Saved the World attempts to remedy.

On September 26, 1983, Petrov was on duty at a Soviet military installation outside Moscow that watched the skies for incoming American nuclear missiles when alarms started blaring. They were false alarms, of course, but Petrov didn’t know that,...

On September 26th 1983, at the height of the Cold War, a false alarm at the Soviet nuclear early warning centre Serpukhov-15 almost brought the world to the brink of nuclear war. Five America nuclear missiles were mistakenly reported to be headed towards the Soviet Union, and Lieutenant Colonel Stanislav Petrov saved the world from annihilation by going against protocol and not retaliating, following his gut feeling that this was all a mistake. Three decades later, Petrov’s contribution to the continued survival of the human race has been pretty much lost to the ages. Until now. Mixing together re-enactments with fly on the wall documentary footage of Petrov in present day, Peter Anthony’s The Man Who Saved The World sheds light on Petrov’s life years after his historic decision, following him as he travels to America to finally receive acknowledgement from the world at large. The style at play here is quite unique,...

The Man Who Saved The World tells the incredible story of a Russian Lieutenant Colonel mixes fact and fiction to create a gripping historical thriller and personal redemption story. September 26th, 1983, Stanislav Petrov saves the world from disaster at the peak of the Cold War when tensions between the Us and Russia are running high. Decades later, he lives alone in a one bedroom flat on the outskirts of Moscow, his life unravelling around him. But then the United Nations invite Stanislav to New York to reward him for his contribution to the world today and as he embarks on a spectacular journey to save himself, meeting Robert De Niro, Matt Damon and Kevin Costner on the way, this unlikely real life hero reminds us how close we came to Apocalypse and how precarious the world still is today. The Man Who Saved The World is Danish director Peter Anthony’s first feature length documentary.

Spectrum is pleased to announce the UK release of The Man Who Saved The World, in cinemas on 27th March 2015. Directed by Peter Anthony, the incredible story of a Russian Lieutenant Colonel mixes fact and fiction to create a gripping historical thriller and personal redemption story. No one knows his name. No one knows his story. But everyone owes their life to Stanislav Petrov.  September 26, 1983, Stanislav Petrov saves the world from disaster at the peak of the Cold War when tensions between the Us and Russia are running high. Decades later, he lives alone in a one bedroom flat on the outskirts of Moscow, his life unravelling around him. But then the United Nations invite Stanislav to New York to reward him for his contribution to the world today and as he embarks on a spectacular journey to save himself, meeting Robert De Niro, Matt Damon and Kevin Costner on the way,...

Today we have a promo trailer for "The Man Who Saved the World" documentary that features Kevin Costner, Matt Damon, Robert De Niro and Walter Cronkite. The film, which has been in development for seven years. will be released in January of 2013. Check out the trailer below. Plot: The fateful events of September 23rd, 1983, during one of the most frozen periods of the Cold War, sets the stage for the film "The Man Who Saved the World." We follow 44-year old Lt. Col. Stanislav Petrov reporting for his shift at Serphukov 15, the Soviet Nuclear Command Center. A report of 5 nuclear missiles headed towards Moscow from the United States is confirmed and escalated to the Kremlin by Stanislav. They order him to launch a counter-attack. In that moment, the fate of all mankind rests in his hands. We meet Stanislav Petrov today, now aged 69 surrounded by empty vodka bottles and dust...