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Nightfall

  • 1988
  • PG-13
  • 1h 23m
IMDb RATING
2.7/10
812
YOUR RATING
Nightfall (1988)
Far across the cosmos from our world lies a planet bathed in perpetual daylight. Soon nightfall will come and bring with it tremendous destruction.
Play trailer1:07
1 Video
7 Photos
MysterySci-Fi

On a planet with perpetual daylight, nightfall's arrival brings destruction. A dramatic depiction of Asimov's award-winning story, exploring the clash between science and superstition as dar... Read allOn a planet with perpetual daylight, nightfall's arrival brings destruction. A dramatic depiction of Asimov's award-winning story, exploring the clash between science and superstition as darkness looms.On a planet with perpetual daylight, nightfall's arrival brings destruction. A dramatic depiction of Asimov's award-winning story, exploring the clash between science and superstition as darkness looms.

  • Director
    • Paul Mayersberg
  • Writers
    • Isaac Asimov
    • Paul Mayersberg
  • Stars
    • David Birney
    • Sarah Douglas
    • Alexis Kanner
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    2.7/10
    812
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Paul Mayersberg
    • Writers
      • Isaac Asimov
      • Paul Mayersberg
    • Stars
      • David Birney
      • Sarah Douglas
      • Alexis Kanner
    • 62User reviews
    • 8Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 nomination total

    Videos1

    Trailer
    Trailer 1:07
    Trailer

    Photos6

    View Poster
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    + 3
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    Top cast25

    Edit
    David Birney
    David Birney
    • Aton
    Sarah Douglas
    Sarah Douglas
    • Roa
    Alexis Kanner
    Alexis Kanner
    • Sor
    Andra Millian
    Andra Millian
    • Ana
    Starr Andreeff
    • Bet
    Charley Hayward
    • Kin
    • (as Charles Hayward)
    Jonathan Emerson
    • Architect
    Susie Lindeman
    Susie Lindeman
    • Boffin
    Russell Wiggins
    Russell Wiggins
    • Zol
    Larry Hankin
    Larry Hankin
    • Desert King
    Ronald R. Burns
    • Aton's Man
    Bernard J. Garsen
    • Aton's Man
    Dan Wells
    • Architect's Assistant
    Bradley Reid
    • Trader
    Stephen D. Nathenson
    • City Dweller
    James Barry Blakely
    • Narrator
    Lee Michael Walczuk
    • Nomad Dancer
    Dayna Beilenson
    Dayna Beilenson
    • Nomad Dancer
    • Director
      • Paul Mayersberg
    • Writers
      • Isaac Asimov
      • Paul Mayersberg
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews62

    2.7812
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    Featured reviews

    belroyce

    A waste of videotape

    If you did not know the story line is about a planet surrounded by suns and knows no darkness but every couple thousand years an eclipse occurs and pure anarchy breaks out but this movie turns the story into a New Age Northern California Greek play set in the Arizona desert with people running around doing performance art.

    David Birney is in this as a leader/astrologer or something that is never quite explained. Sarah Douglas is his former wife who left him for a religion or the religion's leader. Believe me you won't care. But it is nice to see her as something other than a villainess and this the only good I can say for the 'movie.' There are terrible sets, if you can call them that, terrible acting, editing, writing, and music that might have seemed advant- garde for 1979 but is just noise now

    The most hilarious scene in the movie is the assassination attempt on Birney, it is something straight out of Ed Wood with the brute assassin foiled by the glare of some quartz or crystal that Birney picks up or it might be the performance art piece that the desert people put on or the performance art that the daughter does after killing someone or Douglas getting her eyes taken out by pet crows or...

    If you are expecting a movie based on the Asimov story forget it but if you are a Northern Californian New Ager wondering what might have been then you might like this movie. Not Really.
    1ikaros-3

    How did MST3K miss this one?

    The temptation to quote the comic shop guy on 'The Simpsons' and leave my entire review at "Worst movie ever" is tremendous, but there *have* been worse movies than this inept and insulting version of one of the masterworks of science fiction.

    Not very many, though.

    I can only assume that Mayersberg came up with this version based on no more than a one-line plot summary of Isaac Asimov's classic short story. It's inconceivable that he actually *read* it, given what he put on film.

    The resemblance to Asimov's original 'Nightfall' is limited, and strictly, to the fact that this culture hasn't experienced a sunset. Other than that, he has taken off on a tangent that, had Asimov written it himself, would have immediately been ripped from the typewriter and consigned to the trashbin.

    My experience with this film was even worse, being the great Asimov fan that I am. Had the tape I watched not been a rental, I would have taken it out into the street and run over it several times, ground what remained into a powder, and burned it before it could hurt anyone else. Alas, I had to return it to the video store, there to sit quietly and innocently on the shelf, awaiting its chance to cruelly crush the hopes of a subsequent SF fan.

    This movie should only be rented if you're holding an MST3K night and want something suitable for riffing. Otherwise, save yourself the money. It ain't worth it.
    wallsg

    Worst I've Seen

    There may be worse films, but I've never seen them. When I saw this movie in the theater the ticket seller actually warned me that a lot of people didn't like it and that I could have my money back if I left in the first 15 minutes.

    Unfortunately I watched the whole thing, thinking to myself that it just *had* to get better. It didn't.

    The only way that I'd watch this movie again is if my other choice was bamboo under the finger nails.
    1RHTyler

    Unbelievable Film

    I actually paid money to see this in its mercifully brief theatrical release in 1988. The (tiny) audience had fun ad libbing dialogue that was much better than that provided the hapless actors. The film is bad in so many ways that it is difficult to pick out the worst element. Was it the art direction? The acting? The dialogue? The cinematography? The costumes? The plot? The editing? The music? In the end I think the worst thing is that it will probably insure that no decent film will ever be made of Asimov's "Nightfall".

    The good doctor wrote that he had never seen the movie, and that he had nothing to do with it. This probably added a couple of years to Asimov's life.

    I can only say that the other reviewers here at IMDb have been far too generous. This film is worse than you can imagine.
    BilligerVogel

    Watching paint dry captures your attention more than this film...

    Oh, the humanity!

    There must've been a budget for this, but it must've been used for advertising! The sets are boring, akin to filming in someone's backyard with no attention to detail. The acting? Well, it's just not really. Continuity of story? Must've taken a vacation that day. Were the filmmakers ambitious? Maybe, but it was a heartless attempt to tell a story with film.

    It's not Asimov's fault, rather these film-makers lacked vision.

    The other reviews here I can truly say are valid, since I sat through this turkey in the theater, hoping desperately for it to get better. I mean, it had to didn't it? Alas, it never did...

    Skip it, go watch the Georgio Moroder version of Metropolis again instead... Or read Issac's story, either way you'll be happier, trust me.

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    Related interests

    Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway in Chinatown (1974)
    Mystery
    James Earl Jones and David Prowse in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
    Sci-Fi

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Isaac Asimov was never consulted in the making of the film based on his short story, and completely disowned the finished film when it was released.
    • Quotes

      Aton: Why?

      Kin: Cause it has to be.

      Aton: What has to be?

      Kin: We are in a dream, Aton! You, Ana, myself, all of us. We can't change the dream. It has to be. And when we wake, we die. It's simple.

    • Connections
      Featured in Cult-Tastic: Tales from the Trenches with Roger and Julie Corman: Future Worlds (2019)

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    FAQ16

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 15, 1988 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Black Nightfall
    • Filming locations
      • The Domes, Casa Grande, Arizona, USA
    • Production company
      • New Horizons
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 23m(83 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Stereo
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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