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Testament at 20

  • Video
  • 2003
  • 27m
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
27
YOUR RATING
Lynne Littman in Testament at 20 (2003)
DocumentaryShort

Interviews with crew and cast look back 20 years to the filming and release of "Testament" in 1983. Like the 1959 classic "On The Beach", this film focuses on nuclear conflict as it affects ... Read allInterviews with crew and cast look back 20 years to the filming and release of "Testament" in 1983. Like the 1959 classic "On The Beach", this film focuses on nuclear conflict as it affects a specific group of individuals (in this case, a mother and her children) rather than as a... Read allInterviews with crew and cast look back 20 years to the filming and release of "Testament" in 1983. Like the 1959 classic "On The Beach", this film focuses on nuclear conflict as it affects a specific group of individuals (in this case, a mother and her children) rather than as a display of destruction and heroics to the general populace. Excellently done.

  • Director
    • Lynne Littman
  • Stars
    • Jane Alexander
    • Philip Anglim
    • Andrea Asimow
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.1/10
    27
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Lynne Littman
    • Stars
      • Jane Alexander
      • Philip Anglim
      • Andrea Asimow
    • 1User review
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos5

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    Top cast15

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    Jane Alexander
    Jane Alexander
    • Self
    Philip Anglim
    Philip Anglim
    • Father Hollis Mann
    • (archive footage)
    Andrea Asimow
    • Self
    Jonathan Bernstein
    • Self
    Kevin Costner
    Kevin Costner
    • Self
    William Devane
    William Devane
    • Tom Weatherly
    • (archive footage)
    Lukas Haas
    Lukas Haas
    • Self
    Rossie Harris
    Rossie Harris
    • Self
    James Horner
    James Horner
    • Self
    Lynne Littman
    Lynne Littman
    • Self
    Gerry Murillo
    • Hiroshi
    • (archive footage)
    David Nichols
    • Self (photo)
    Steven Poster
    Steven Poster
    • Self
    • (as Steven B. Poster)
    John Sacret Young
    • Self
    Roxana Zal
    Roxana Zal
    • Self
    • Director
      • Lynne Littman
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews1

    7.127
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    Featured reviews

    9Rodrigo_Amaro

    A lovely and insightful revisit to "Testament"

    20 years after the release of "Testament", director Lynne Littman reunited with the cast and crew of her Cold War/Atomic bomb film to share their experiences about making the film and how the story continued to impact their personal lives two decades later.

    Stars Jane Alexander, Lukas Haas, Roxana Zal, Ross Harris and Kevin Costner; composer James Horner; writer John Sacret Young; director of photography Steven Poster; and the producers along with director Lynne talk about how an initially conceived TV movie was picked by Paramount Pictures for a theatrical release and became a more well-known film, thanks to the Oscar nomination given to Jane Alexander as Best Actress. They all talk about what moved them and appealed to them while filming "Testament", and how their life perception changed over the years when reflecting about the film's themes of families dealing with a chaotic scenario of destruction in the aftermath of a nuclear explosion at the height of Cold War.

    There are many favorite bits and stories but the most adorable comes to Lukas Haas letter to president Reagan concerning about atomic bombs and how they affect people - letter written during filming and when he was just a little child making his film debut. He reads the letter, and appears alongside his fictional brother and sister in the picture and they all go along very well.

    I'm so glad to have found this, as it allowed me to see "Testament" through a different perspective, and since it wasn't a film that I committed much to the memory, it allowed me a recent rewatch of which I found it a spectacular film that was overshadowed by similar projects released at the time and beyond - and that's the kind of discussion I wanted it to see here, after all "Testament" came out on the same year as the TV phenomenon of "The Day After", a huge hit that stopped nations all over the world. Littman's film is a different experience as it does not revolve on special effects, and instead the human element speaks louder than bombs and one can see it as a more hopeful film rather than the depression of "The Day After".

    Here's a very insightful making of/reunion documentary that will make you revisit "Testament" if you had seen it, or definitely invite you in to join the experience of a brilliant film, perfect all the way. 9/10.

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    Related interests

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    Short

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      This feature is a bonus feature of the Paramount "Widescreen Collection" issue of Testament (1983).
    • Quotes

      Lukas Haas: [reading a letter he wrote on the film set, destined to president Reagan] October 30th, 1983.

      [asks his co-stars about facts]

      Lukas Haas: I guess there's a couple of years after... No? That was the same year?

      [returns to the letter]

      Lukas Haas: Dear President Reagan, sir, I hope that you will stop the bomb because I don't wanna die, my friends don't wanna die, and plus you're an eledery gentleman, so you won't be on Earth much longer. But we are going to. You don't know how we feel about the bombs. Just imagine how it would feel if you were a kid and had to worry about nuclear war. I bet if you could see things like him you wouldn't be doing bombs right now cause you know how it feels. Does your wife Nancy think the bombs are good too? Because I saw her on the drugs program and she doesn't want kids to die from drugs, so why should she want them to die from bombs? Thank you and goodbye. U.S. Citizen, Lukas Haas, age 7 and a half. P.S.: I am in a movie that's in the theaters now and it's called Testament. It is about a nuclear bomb and may you please watch it. Goodbye, Lukas. P.S.: My Mama is typing this because I can't write that fast. Goodbye, Lukas.

    • Crazy credits
      During the closing credits, an audio from an early scene of "Testament" is played out.
    • Connections
      Features Testament (1983)

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • 2003 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Production company
      • Paramount Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 27m
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

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