Creators:
Craig MazinDirected by:
Johan RenckScreenplay:
Craig MazinCinematography:
Jakob IhreComposer:
Hildur GuðnadóttirCast:
Jared Harris, Stellan Skarsgård, Emily Watson, Jessie Buckley, Paul Ritter, Adam Nagaitis, Robert Emms, Sam Troughton, Con O'Neill, Adrian Rawlins (more)Episodes(5)
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1:23:45 (E01)
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Please Remain Calm (E02)
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Open Wide, O Earth (E03)
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The Happiness of All Mankind (E04)
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Vichnaya Pamyat (E05)
Plots(1)
Based on powerful real-life events, Chernobyl dramatizes the story of one of the worst man-made catastrophes in history, the Ukraine nuclear plant disaster of April 1986. This five-part miniseries recounts the remarkable stories of the heroes who fought and fell to save Europe from an unimaginable disaster. Jared Harris portrays Valery Legasov, the Soviet scientist chosen by the Kremlin to investigate the accident to reveal how and why it happened. Chernobyl tells a tale of lies and cowardice, of courage and conviction, and of human failure and human nobility. (Roadshow Entertainment)
(more)Reviews of this series by the user Isherwood (4)
Chernobyl (2019)
This is an event. The initial puzzlement has a quick half-life, as those disembodied moments eventually stand out more than the tangible pressure. It’s a screenwriting university on how to handle the "based on a true story" license while staying in observation mode. It’s a perfect study of human arrogance, lack of humility, and unwillingness to face the truth. A live broadcast of lies that has been coming to us for over thirty years. With all due respect to all the criticisms, the hype is well deserved.
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1:23:45 (2019) (E01)
Here, reality plays to the (dis)advantage of the film medium. A paradox that will be built upon or undermined in future episodes. Factual accuracy as a means of detached narrative, which no one would believe in the field of fiction even if they wanted to. I want more of a relationship with the characters; otherwise, from the position of a neutral "documentary" with a generous budget behind it, it's a fundamentally missed opportunity.
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Please Remain Calm (2019) (E02)
...and reality is worse than any conceivable fiction. To hell with personal planes, here you don't look into the core, the core looks into you. Iodine tablets instead of popcorn.
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Vichnaya Pamyat (2019) (E05)
The most exciting physics lecture of all time. A nuclear split between superb acting and clean editing. The speech about lies that owe a debt to the truth is a screenwriting pearl that appears only once a season.
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