Sometimes going down a rabbit hole leads to something really great!
Well, looking at the Wiki Page on Found Footage Films (after watching the Documentary on the Subgenre), I found this Film...that I'd never heard of.
This is Special Bulletin, a 1983 TV Movie. Why would I want to cover this, you ask?
I can't be too hard on myself- the Film has only gotten a single VHS and (Warner Archive) DVD release in the last 42 years! That is in spite of winning multiple Awards, including an Emmy!
This TV Movie is an early example of a Found Footage Film, representing the entire course of events as a live news broadcast that you are watching on your local TV affiliate.
The Film looks and feels so real that it was required to have a warning (see later down) at the beginning of every return from Commercial Break.
Oh yeah, it was also Directed by Edward Zwick, a man who did Legends of the Fall, Glory and The Last Samurai!
How did a TV Movie traumatize so many people? Let's find out...
Get used to this Graphic.
You'll see it many times if you watch the proper version.
The VHS Version
cut them out apparently!
A Reporter named Steve Levitt is out shooting his Intro for a piece on a Dock Worker's Strike.
While he's there, some people shoot at the Coast Guard and he's taken hostage by them.
The men demand a live feed and use Steve to get their message across.
They demand that the US Government disarm their nukes.
They say that they have a bomb on board.
Do people believe them?
Throughout this, we hear from the Newscasters and also cut to Reporters covering events and getting interviews.
Notably, we get Lane Smith, the future Perry White from
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.
He talks about how the Government is really wary of complying with their demands, especially with a 24-hour window to do it in!
Tensions rise as the time passes.
The 'bad guys' are a bit sad when they learn that one of the Coast Guard guys dies.
It comes to a head when one of the leaders- David Rasche (the future Sledge Hammer!)- tries to lecture our Anchor in real time.
It feels so real.
They also get really agitated as nobody seems to believe them.
Throughout this, we get Vignettes explaining their backstories, told in News Segments.
We see an earlier moment when the erratic member shoots at a News Copter.
All signs point to the Government not acquiescing to what the so-called Terrorists.
The time is starting to run out...
To find out what happens, stream this Film now.
A Film that still feels very real and visceral, even all of these Decades later.
Like Ghostwatch, it would be hard to properly match the feeling of turning on the TV and seeing this with no warning.
If you want the full experience, run YouTube on a CRT Monitor or an older TV. It will be a seamless blend.
The actual Plot is really good too, as you learn more about the 'villains' and other people in an organic way. News Segments explaining them really work to sell this.
Bulletin is full of lots of little touches, like people talking over each other when doing so over a live feed, people being interrupted as someone comes out to speak and more.
The only times it doesn't work is when they have to put someone in 'Washington D.C.,' so they use a blue/green screen. There's a later effect- which I won't SPOIL the context of- that also doesn't look great.
It was Made for TV in 1983, so be fair to it.
Special Bulletin is a real hidden gem, not helped by the fact that the DVD rights apparently are muddy, so we don't get this in 4K (or 2.5K, maybe) or Streaming on a big platform.
It also features a Cameo that was going to be a lot more fun a couple of weeks ago...
Next up, let me switch up my old plans a bit to be more topical. How does this James Gunn Film hold up on a second opinion years later? Stay tuned...
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