5 Movies About Nuclear War to Watch After A House of Dynamite

A House of Dynamite is now streaming on Netflix, and there are other great movies about nuclear war to watch afterwards. Directed by Academy Award winner Kathryn Bigelow, A House of Dynamite chronicles the crisis within the United States government as an unattributed nuclear missile closes in on Chicago. A similarly high level of intensity and overwhelming sense of doom can be found in numerous films from years and decades earlier. Nuclear weapons and the devastating fallout of nuclear war have often served as a fascinating focal point for movies since the 1940s. Titles such as Thirteen Days, The Hunt for Red October, and even The Dark Knight Rises address the looming possibility of all-out destruction in the age of nuclear weapons. A House of Dynamite is the most recent nuclear war movie to be released; thus, it’s a perfect time to watch those that came before it.

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The following five movies deal with the subject of nuclear weapons and the consequences of nuclear war. Anyone who enjoyed A House of Dynamite might find these titles even more enthralling.

5) Crimson Tide

Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman in Crimson Tide — Image Courtesy of Hollywood pictures

Crimson Tide‘s (1995) gripping tension and fantastic acting performances cement it as one of the best movies about nuclear war. Amid conflict in post-Soviet Russia, the threat of nuclear war rises, sparking a perilous battle for control on a U.S. submarine armed with nuclear missiles. Denzel Washington shines as the determined First Officer bent on stopping Gene Hackman’s seasoned commander from launching missiles at a Russian submarine. Crimson Tide throws tons of unexpected twists at audiences throughout its run time, making for one wild ride of a film. The high-stakes, powerful emotions, and heated debates in Crimson Tide excellently mirror A House of Dynamite‘s exhilarating story.

4) Fail Safe

Henry Fonda in Fail Safe — Image Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

An underrated classic war movie, Fail Safe (1964) imagines a harrowing scenario in which the U.S. almost initiates a nuclear conflict with Russia. Edge-of-your-seat suspense permeates the film as Henry Fonda’s U.S. President struggles to manage the catastrophe. Fail Safe is a must-see movie when it comes to the topic of nuclear war, thanks to its thorough exploration of a critical scenario caused by a simple communication error. Like A House of Dynamite, Fail Safe is serious and engaging from start to finish. Audiences who are interested in how nuclear war could play out in real life won’t find many more detailed depictions than Fail Safe‘s riveting narrative.

Cillian Murphy as Robert Oppenheimer in Oppenheimer

3) Dr. Strangelove

Peter Sellers in Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb — Image Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove (1964) differs from A House of Dynamite in that it takes a satirical approach to the concept of nuclear war. Even so, Dr. Strangelove centers on a similar situation involving the United States torn over how to respond to a nuclear threat. Chaos erupts as an unstable U.S. Air Force general (Peter Sellers) orders a preemptive nuclear strike on the Soviet Union. The ridiculousness that follows is both hilarious and thought-provoking as Kubrick’s film humorously ponders humanity’s inevitable destruction due to the bombs and the foolish politicians in charge of them. Dr. Strangelove can be considered a parody of films like A House of Dynamite, and this outstanding dark comedy has prevailed as a timeless commentary on the prospect of nuclear war.

2) Oppenheimer

Cillian Murphy in Oppenheimer — Image Courtesy of Universal Pictures

Oppenheimer (2023) is by far this century’s best movie about nuclear weapons. The biopic follows J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) as he leads the Manhattan Project during World War II and faces the aftermath of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The so-called father of the atomic bomb is portrayed as brilliant yet deeply flawed in his professional and personal life. Oppenheimer shines a light on the callousness behind making and using a nuclear weapon, refusing to let even its main subject off the hook for his complicity in the event. A sentiment of doom saturates Christopher Nolan’s film, which also features an all-time great lead performance from Murphy. Impressively contemplative and visually captivating, Oppenheimer is an essential examination of the dawn of the nuclear age.

1) Threads

Threads (1984) puts the horrors of nuclear war on full display in a way few movies ever have. The TV movie explores the fallout of a devastating nuclear war in Britain, focusing on the impact on ordinary people’s lives. This starkly contrasts with A House of Dynamite‘s intense fixation on the behind-the-scenes of an oncoming nuclear attack, which makes Threads an even more necessary viewing for those who watched the Netflix film. Threads will shock and disturb audiences, but its authentic depiction of the damage nuclear weapons inflict on civilization is extremely moving. After watching government officials race to handle a nuclear threat in A House of Dynamite, audiences should experience the common individual’s perspective in Threads.

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