The Atomic Cafe

An immediate art-house sensation, Atomic Cafe is a darkly funny cultural commentary ingeniously crafted from civil defense and propaganda films of the 1940s and 50s. Shown in schools, theaters, and military bases around the country, these educational shorts were designed to simultaneously remind Cold War–era America of the threat of nuclear annihilation and reassure them that a detonation wouldn’t be that bad if one followed some helpful guidelines. Named to the National Film Registry in 2016. (86 mins., 4K DCP)