Radio Bikini
“Radio Bikini” from Lisa Esselstein on Vimeo.
Radio Bikini is a 1988 American documentary film directed by Robert Stone. It was nominated for an Academy Award in 1988 for Best Documentary Feature. The film documents the nuclear tests performed around Bikini Atoll during Operation Crossroads in 1946, and their effects on the indigenous population and American servicemen involved in the testing.
Produced and directed by Robert Stone, Radio Bikini is a sensational, eye-opening film. With the passing of the Freedom of Information Act, filmmaker Robert Stone was able to acquire this formerly top-secret footage. Winner of numerous national and international awards, this film won the San Francisco Film Festival’s “Golden Gate Award” in the category of “Historical and Political Issues.” Radio Bikini recounts the almost too terrifying to be true tragedy surrounding the Bikini Island “A” Bomb test operations, which were, ironically, to be promoted as the biggest news story of the century. Using rare, never-before-seen archival footage, Radio Bikini unfolds through the eyes of the elderly Chief of the Bikinians and includes comments by a former American serviceman who was there [he died of cancer shortly before the film’s completion]. Radio Bikini combines “live” radio broadcasts from Bikini in 1946 with footage of the event as it happened, creating an effect that is both haunting and surreal.
Reviews
Los Angeles Times: “An extraordinarily perceptive, haunting, and informative documentary, an outstanding achievement on all levels.”
Variety: “Well crafted. POWERFUL.”
