No Nukes | |
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Directed by | Daniel Goldberg Anthony Potenza |
Produced by | Julian Schlossberg |
Starring |
Jackson Browne Graham Nash Bonnie Raitt John Hall James Taylor Carly Simon The Doobie Brothers Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band |
Cinematography | Haskell Wexler |
Edited by | Neil L. Kaufman |
Release date
|
July 1980 |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
No Nukes is a 1980 documentary and concert film that contained selections from the September 1979 Madison Square Garden concerts by the Musicians United for Safe Energy collective, with Jackson Browne, Graham Nash, Bonnie Raitt, and John Hall being the key organizers of the event and guiding forces behind the film. Also included were scenes of the organizers getting the event together, expounding upon the dangers of nuclear power, and staging an anti-nuclear rally at Battery Park in New York City.
This was the first official appearance of Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band's much-ballyhooed live act on film, and many critics hailed their performances as the best in the documentary. Additionally, the future Springsteen classic "The River" was debuted at these shows and on the film, as well as Chaka Khan's consternation at being "Broooced" (Raitt deadpanned backstage, "Too bad his name wasn't Melvin"). The other generally acclaimed highlight of the film was Carly Simon and then-husband James Taylor's physically dynamic duet on "Mockingbird". On the other hand, Graham Nash's earnest spoken part about having seen "giant sponges" as a side effect of nuclear waste dumps earned itself a Spinal Tap-like reputation for rock star verbal blundering.