The China Syndrome

Suspenseful throughout; continuous apprehension that major environmental disaster may be coming. A shadowy car follows an unsuspecting victim, finally running his car off the road and crashing down a hillside. The driver is bloody when he's later removed from the wreckage. Spoiler alert: A major character is shot in the back, killed instantly and graphically. Characters are threatened at gunpoint.

A belly dancer is briefly seen on a television screen.

Intermittent swearing: "hell," "goddamn," "bastard," "son of a bitch," "chickens--t," "a--hole," "taking a leak," "screw it," "Jesus Christ."

Some social drinking at a party and at a bar. No drunkenness. Set in the 1970s, so characters occasionally smoke.

Parents need to know that The China Syndrome is a suspense-filled, entertaining "issue" movie that has a strong point of view. An active nuclear plant shakes and shimmies; parts crumble and fall, all threatening a catastrophic accident in California. A constant sense of impending doom underscores the film, with shots designed to bring the viewer close to the "core" of the drama. Violent scenes include a car being run off the road and crashing (the bloody victim is seen later), and (spoiler alert) a major character is graphically shot in the back, dying instantly. Swearing is occasional and includes "goddamn, "s--t," "a--hole," "bastard," and "Jesus Christ." Released in 1979, only 12 days before the Three Mile Island disaster in Pennsylvania (the worst accident in the history of nuclear power in the U.S.), the movie warns against relying on nuclear energy as a replacement for fossil fuels. Characters smoke, and there's social drinking in a few sequences.

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