The 80s are one of my favourite movie eras for the post apocalyptic. It was an era of The Last Starfighter, of Synthesisers, Duran Duran, Pacman, and most importantly for 'The Day After', the height of the Cold War, according to some historians. And it was the cold war and the threat of nuclear Armageddon that spawned 'the day after' and many similar films, making this the greatest decade for nuclear war as the precipice to the apocalypse in film (Dr Strangelove fans, dont be haters).
