One of America's most successful
documentaries, the story of the earliest major act of civil disobedience
against atomic power, and one man's winning fight to warn his
community of impending danger
On George Washington's Birthday, 1974, Sam Lovejoy--a
27-year-old farmer--toppled a 500-foot weather tower in Montague,
Massachusetts. The tower had been erected by the local utility
as part of their attempt to build one of the largest nuclear power
plants ever planned.
Sam Lovejoy, anti-nuclear tower toppler at home in Montague (above, left) and Howard Zinn, professor and widely published historian who testified at Lovejoy's trial as an expert on the history of civil disobedience.
Dr. John Gofman (above, left), world-renowned nuclear chemist, formerly with the Atomic Energy Commission who testified at the trial and Charles Bragg, former public relations chief for Northeast Utilities.
Leaving 349 feet of twisted wreckage behind,
Lovejoy hitched a ride to the local police station, where he turned
himself in along with a four-page statement decrying the dangers
of nuclear power and accusing the government and utilities of
"conspiracy and despotism."
Six months later, Lovejoy stood trial for "willful and malicious
destruction of personal property," a five-year felony. He
insisted on conducting his own case, and told the jury he had
acted in self-defense. After a dramatic seven-day trial, Lovejoy
went free.
Lovejoy's Nuclear War has helped spread the story of this
remarkable event around the world, reaching several million viewers
since its 1975 release. The film presents a cross-section of views
about nuclear power, civil disobedience and the politics of energy
that were drawn together by Lovejoy's sabotage and the trial that
followed it. Step by step, it traces the path left by the shock
wave of the falling tower: from the streets of this small Connecticut
River Valley town to the marble hallways of the Atomic Energy
Commission.
60 minutes, color, 16mm, produced
by Green Mountain Post Films, 1975.
Producers: Daniel Keller & Charles Light
Directed by Daniel Keller
Sam Lovejoy, five years alter the tower
toppling. He is seen here in his role as President of MUSE (Musicians
United for Sate Energy) where he helped organize the five night
Madison Square Garden Benefit Concerts for a Non-Nuclear Future.
The event was captured and released as both a record (now a CD)
and a feature movie, both called No Nukes. Sam is now a lawyer who practices in western Massachusetts
and New York City.
"Lovejoy's Nuclear War is a thoroughly
absorbing documentary naive enough to seek answers to fundamental
questions-namely, the application of civil disobedience to something
as complex as the nuclear power issue. The picture is ideally
suited to academic and underground showings. . . The viewer is
confronted with the kind of knotty public problems that rarely,
if ever, get intelligent airing inside a film theater."-Variety
"The film has a pure, stunning instinct for asking the most
fundamental and disturbing questions possible about the intersection
between private lives and politics." -Harpers Weekly
"A very thoughtful and provocative account of an original
and stubborn one-man war against nuclear power. Muted and underplayed,
it is one of the few genuinely consciousness-changing and organically
political films of the last few years. Both sides are heard, fairly;
yet the filmmakers' sympathies are clear."-Amos Vogel,
Film Comment
"Supported by a good use of film technique, the movie is
excellent for public library film programs and for use in senior
high school and college social studies, current events, and political
science classes."-American Library Association's Booklist
". . . a warmly human chronicle of a serious 20th century
dilemma. Even those who oppose Lovejoy's methods will find the
questions it raises both provocative and disturbing."-San
Francisco Examiner
"A good film."-M. Ernst, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission
"Sam Lovejoy's battle against the Montague nuclear plant
can still be scored a win, for the plant has not been built. The
film continues to offer inspiration and hope."-Jana Varlejs,
Wilson Library Bulletin
". . . a thoughtful, stimulating discussion of the impact
of science on the necessities and quality of life. The message
from this movie should not be taken lightly." -S.A. Clough,
American Journal of Physics
". . . an informative, persuasive, and remarkably entertaining
film" -Cineaste 
Read more about the tower toppling and the early days of the anti-nuclear movement.
Citizens Awareness Network (CAN)
Committee for Nuclear Responsibility
Earth Island Institutehttp://www.earthisland.org/
Institiute for Energy & Environmental Research
Nuclear Information & Resource Service (NIRS)
Safe Energy Communication Council
Southwest Research and Information Center
World Information Service on Energy (WISE)
For more information contact:
Green Mountain Post Films
PO Box 229, Turners Falls, MA 01376
(413)863-4754 * * * Fax: (413)863-8248
email: info@gmpfilms.com
GMP Production *
* * GMP Home * * * GMP
Distribution
Surveying the twisted wreckage at the fallen tower (above left) and Lovejoy as depicted in drawing by artist Susan Mareneck.