The Atomic Cafe

The Atomic Cafe
Theatrical release poster
Directed byKevin Rafferty
Jayne Loader
Pierce Rafferty
Written byKevin Rafferty
Jayne Loader
Pierce Rafferty
Produced byKevin Rafferty
Jayne Loader
Pierce Rafferty
Edited byKevin Rafferty
Jayne Loader
Music byConsultant:
Charles Wolfe
Production
company
The Archives Project
Distributed byLibra Films
Release date
  • March 17, 1982 (1982-03-17) (New York City)
Running time
86 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$300,000
Box office$1 million

The Atomic Cafe is a 1982 American documentary film directed by Kevin Rafferty, Jayne Loader and Pierce Rafferty. It is a compilation of clips from newsreels, military training films, and other footage produced in the United States early in the Cold War on the subject of nuclear warfare. Without any narration, the footage is edited and presented in a manner to demonstrate how misinformation and propaganda was used by the U.S. government and popular culture to ease fears about nuclear weapons among the American public.

In 2016, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."