The China Syndrome

The China Syndrome is a 1979 film starring Jane Fonda, Jack Lemmon and Michael Douglas. The movie's title refers to a nuclear accident of the worst kind. The movie begins with Jane Fonda's character visiting a local nuclear power plant with her cameraman. While at the facility, an emergency occurs. The staff fears a complete meltdown, but tragedy is averted when the engineers bring the situation under control. One of the officials at the plant decides to do further investigation into what caused the problem. He fears that the reactor will be brought back online too quickly. The reporter also helps in the investigation. This investigation takes up the majority of the film leading to a fairly dramatic ending. The China Syndrome received multiple Oscar nominations including nominations for Jack Lemmon as best actor and Jane Fonda as best actress. The Writer's Guild voted the film its best picture of the year.