The Man Who Saved the World

Movie · Documentary · History

When one night the Soviet alarms went off alerting military that US missiles were approaching, one man saved the world from a nuclear holocaust. The film tells the amazing story of Lt. Colonel Stanislav E. Petrov, formerly of the Soviet Army. A man who held the fate of the world in his hands for a few crucial minutes in history. When an alarm went off indicating that five American nuclear missiles had been launched against the Soviet Union, he followed his gut feeling and went against orders, convincing the armed forces that the threat was a false alarm, hereby saving the world from a nuclear war. Two decades later, the forgotten hero goes on a spectacular journey to the United States, where he is finally acknowledged for his historical deed – and he gets to meet the Americans who were once his mortal enemies. The Man Who Saved the World is an epic tale. Focusing on a man who, by sheer coincidence, was put to the ultimate test when he had to make a decision that could have changed our world forever. A successful Lt. Colonel who had been chosen especially to handle a test just like that. As Stanislav Petrov himself puts it, “No sane man would ever be able to make such a tremendous decision to decide if we should destroy our planet”.

2015 · 1h 45m
  • 68%
Starring Ashton Kutcher, Robert De Niro, Stanislav Petrov
Director Peter Anthony

Trailers

  • The Man Who Saved the World
    The Man Who Saved the World
    Documentary

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Cast & Crew

  • Ashton Kutcher
    Himself
  • Robert De Niro
    Himself
  • S‌P
    Stanislav Petrov
    Self
  • Kevin Costner
    Self
  • S‌S
    Sergey Shnyryov
    Self
  • W‌C
    Walter Cronkite
    Self
  • G‌K
    Galina Kalinina
    Self
  • Robert De Niro
    Self
  • P‌A
    Peter Anthony
    Director
  • J‌S
    Jakob Staberg
    Producer
  • R‌A
    Raphael Avigdor
    Producer

About

The Man Who Saved the World

Documentary

When one night the Soviet alarms went off alerting military that US missiles were approaching, one man saved the world from a nuclear holocaust. The film tells the amazing story of Lt. Colonel Stanislav E. Petrov, formerly of the Soviet Army. A man who held the fate of the world in his hands for a few crucial minutes in history. When an alarm went off indicating that five American nuclear missiles had been launched against the Soviet Union, he followed his gut feeling and went against orders, convincing the armed forces that the threat was a false alarm, hereby saving the world from a nuclear war. Two decades later, the forgotten hero goes on a spectacular journey to the United States, where he is finally acknowledged for his historical deed – and he gets to meet the Americans who were once his mortal enemies. The Man Who Saved the World is an epic tale. Focusing on a man who, by sheer coincidence, was put to the ultimate test when he had to make a decision that could have changed our world forever. A successful Lt. Colonel who had been chosen especially to handle a test just like that. As Stanislav Petrov himself puts it, “No sane man would ever be able to make such a tremendous decision to decide if we should destroy our planet”.

68%

TOMATOMETER
Average 5.4
Reviews 19
Fresh 13
Rotten 6

Information

Studio
Spectrum
Released
2015
Run Time
1 hr 45 min
Rated
Unrated
Regions of Origin
Denmark, Russia, Latvia, United States
© 2012 Statement Film in ass. with WG Film & Zentropa, TV2, ZDF/ARTE, SVT, NRK, CBC, VPRO, VRT, YLE & MBC

Languages

Original Audio
Russian, Russian (Russia), English
Audio

Russian (AAC, ⁨Dolby 5.1⁩)

Subtitles

English (United States) (Always On, CC)

Accessibility

Closed captions refer to subtitles in available languages with the addition of relevant non-dialogue information.
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Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

  • Armenia
  • Azerbaijan
  • Bahrain
  • Botswana
  • Brunei Darussalam
  • Cape Verde
  • Egypt
  • Eswatini
  • Gambia
  • Ghana
  • Guinea-Bissau
  • India
  • Israel
  • Jordan
  • Lebanon
  • Mauritius
  • Mozambique
  • Namibia
  • Niger (English)
  • Oman
  • Qatar
  • Saudi Arabia
  • South Africa
  • Sri Lanka
  • Tajikistan
  • Turkmenistan
  • Uganda
  • United Arab Emirates
  • Zimbabwe

Asia Pacific

  • Australia
  • Cambodia
  • Fiji
  • 香港
  • Indonesia (English)
  • 日本
  • Lao People's Democratic Republic
  • 澳門
  • Malaysia (English)
  • Micronesia, Federated States of
  • Mongolia
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Latin America and the Caribbean

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  • Antigua and Barbuda
  • Argentina (Español)
  • Bahamas
  • Belize
  • Bermuda
  • Bolivia (Español)
  • Brasil
  • Virgin Islands, British
  • Cayman Islands
  • Chile (Español)
  • Colombia (Español)
  • Costa Rica (Español)
  • Dominica
  • República Dominicana
  • Ecuador (Español)
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  • Grenada
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