A Revised ‘Building Bombs’ Will Air on ‘P.O.V.’ Series

A revised version of “Building Bombs,” the 1990 Academy Award nominee for best documentary that sparked an angry protest in Hollywood when the Public Broadcasting Service refused to air it, will now be shown on the non-commercial network in August as part of the “P.O.V.” (Point of View) series.

Filmmaker Mark Mori worked with “P.O.V.” to re-cut and update his film, renamed “Building Bombs: The Legacy,” about the environmental destruction from radioactive waste created by 40 years of nuclear weapons production at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Savannah River plant in South Carolina.

“P.O.V.” presents a broad range of nonfiction work that reflects the personal points of view of independent filmmakers.

In January, a Hollywood coalition of major stars and producers screamed censorship, blasting PBS for not airing “Building Bombs” and “Deadly Deception: General Electric, Nuclear Weapons and Our Environment,” another documentary critical of the nuclear industry.

Officials denied that they had caved in to pressure from politicians and corporations that support PBS, including General Electric. Officially, PBS claimed that “Building Bombs” did not give adequate voice to proponents of nuclear arms. Later, however, PBS programming vice president Jennifer Lawson suggested that there were quality concerns, saying the film “just wasn’t up to snuff.”

“The filmmakers have worked with ‘P.O.V.’ to make changes that bring the film up to PBS’ editorial standards,” PBS said Thursday in a statement. “ ‘Building Bombs: The Legacy’ is now more clearly focused on the issue of nuclear waste management, and has been updated to reflect post-Cold War realities.”

The new version eliminates most of the original film’s narration about the U.S. and Soviet arms buildup. New narration has been added, including facts about the current status of the Savannah River plant.

“Deadly Deception” was not considered by “P.O.V.” because of conflicts with PBS’ underwriting guidelines. The documentary “The Panama Deception,” currently nominated for an Oscar, was also submitted to “P.O.V.” after being turned down by PBS. However, only 10 films were chosen out of 500 submitted this year, and “Panama Deception” did not make the cut.