On The Beach is an apocalyptic television movie released in 2000, airing originally on Showtime. It is a remake of the 1959 film, and is based on the 1957 novel by Nevil Shute. It starred Armand Assante, Bryan Brown, and Rachel Ward. It was directed by Russell Mulcahy.

The film updates the setting of the story to the then-future year 2006, starting with placing the crew on the fictional Los Angeles-class submarine USS Charleston (SSN-704). (There has never been a submarine named USS Charleston, and SSN-704 is named Baltimore.) Also, the Morse code signal picked up by the submarine crew in the original novel and film was updated to an automated digital broadcast powered by a solar-powered laptop. The cause of the nuclear war was due to the standoff between America and China due to China blockading and invading Taiwan. China then attacked America and America struck back, each using nuclear weapons.

This film's picture of human behavior is darker and more pessimistic than in the original 1959 adaptation, where social order and manners do not collapse. The ending also differs from both the novel and the first film version in that Commander Towers (Assante) chooses to die with Moira (Ward) instead of scuttling the submarine beyond Australian territorial waters, as in the book, or attempting to return with his crew to the United States, as in the earlier film.

Seriously, Gulli, you write the best reviews of all folks on here.