-[thunder rumbling]
-[waves crashing]
[dramatic music plays]
[Shultz] Mr. President?
Mr. President.
Mr. President.
I failed.
I offered him
the deal of the century,
of human history,
and he's walking away
over one word, a single word.
Never should've trusted him.
Sir, the car is here,
ready to take him
to the airport,
but it's not over, not yet.
It's over.
The whole world living on hope.
Press will know by tonight.
Sir, when you recruited me,
you told me
we could make a difference.
You told me we could
make America safer
than when we found her.
It's over.
[thunder rumbling]
Ask him to come to Washington.
For what? More talk
that leads to nothing?
Maybe this place is haunted.
Ask him anyway, sir.
Please, in spite of it all.
We have maybe a minute left
until he comes out that door,
gets in that car,
and he is gone.
Do not let what happened
in that house, in that room,
over the last 30 hours
destroy our entire future.
[wind howling]
[solemn music plays]
[bright orchestral music plays]
[agent on radio] All teams,
Rawhide has arrived.
[helicopter rotor thrumming]
[agent on radio]
He stays with the football.
- Establish position.
-The Brits gave it up.
Pictures falling off the walls
in the night,
the ambassador's wife
refused to stay.
They sold it back
to the Icelandic government.
Let me get this straight,
George,
of all the places on earth
you could pick for a meeting
about the fate
of the human race,
you picked a haunted house
in Iceland?
Not me, sir. Secret Service.
Perfect for security.
Nothing around but lava rock
and the North Atlantic.
Total isolation.
"Total isolation."
Can't blame Nancy
for staying home.
But I am blaming you.
[Shultz] Yes, sir.
Ready to begin?
[agent on radio]
Copy. All clear.
Hello, how are you?
-Good to see you.
-Mr. President.
-Good to see you.
-Welcome, sir.
-This is George Shultz.
-Hello, sir.
[staff 1]
Should be in the same area.
We'll share this top floor,
Soviets are down the hall,
and here is
our conference room.
-[staff 1] Any update?
-[indistinct chatter]
Tight quarters.
I'm surprised you didn't
shove me in the basement.
You'll be pleased to know, sir,
that the basement,
in the spirit of this summit--
It's not a summit.
We've been having summits
for 40 years.
Nothing changes.
Actions speak louder
than words.
If this guy Gorbachev
wants to bluster and bullshit,
then... [sniffs]
...we'll just walk.
Call it a meeting.
And no press.
Sir, we can say no press,
but the leaders
of the two superpowers,
with 70,000 nuclear-tipped
ICBMs, IRBMs,
air-launched cruise missiles,
not to mention,
five million
active duty conventional troops
at their fingertips,
are having a... meeting.
Mr. President,
whatever we call it,
we have two days.
Perhaps you'd like to glance
at the briefing binders?
What, the basement...
You were saying,
what's in the basement?
That where you keep the ghosts?
Well, in a manner
of speaking, sir.
The CIA.
Ah, of course.
-And the KGB.
-Together?
Oh, well, that's got to set
a world record for awkward.
Or cooperation?
Have you met the CIA and KGB?
George, where's our team?
Yes, sir.
[indistinct chatter]
Let's be quick, gentlemen.
Max Kampelman.
Paul Nitze.
Richard Perle.
And Ken Adelman.
The entire State Department,
entire federal government,
at your disposal and you could
only find Democrats?
I'm actually a Republican, sir.
Well, that makes two of us.
[chuckling]
I'm glad you're all here.
I-I know you gave up time
at home
for a weekend in a house
in Iceland.
But, hey,
I hear there are ghosts,
so it should be fun.
Let's talk about
how we open this thing.
We've agreed to begin
with formal statements, sir.
This is our basic boilerplate,
plus a few other ideas.
Uh-huh.
I'm going to move up
the human rights stuff.
I strongly suggest we don't
poke the bear first thing, sir.
You read the briefing binders?
The Russians are focused
on the Strategic Defense
Initiative.
Think it violates
the Anti-Ballistic
m*ssile treaty.
When, in reality,
SDI does nothing of the kind
and they're violating
the ABM already
with the radar installation
at Krasnoyarsk.
Being underestimated
is a tactical advantage,
gentlemen.
Let's not make
that same mistake
with the new secretary-general.
Gorbachev is relatively young
for a Sov--
Considering the last three died
before I could even meet them,
I guess he must be.
Well, he acted for a while
in high school,
-then some in college.
-No kidding?
Not film like you,
just stage plays.
Explains his bombastic
speeches.
All those big hand movements.
At least you have something
in common, sir.
Yes, except for the fact
that we disagree
about free enterprise,
freedom of speech,
and freedom of just about
any kind.
[clears throat]
Gentlemen,
can you trust an enemy?
Since the founding
of the Soviet Union,
they have concentrated
their foreign policy
on the, uh, coercion
of other nations.
And no nation,
not a single one,
that has become communist
has ever turned back
to democracy.
And because of that,
we face an enemy
that is ever-growing,
an octopus stretching tentacles
into even our own hemisphere.
Some of you,
except for this former Marine,
are too young to remember
the Second World w*r.
I am not.
A system,
no matter fascist or communist,
that subjugates every citizen,
denying them
not just basic rights,
but their God-given free will,
is a threat
not just to one nation,
but eventually to all nations.
So we have rebuilt
our military,
we have moved our Pershing
missiles into Germany
in defense of our NATO allies,
we have funded those committed
to the cause
of democracy and freedom
throughout the world,
and, now, finally,
we have begun scientific work
on a m*ssile shield to protect
the American people.
[chuckles]
We have done all this,
even though I have been called
a warmonger
by The New York Times
and even some of our allies,
even though
the atomic scientists
have the Doomsday Clock down to
five minutes 'til annihilation,
we have done all this...
because I believed
it would drive the Soviets
to the negotiating table.
But...
if we fail, if I fail...
well, then I will be
just a warmonger.
I will have endangered
the American people.
Which is the absolute opposite
of our goal.
We must find out
if we can trust this Gorbachev,
if we can make a deal with him,
if I can shake his hand
at the end of all this as the...
photographers click and flash.
-[wind whistling]
-[dramatic music plays]
[ship horn blowing]
[indistinct announcement
in Russian]
If the capitalist press
finds out
you brought so many clothes,
they will confuse you
with Nancy Reagan.
Oh...
That doesn't look
like Karl Marx.
"A nuclear w*r can never be won
and must never be fought."
Who?
A quote from the leader
of our main enemy
when he addressed the Japanese
parliament three years ago.
Don't get your hopes up, Miliy.
It looked promising before,
in Geneva, and it fell apart.
"The production
of too many useful things
results in too many
useless people."
Karl Marx never had to deal
with Paris and Mitterrand.
Do you not remember?
I wore the same thing twice
and their press treated me
like a peasant.
In the West, people
are on the streets, begging,
yet I'm mocked
if I repeat a dress.
The hypocrisy.
But I will remind them
how sophisticated we are,
how we are strong,
as you will show him
in that room.
We gave Reagan the option
of London or Reykjavik.
He chose not the capital
of his main ally,
the British,
but this place,
that is equidistant between us.
This is a good sign, Raisa.
[Raisa] He chose it
because the only airport
is at their airbase,
forcing,
for the first time ever,
a Soviet premier to land
upon NATO military territory.
Their electronic warfare teams
must have enjoyed
themselves immensely
scanning all our communications.
He is arrogant
and uncompromising.
We have survived
the bloodletting
of the Revolution,
the onslaught of the Nazis,
and the purges
of that maniac Stalin.
We will survive electronic
warfare teams, my love.
[knocking on door]
[Raisa] I know you want
to accomplish great things
for our nation.
I can't accomplish anything
if we continue fighting
this Cold w*r
with the Americans.
The soil of the Ukraine
is as rich as their Iowa,
yet we continue to import
more and more of their grain.
Forty million tons
last year alone.
[exhales]
"Be bold and mighty forces
will come to your aid."
-Tolstoy?-Goethe.
What a dissident reader
you've become.
[laughs]
Well, thanks to you, Miliy,
we no longer need to be
dissidents about what we read.
[knocking on door]
No heavy coat.
Take the light one.
You'll look like
you can't take the cold.
And you're Russian.
[footsteps receding]
[door opens]
[door closes]
[dramatic music plays]
[indistinct chattering]
[intense music plays]
[chatter continues]
[Reagan] Well, I see they made
their own border.
CIA on one side,
KGB on the other.
That's the spirit
of cooperation?
Lao Tzu tells us
the journey of a thousand miles
begins with a single step.
[Reagan chuckles]
Mr. President,
I'm Margaret Clancy.
How can I help you?
That your real name?
It is as far
as they're concerned, sir.
Ah. Well, then, Ms. Clancy,
I'd like to talk to my wife.
Well, sir, the best option
is a scrambler.
Ours isn't set up yet,
but there is one
in the Ambassador's residence.
And if I promise
not to tell Nancy
any classified nuclear secrets?
Well, sir...
Uh, that'll be fine
for the sat relay.
The switchboard at Langley
ought to be able to put you
through to the Lincoln Bedroom.
[Reagan grunts]
[siren blares in distance]
Ronnie? You look good on TV.
NBC says Air Force One
made a textbook landing
despite the winds.
I wish the Secret Service
would've brought the car.
It's got better armor.
[Reagan] Didn't think
we'd need it.
And the Ambassador's car
is fine.
I mean, we... we, uh, kicked him
out of his residence,
might as well take his car too.
Wonder where we sent him.
You're too trusting.
Well, if they launch
a first strike,
they take out Gorbachev too.
Seems unlikely, Nance.
And, uh, you know
I don't trust the Commies.
[chuckles]
Listen...
Raisa Gorbachev is here.
Intelligence reported it
as we landed this morning.
[Nancy] Oh, Ronnie,
I should be there.
And you know
what this will look like.
It's fine. We're not doing
anything social.
There will be no pictures
of her
and him and me, and not you,
no loss of face.
I'm sorry, Nance.
[gentle music plays]
Don't worry about it.
I've got lots
of work to do here.
Go be great.
Yes, ma'am. Love you.
Love you.
[beeping]
[clicks]
Yes, would you ask
my chief of staff to come by?
Yes, wake her if need be.
Thank you.
[cup clatters]
-[helicopter rotor thrumming]
-[indistinct chatter]
[man 1] Convoy is on approach.
[man 2]
There it is in the formation.
[camera shutters clicking]
Cameras?
Just our guy, Pete Souza,
and one for the Soviets.
Last time anyone gets
this close to the summit.
Meeting.
[speaking Russian]
[in English]
Good to see you, Mr. President.
And you're early, hm?
Always looking
for the advantage.
Well, we are politicians,
Secretary-General.
That we are, yes.
And I hope we can be partners
in peace
and begin the work
that the world and our peoples
expect of us on arms reduction.
I'm sure we will. Yes.
And, uh, did you hear
this place is haunted?
[camera shutters clicking]
[dramatic music plays]
Must be a British joke, hm?
I don't see any ghosts.
[laughs]
I'll, uh, I'll let you get
settled with your staff
and then I'll, uh, I'll meet
you in that room there.
How much time do you need?
Half an hour?
[scoffs] Five minutes?
Unless you need more time
to recover
from your early arrival.
I'll be there.
[indistinct chatter in Russian]
-Did he say "reduction"?
-He did.
He mistranslated
the English word for "control."
He meant arms control.
Hell of a mistake to make
in the first minute, sir.
Gorbachev has been in the Party
and making moves
since he was a teenager.
He's too good for that.
Yeah.
There have been
countless agreements
about arms control, sir,
but in all of human history,
there has never been
a single pact
between peoples
on the reduction of arms.
This could be historic.
Your legacy.
Or it's a move meant
to throw us off our game
and he's just going to bullshit
for two days.
There's an old Russian saying,
George,
"Trust, but verify."
[Shultz] So...
we need a test
to see if he's serious
about change.
Yes.
I have the Rostropovich letter
in my briefcase upstairs.
[tense, dramatic music plays]
[wind whistling]
[people chattering]
Shall we begin?
Minister Shevardnadze.
Secretary Shultz.
I never imagined
I'd see the controls
for 70,000 nuclear weapons
in the same room...
a few feet apart.
I have always wondered
why you Americans
call it the "nuclear football."
Only a weak people need to be
afraid of their own creation.
Yes, we humans do have a way
of making the horrific
sound innocuous.
For example, "Gulag"...
sounds so much nicer
than "inhumane Siberian
t*rture prison."
[tense music plays]
Mr. General Secretary,
I have been impatiently
awaiting this meeting.
In the organizational plan,
it would evidently be expedient
to devote part of the time
to talks held one-on-one,
and part of the time
to the exchange of opinions
in the presence of our
ministers of foreign affairs.
Is this procedure acceptable
to you?
Yes, I agree with this.
As a matter of fact,
that is what we had in mind
when we suggested this meeting.
[huffs]
With what problems
shall we begin our discussions?
It seems to me we have
an entire series of problems.
I am referring to the problems
of intermediate-range weapons,
space,
and agreements
on the ABM defense,
as well as proposals
on strategic weapons.
Mr. President,
I believe it would make sense
to first conduct
a brief exchange of opinions
on the situation in the world
which has prompted me
to appeal to you
with the proposal
of this meeting.
Obviously we would be
willing to discuss
all questions
which the American side
feels necessary to raise.
Thank you, sir.
I would like to add
that, in my opinion,
we really will have to talk
about human rights.
Unlike other questions
which we have cited,
they have great influence
on how far we can go
in cooperation
with the Soviet side
in view of our public opinion.
Please continue
with your thoughts.
Human rights,
specifically questions
of exit from the Soviet Union,
are ever present in appeals
to my office.
Specifically, sir, I...
Well, you may know
that the National Symphony
in Washington,
a wonderful,
cherished orchestra,
has a cellist and conductor,
Mr. Rostropovich,
who hails
from the Soviet Union.
He left in 1974, I believe.
His birthday is coming up
and, uh, he has not seen
his sister, his only family,
in over ten years.
I have his letter here,
Mr. General Secretary,
from him, beseeching you...
to let her travel
to Washington...
for his birthday.
Hmm.
We will talk
about human rights, hm?
But now I would like
to express in principle
what problems concern
the Soviet Union
such as arms control,
including strategic arms,
medium-range missiles,
the ABM Treaty,
and the cessation
of nuclear testing.
Yes, I agree
with your approach.
However, it is important
that you know
the force of public opinion
in the USA.
We are a nation of immigrants.
One out
of every eight Americans
has some relations
with your vast Union
of Soviet Socialist Republics.
And, of course, I... [chuckles]
...I understand
this national spiritual tie
since I, as an Irishman,
feel these ties myself
with Ireland.
Therefore, I see that
all Americans are concerned
about what is going on
in your country
because we are all immigrants.
And it will be easier
to conclude agreements
on various arms questions
when public opinion
is not angered
by some events in the countries
of their cultural heritage.
However, I agree that these
problems are secondary
as compared with the problems
of nuclear arms.
Our situation is unique
in human history.
Here we are, the two of us,
sitting together in a room,
deciding whether there will be
peace or w*r in the world.
[slow, dramatic music plays]
[exhales]
We both want peace,
but how will we achieve it?
How do we strengthen trust
and reduce suspicion
between our two peoples?
[dramatic music plays]
Hmm.
I will consider your request.
[Reagan] Thank you,
Mr. General Secretary.
I may continue?
[wind howling]
[tape crackling]
-We're on channel two.
-Copy that.
For Pete's sake, Austin,
how many waffles did you have
for breakfast?
I gotta take a leak!
[KGB officer laughs]
Oh, yeah,
as if this is the first time
you've seen
someone waiting in line.
You guys, you have to wait
in line for a loaf of bread.
-[laughs]
-[typewriter clacking]
KGB doesn't wait for bread.
Oh, yeah, no class warfare
when you have the only g*ns
and they're aimed
at the proletariat.
[instructor speaking
indistinctly]
[indistinct chatter]
[Raisa chuckles]
[official] The water is very
pure and very clean.
It has a really high
mineral content
that is especially
[indistinct].
-Bravo!
-Who are you with?
NPR. I'm-I'm Cleo.
You're The Times? London?
Yeah. Alexander.
How'd you... Uh, right.
Just, uh... I knew that.
-[Raisa] It is so beautiful.
-[sighs]
[Raisa] The water
is so beautiful. So blue.
Good morning.
[laughs]
Well, this is crazy. Right?
What?
The entire world's press
corps descends
on the tiny, freezing
strategic cornerstone
of the North Atlantic,
only to discover
a whole island with no hotels,
no motels,
no bed and breakfasts,
not even cars to rent.
Just an old church
with cots to sleep in,
and a complete media blackout
of the actual summit?
So instead of covering
the leader of the free world
and the leader
of the communist empire
alone in a room together
for the first time in 40 years
debating whether we're all
gonna die in a mushroom cloud,
we're left here
at a natural hot springs
watching water aerobics?
Madam Soviet First Lady?
Uh, The Times.
I have a question.
-Uh, no--
-Of course.
I would be happy
to answer any questions.
But I am not First Lady.
I'm sure Nancy Reagan
appreciates the title,
but in the Soviet Union,
we are all truly equal.
I am simply Raisa Gorbacheva.
[Alexander] Ah, yeah. Right.
Um, Mrs. Gorbacheva, how are
you enjoying your time here?
On behalf of the Soviet people,
I am very grateful and, uh,
hope we will become friends.
As Chekhov once said,
"We must trust
and believe in people
or life becomes impossible."
[laughs]
-[indistinct greeting]
-Oh, thank you, darling.
Where is your, uh, counterpart,
Mrs. Reagan?
I don't know.
I can't imagine leaving
my husband
at such a critical time
in our world's history.
Perhaps she doesn't feel well?
-Mrs. Gorbacheva!
-Mrs. Gorbacheva!
Any word from your husband?
[Gorbachev] For too many years,
there has been
an overly complex mechanism
of Soviet-American dialogue.
In this time,
this mechanism of dialogue
has been disrupted
several times,
and still we are not resolved
on the main questions
even though many, many words
have been said
regarding these questions.
[Reagan] I have been frustrated
for many years myself
with this lack of progress.
So now we find ourselves
in an increasingly
urgent situation,
and that is why
I have suggested
this meeting with you.
I was very struck
by your first campaign
for the presidency,
when you suggested
a Nuclear Zero option.
I wonder now
if this was merely rhetoric.
I wonder, Mr. President,
because despite
the millions of protestors
for peace in Western Europe,
despite the condemnation
of many allies
and the political costs
to Chancellor Kohl
and Prime Minister Thatcher,
you have moved intermediate
ballistic missiles
into Germany.
If launched,
these missiles are five
or six minutes from Moscow.
You would give me
five or six minutes
to respond to an attack?
What do you think would happen?
How am I to respond
to such aggression?
Are these the actions of peace?
[sighs]
Hm. [inhales deeply]
Thank you, Mr. Gorbachev,
for your sincere
and clear remarks.
I would remind you
that the United States
has placed its Pershing
missiles, our IRBMs,
in West Germany at the request
of a democratically
elected government,
and that our number, 108,
is less than half of the 279
that you have stationed
in Eastern Europe.
Yet we have nothing similar
threatening Washington
in five or six minutes.
Threatening the free peoples
of Brussels, Paris,
Rome, and London
is threatening Washington,
Mr. Gorbachev.
Such is the nuclear
umbrella policy
of our security agreements
with our allies.
An attack on one
is an attack on all.
Yes, I am familiar
with NATO Article 5.
However, we have discussed
many times the subject
of arms control.
We have many agreements.
Yes.
Are you suggesting such a thing
in Europe with the IRBMs?
To limit them, to control them?
No.
I am suggesting
that the Soviet Union
would be willing
to remove our IRBMs.
I am suggesting that we develop
an agreement
on arms reduction...
and that nuclear intermediate-
range ballistic missiles
in Europe
can be reduced...
to zero.
[dramatic music plays]
We would be open...
to discussing
such an agreement.
[TV reporter]
As the press blackout continues
here in Iceland,
the Soviet premier's wife,
Raisa Gorbachev,
was available for questions.
When asked why the First Lady
was not also available,
she suggested that perhaps
health concerns
had prevented Mrs. Reagan
from making the trip.
Mrs. Gorbachev...
[Nancy] Samantha, I'll need
my press secretary as well.
-Thank you.
-...as she uses her time
to draw attention
to the cultural treasures
of this island country.
[Reagan] And what about
the missiles in Asia?
The IRBMs that have a range
of 1000 kilometers or less?
Our proposal
only concerns Europe.
There is a small problem.
I am not authorized
to negotiate
the nuclear forces of Britain
and France, Mr. Gorbachev.
I am aware
that you are neither
Mrs. Thatcher
nor Mr. Mitterrand.
So you are saying
that your proposal
would include only US
and Soviet Union weapons?
I am.
Britain and France
have the right to keep theirs
as a part of their own
defensive posture?
I would hope
you'd encourage them
to see that by withdrawing
our weapons,
we leave our Warsaw Pact
allies vulnerable.
That their NATO weapons
are an unaligned threat
and that there is then
no deterrence for us.
I would hope you would help
your NATO allies
to see that their weapons
were no longer necessary.
And you won't simply
paint over the Soviet flag
with an East German flag,
thereby, magically,
a Soviet m*ssile
becomes an East German one?
I will not.
What assurances do we have?
[Gorbachev] My word
and that of the Soviet Union.
You'll forgive me,
Mr. General Secretary,
but we have a long history
of finding the USSR
to be cheating on
its international obligations,
including those
to the United States.
[Gorbachev] You have a long
history of suspicion of us
and a history
of covert activities
in sovereign nations
hostile to you.
I was sorry to hear
of your recent misfortunes
with the Contras.
[sighs]
I hope you will see
this proposal
as a bold new initiative
for peace.
[Reagan sighs]
There is a very old
Russian saying.
A proverb.
"Doveryai, no proveryai."
"Trust, but verify." Yes.
Yes.
How do you propose we do that?
[dramatic music plays]
Well, perhaps it's as simple
as letting American personnel
observe the removal
of your missiles from Europe.
[grumbles]
This is not possible.
My military
will never allow an enemy
to observe our most closely
guarded technology.
How would it be different
if you were to observe us?
We would have the same problem.
But our military still reports
to our civilian leadership.
To me.
Does yours?
-"Trust, but verify"?
-Yes.
How did you say it?
We would be willing to discuss
such an agreement.
Now...
what about those IRBMs in Asia?
[helicopter rotor thrumming]
-[wind howling]
-[indistinct radio chatter]
[indistinct chatter in Russian]
[indistinct chatter]
[banging on door]
[indistinct speaking in Russian]
[chuckles]
What happened to solidarity,
comrade?
"From each according
to their ability,
to each according
to their need."
You do not need
to quote Marx to me.
How about, "life, liberty,
and the pursuit of happiness"?
You've heard of that one?
Yes, written by a slaveholder.
How conveniently capitalist.
Yeah, well,
at least he didn't m*ssacre
20 million farmers like Stalin.
That's enough.
Go upstairs
and get me a coffee.
[phone rings]
[footsteps receding]
[Gorbachev] But you expect me
to abandon my Asian allies?
[Reagan] We have no intermediate
ballistic missiles in Asia,
at least not ones
that are nuclear-tipped.
What do you expect me
to withdraw?
I expect the United States
to have the same regard
for Soviet concerns
as you have for your own.
Are we not mutually assured
partners in destruction?
Shall we not be mutually
assured partners in reduction?
That's a great turn of phrase.
You mock me?
No, on the contrary,
Mr. Gorbachev, I salute you.
You have a better command
of English
than I ever could of Russian.
Let me ask you this.
What is the difference
between Brussels and Tokyo?
The sushi is better in Tokyo.
[laughs] Yeah, yeah, well, yes,
that's very funny, sir, but no.
I mean, you have suggested
that we remove our nuclear
protection of Belgium
by removing
our Pershing missiles.
-Yes.
-And yet,
we have none protecting
our Japanese allies,
but you have ones
that could threaten them.
You have 6,500 nuclear warheads
aboard American submarines
all over the world.
More than 800 of which
are multiple reentry vehicles,
multiple warheads per m*ssile.
And we know,
as equally as you do,
of the greater accuracy
of American missiles.
You're upset that we're good
at what we do?
I'm explaining
that you have submarines
in the Pacific defending Japan.
And you have
none threatening it?
The numbers are not equal.
We have more land-based IRBMs.
You have more submarines.
But you expect me
to withdraw my Asian missiles
while you offer no compromise,
be it submarine or otherwise.
I am not going to leave
our Asian allies,
none of whom have
nuclear forces of their own,
defenseless.
Yet you are asking me
to leave my Warsaw Pact
allies defenseless,
while I let your NATO allies
keep their nuclear weapons.
I am not asking anything
of you, Mr. Gorbachev--
you are asking me.
[scoffs]
The arrogance of the Americans.
Uncompromising arrogance.
[spoon clatters]
What are you suggesting?
I am suggesting
that while I have proposed
decoupling the question
of your NATO allies
and their nuclear forces
from the IRBM equation
in Europe,
I have agreed, have I not,
that they are separate
from the issue between us,
you are not allowing that Asia
is another separate issue.
How am I to compromise with you
when you will do nothing
of the sort with me?
[tense music plays]
[clock ticks]
It is near the time
for the first session
this morning to end,
Mr. Gorbachev.
Perhaps we should update
our foreign ministers.
And...
in the spirit of compromise,
I will advise mine that we wish
to pursue this deal
relevant to the European
IRBM reduction.
I'll ask him to have our staff
draft some language for it...
with your approval, of course.
This is satisfactory.
[Reagan] We will meet again
at 3:00 p.m.?
Of course.
[door opens]
-[footsteps receding]
-[indistinct chatter]
[indistinct chatter in Russian]
[gasps]
Stand to, gents.
Gorbachev came to play.
What's going on?
Soviets are saying that they
will withdraw their IRBMs
from Eastern Europe
if we pull the Pershings.
-We're sure?
-That's unheard of.
-They suggested it?
-Gonna lose my bet, aren't I?
We have work to do.
Chancellor Kohl
is gonna throw a fit.
He just spent two years
and every last ounce
of political capital he has
to move them in there.
He had a million people
on the streets protesting.
We'll worry about him
when we have a deal.
For now, let's get started
on the details.
A phased withdrawal.
[Adelman] Seems right, but--
First priority is determining
how it would be certified.
"Doveryai, no proveryai."
"Trust, but verify"?
Russians will never
let a Yankee soldier
on their rocket pads
to observe.
Never happen.
-No.
-He didn't.
He knows
this could be his legacy,
the President's legacy,
our legacy.
There's plenty of room
on this boat
for all of our rsums
and reputations.
I'll see about getting us
some food.
You get to work on a proposal.
Shouldn't the boss be here?
Where is he?
He's doing the smart thing,
Perle, resting.
You know something about that.
Mm. [chuckling]
[bell tolling]
[dramatic harp music plays]
[sighs]
[The Oprichnik: Oprichnik,
Act IV: Danses plays]
It's just chicken salad,
friend.
[sighs]
[phone rings]
[groans]
Yes?
How are you?
What is that music?
I tried to find something
by Rostropovich,
but, uh, they don't have it.
I'm sure he'd play here
when you get home.
Well, let's see
if I can get his sister
out of the Soviet Union
for his birthday first.
Gorbachev isn't exactly Gandhi.
Are there reindeer in Iceland?
I'm pretty sure I'm staring
at a reindeer.
I don't know.
Well, I'm gonna have to inquire
about our ambassador.
He shouldn't be hunting the
rare, indigenous, endangered
-Icelandic reindeer.
-[laughs]
The environmentalist lobby
will never let me hear
the end of it.
[Nancy] Oh, Ronnie.
I don't think
the environmentalists
vote Republican.
Well, I won 49 out
of the 50 states, Nance.
Some of those votes
were Democrats.
Some of them care
about the environment.
She told reporters I was ill.
Raisa Gorbachev
is just enjoying the spotlight.
You know they don't even know
her name back home in Russia?
The KGB cuts her out
of pictures before the press,
well, what they call the press,
can, uh, print it in the paper.
She, uh, she doesn't exist
back there.
That's gotta be tough.
I'm not in this
for the spotlight.
I know. Yeah.
There is, uh, there's something
weird about reindeer.
Maybe just dead ones.
Santa's all wrong about them.
It's like a...
It is like a menagerie of death
in here.
What are you working on?
Oh, uh, nothing,
just some little stuff
my office has been planning.
[Reagan] Listen, I'll tell them
to issue a statement
that you're healthy.
No. I can take care of myself.
And I've got lots to do here,
and you've got a ball game.
You stay focused there.
-Love you.
-Okay, bye.
Bye.
[music crescendos]
[music stops]
[steam hissing]
[dramatic music plays]
[thunder rumbling]
[female reporter]
Reagan shot at close range,
apparently by a...
-[g*nshots]
-[crowd clamoring]
[knocking on door]
[gasps]
[panting]
[pants]
-Sir.-George.
What happened
to your shirt?
Chicken salad sandwich.
[chuckles]
-Come on in.
-Uh...
Plenty of time for you
to change.
Something on your mind, George?
Speak up.
I've been going over the
proposal with our team, sir.
It's... it's been a big day
already.
You want to quit
while we're ahead?
The thought had occurred.
-[chuckles]
-Every m*ssile out of Europe?
That's a hell of a legacy.
Yeah.
Someday, you're gonna have
to explain to me
what "legacy" means to all
you East Coast blue bloods.
[laughs]
That means the next generation
is better off
because of something you did.
I'm sorry, sir, that came out
snarkier than I intended.
I didn't hire you
for your suits.
I hired you for your candor.
We, uh... We're not done yet.
You want to talk
about human rights again?
[chuckles] Yeah. I do.
Why? It'll only annoy him.
They-They'll try to avoid it.
Well, all the more reason.
If you poke the Russian bear
too hard, he will react poorly.
You trust me, George?
Of course, Mr. President.
Don't give me that
"salute-to-the-flag" answer.
I asked you a question.
Establishment
thinks I'm a warmonger,
dangerous.
What's the, uh, difference
between me and any
other chucklehead on TV,
except now I'm in the Oval.
I'm asking why you trust me?
New York boy, Princeton,
upper class,
you're part
of the establishment.
I trust you
because you're right.
It can't just be diplomacy.
The Soviets will not listen
to us unless we are strong.
Peace through strength.
We tried everything else.
Engagement, encirclement,
low-intensity conflicts.
Nothing worked,
until your military buildup.
You got us here, sir.
You got them to the table.
[laughs]
"If you can't make them see
the light..."
"...make sure
they feel the heat."
[chuckles]
That was a good line.
[chuckles]
Mm.
You tell me if you think
we should call it,
if we get right up
to that red line.
For now, let's see how far
they'll bend.
Let's see how today ends.
If it's a stalemate...
I'll reconsider.
Yes, sir.
[dramatic music plays]
[Reagan]
We resume this afternoon
with our secretary of state,
George Shultz,
and your foreign minister,
Eduard Shevardnadze.
Mr. General Secretary,
we are pleased
with the morning's progress.
Our team believes
that we can find a way
to reduce the European IRBMs
to zero.
Thank you, Mr. President.
This is very good news.
I wonder
if now might be the time
to turn our discussions
to human rights,
for instance, Mr. Rostropovich.
We are a nation of immigrants.
We take their rights
and their families' rights
very seriously,
Secretary-General.
If we could discuss
his sister's visit--
As you stated before,
and as I stated before,
we would first like to continue
on the subject
of arms reduction.
Okay.
[Gorbachev] We have
a further proposal.
My foreign minister and I
have been discussing
the nuclear triad,
as you call it.
Yes, our strategy
relies upon a three-point
threat deterrence,
our land-based intercontinental
ballistic missiles,
our long-range strategic
air command of bombers
with their cruise missiles,
and our submarine-launched
missiles.
You have something similar.
We don't have nearly
the same numbers
of submarines or bombers.
Our strategy relies
almost entirely
on the, uh, overwhelming
superiority of our ICBMs.
Superiority? You have a number
that's vastly greater
than our own.
I might call it redundancy.
-Please, you insult--
-We could, however, reclassify
all these weapons as strategic
offensive armaments, hm?
In years past,
our predecessors,
going all the way back
to the advent
of the hydrogen b*mb,
have tried to restrain
the development
of these weapons,
mostly the ICBMs,
but also the bombers
and other types,
to control
the expansion of arms.
-Yes?-Yes.
They have failed.
We have tens of thousands
of these weapons anyway
all pointed at each other.
You propose a new plan
for these weapons?
We propose,
using this morning's
European plan as our guide,
to reduce these weapons
as well.
[whispers] And, uh, you wanted
to quit while we were ahead.
You're not going to let me live
that down, are you, sir?
Never. Okay.
Your turn at bat, swing away.
We agree this would be
an admirable goal.
Perhaps by as much
as one third?
Or even by half?
Half?
Fifty percent?
That is correct.
In land-based ICBMs?
In all. Huh?
All parts of the triad.
Which would still leave you
a significant advantage
in land-based
and mobile-launched ICBMs.
We understand
and are prepared to discuss
how this goal
could be achieved.
What I am asking is,
is this of interest to you?
It certainly is.
[laughs] Good. Good. Good!
We are making progress.
Seems like Christmas
has come early.
What-what does your religious
holiday have to do with this?
Nothing. I'm sorry,
I forget you're all atheists.
Although, it, uh...
Well, it seems to me
that the Party
is about the same as a church.
You're true believers
in the Party, right?
Sir, perhaps...
Please, continue with
your thoughts, Mr. President.
Well, I mean, you deny
religion as hokum,
bunk, nonsense,
and there can't be
an Almighty Party
when there's an Almighty God
above it,
so your people can't worship.
They, uh, they have to worship
the Party.
Mmm.
To paraphrase the words
of our, um, theology,
we believe religion
is a false prophet,
promising the people things
they ought to achieve
for themselves.
And yet you make them
stand in line
for bread and milk and shoes,
and then deny them
the hereafter
that would suggest that their,
well, their suffering
is temporary.
They have nothing
to look forward to,
this life or the next.
No wonder
they're so pissed off.
The Soviet people
are not pissed off.
Then why do they wanna leave?
Why do you have to keep them
locked up behind walls,
like the one in Berlin?
Why not tear it down?
This is western propaganda.
Your Voice of America.
Which you keep trying
to jam the signal of.
And we have nothing like it
attacking American ears.
You won't even let
our movies into your cinemas,
and yet you call
this free speech?
Hmm? Open debate?
Well, that's the difference,
gentlemen.
The Republican Party
doesn't control
what goes on the radio or TV.
We don't have our own channel.
If you make something
that the American people
actually wanna watch,
I guarantee they'll play it.
Media companies don't care
if you're religious
or fascist or nihilist,
they just want to make money.
Yes. [laughs]
The great American distraction,
making money.
And you are trying to distract
us from our purpose here.
This is pointless.
I, uh I got
an intelligence report
the other day from our CIA.
They were, uh,
they were assessing
your economic conditions,
tracking a bread line
in Moscow.
There was a guy, Boris,
and, uh, he was in front
of our agent,
and he got so pissed off
that he, uh,
he left the bread line.
He said he was gonna go find
you, Mr. General Secretary,
and bludgeon you
with a hammer and sickle.
Well, poor ol' Boris, he came
back about an hour later
and when our agent
asked him why,
he said the only line longer
than the one for bread
was the one to attack you.
[laughs]
[inhales]
[laughs]
You see, Mr. President,
you're not the only one with
public opinion problems, hm?
We both must answer
to the people.
Yes, but, uh, my people,
if they criticize me publicly,
don't get sent to the Gulag.
True.
And my people can't sh**t me.
[ominous music plays]
We must also ascertain
throw weight.
The amount of weight
the m*ssile itself can carry,
how much a warhead,
or warheads, can weigh.
Your missiles can carry
a heavier payload,
so equal number of missiles
does not mean
equal number of warheads.
Let us discuss it.
[thunder rumbling]
[flagpole clanging]
[agent] Hold on, guys.
[KGB officer] Perhaps I should
become a capitalist.
Then I could sell you time
in my restroom.
[chuckles]
[paper rustles]
Colonel.
Dtente, comrade.
[paper rustles]
[typewriter clacking]
[bird chirping]
[gentle dramatic music plays]
-[indistinct chatter]
-[camera shutters clicking]
[Cleo] Any idea why she's
looking at the Prose Edda?
[Alexander] The what?
[Cleo]
The ancient Icelandic text.
Odin, Thor, Loki.
All their culture and religion
and things rolled into one.
[Alexander] Why would
you possibly know...
Oh, of course, NPR.
-Snorri Sturluson.
-"Snorry"? [chuckles] Come on!
That's the author
of the Prose Edda.
Snorri. S-N-O-R-R-I.
-Snorri Sturluson.
-Sturluson. Yeah.
So ask her.
Ask who what?
The Not First Lady of Russia.
She quoted Chekhov.
I expect she's got a reason
we're here
all looking at the Prose Edda,
so ask her.
-I see. And tell me--
-Mrs. Gorbachev!
-National Public Radio--
-American.
American National Public Radio.
Um, why are we here?
We are here to exchange
cultural knowledge, Ms. NPR.
The Prose Edda is a seminal
text in Norse history
and I am flattered
to examine it here
in the Land of Ice and Fire.
I'm sure you've seen
the press release.
Mrs. Reagan
is feeling just fine.
A rather terse
and unusual pronouncement
for a weekend
from the Administration.
You care to comment?
Well, I'm, uh, thrilled to hear
Mrs. Reagan is well.
I only wish she had brought
her good health here
so we could share
this incredible honor together,
viewing the Prose Edda.
What's it like staying
on a ship, Mrs. Gorbachev?
Why not a hotel?
I was told it is
for security reasons.
But I must tell you,
it is very romantic.
-Madam Gorbachev!
-Madam Gorbachev.
[reporters clamoring]
Huh. "Romantic."
That's one mental image
I won't get out of my head.
Ah, they're entitled
to their happiness.
Aren't we all?
I'm calling it.
I can't imagine my editor
will care.
Saturday afternoon on NPR
is always a dead zone.
-Let's find a bar.
-Schnapps!
[Reagan]
Fifty percent reduction.
I think that
is considerable progress.
Imagine tomorrow,
Mr. General Secretary,
we will shake hands
for the cameras and say "deal."
I would like this very much.
But we must still discuss
your shield, hm?
The Strategic Defense
Initiative.
[Gorbachev sighs]
[grunts] Perhaps it is too much
for this evening.
Uh, Mr. President,
you had been saying
that you wish to discuss
with your allies
the potential INF implications
in Asia.
Shall we adjourn
so that you may?
Yes, we will have
an answer quickly.
As we are able to assure you
that our eastern allies
will understand
our withdrawals in Europe.
I must warn you,
our NATO allies
are less subservient.
Didn't Mrs. Thatcher
thank you personally
for modernizing her arsenal?
And that you coordinate
your attacks
in the Soviet Union
and the Warsaw Pact
so as to avoid duplication.
You seem to know an awful lot.
That is how this game
is played, is it not?
Surely all of your intelligence
isn't wasted analyzing
bread lines?
No. It's not.
We also monitor
Russian treaty violation.
[chuckles] More waste, huh?
There have been none.
Trust, but verify.
As I have agreed we will do.
But you can imagine
the objections of my, uh, KGB.
[Reagan laughs] And I...
I doubt I'll have an easy time
of it with our Congress.
You have your senators,
I have my generals.
We must convince them
that we are strongest together.
Yes, I suppose so.
Too bad we can't just get rid
of all of them.
Your senators?
No. [laughs]
The nukes.
We're going to cut them by 50%
in the next ten years.
But that still leaves
thousands,
tens of thousands,
threatening the world.
Who's to say
who comes after us,
perhaps
the next general secretary
will want to renegotiate,
wish to build more, not less.
Or the next president.
Traditionally, throughout
the history of our republic,
new presidents have upheld
the treaties
of their predecessors.
But there is no law they must.
No.
No.
I'm not sure then I understand
what you're saying.
I'm saying good leaders
make things better now.
Great leaders make things
better for the future.
I'm saying...
why can't we just get rid
of all of them?
Every last one of the...
goshdamn contemptible things
once and for all!
I'm saying
why don't we make a deal
that the whole world
can rejoice,
a deal too good
for those who come after us
to reject or replace
or renegotiate?
I'm saying why don't we just
get rid of all of them?
I'm saying, are we going to be
merely good, Secretary-General,
or are we going to be great?
[suspenseful music plays]
We would be willing to discuss
such an agreement.
All nuclear weapons reduced?
-To zero.
-In ten years?
-All.-Comrade...
let's not be too hasty
with the atmosphere
of what we have achieved
here today.
Perhaps we should break
for the evening.
Nuclear Zero.
Every single nuclear weapon
on earth, gone.
Taken out of the silo,
off the sub, out of the b*mber,
dismantled, junked,
warheads spun down.
In just ten years.
Peace on earth? Hm?
Good will to all men?
Your Christmas come early?
Amen. [chuckles]
-Well...
-Well, then let's do it!
Yes. [laughs] Let's do it.
It is impossible, gentlemen.
How would we even begin
to start?
We'll ask the experts
to make the arrangements,
handle the fine print.
You brought your experts,
they're upstairs
across the hall from mine.
They have a long night
ahead of them, huh?
Yes, I'd say they do.
We will meet tomorrow morning
to discuss the terms.
-And SDI.
-And human rights.
Good night,
Mr. General-Secretary.
Sleep well, Mr. President.
[agent on radio] We're moving.
Not sure we're going to need
you much longer, Tim.
Sorry, sir?
Nothing. Thank you, Colonel.
I'll be out in a minute.
Yes, sir.
They, uh, make me do rehearsals
every few months.
You wanna know how it works?
How to end the world?
No, thank you, sir.
Well, you're in the line
of succession, George,
and I'm not bulletproof.
I know.
Try not to get shot again
before we get through
tomorrow, sir.
Yeah.
I'll assemble our team,
and get them caffeine,
lots of it,
get them in a room
with the Soviets.
Well, get them to zero.
Every nuclear weapon gone
from the face of the Earth
in just a few hours?
Congress is going to lose
their minds.
Joint Chiefs too.
And the CIA, and the DIA,
and I need to tell our allies.
Yes, do that tonight.
Get Thatcher and Mitterrand
and Kohl to sign off.
And if they don't?
I don't know, George.
We'll think of something.
But just, you know,
just get the team into it.
All right?
This is a better world.
We can leave America safer
than we found her.
[bell tolling]
"Peace on earth.
Good will to all men"?
Gorbachev actually said that?
The head of the worldwide
communist plot?
It upsets 50 years
of stable geopolitics.
[Kampelman] A mutually assured
destruction works for a reason.
How the hell are we gonna
defend Western Europe
when they have overwhelmingly
superior conventional forces
that will just roll downhill,
thousands of T-72 tanks
right through Frankfurt
and Paris,
straight
to the English Channel?
Does any man here doubt
that the world would be safer
without nuclear weapons?
Hard to put the genie
back in the bottle,
and I've been doing this longer
than the rest of you
put together.
When we got here,
you all thought
this was a colossal waste
of a weekend.
-Well...
-Now, no denying it.
And yet, the General Secretary
of the Communist Party
of the Union
of Soviet Socialist Republics
has just offered us
the best deal
since Russia sold us Alaska.
Hell, maybe of all time.
Are we going to pass it by?
You've all trained
for high stakes negotiations.
This is it.
This is our Super Bowl.
Are you in or are you out?
I serve at the pleasure
of the President.
[all] I serve at the pleasure
of the President.
So, who's going to lead
this moonshot?
-[grunts] Paul.
-Paul.
[clears throat]
[typewriter keys clacking]
[indistinct chatter]
Have you got
the scrambler set up?
You're kidding.
It looks like something
out of Get Smart.
Sorry about that,
Mr. Secretary.
What's the button
for Foggy Bottom?
Four.
[beeps]
This is the secretary.
Get me a line
to Ambassador Price in London.
-[beeps]
-Yes, this is the secretary.
Get me a line
to Ambassador Rodgers in Paris.
Richard, George Shultz.
Yes, it's late. Sorry.
Listen, you're gonna have
to get Helmut up as well.
Call me back when you have him.
The President has an update
from Reykjavk for the
chancellor.
His ears and yours only.
Wake him up.
Wake him up. Wake him up.
[overlapping chatter]
[all fall quiet]
Move.
Holy sh*t.
Is that...
Marshall Sergey Akhromeyev.
Four time winner
of the Order of Lenin,
veteran of the siege
of Leningrad,
hero of the Soviet Union...
Chief of the General Staff
of the Soviet Armed Forces.
They brought their Chairman
of the Joint Chiefs
to negotiate?
-[scoffs]
-Not intimidating at all.
Well...
I'm glad we voted on you, Paul.
[Italian Concerto,
F Major-Andante plays]
[phone rings]
[sighs]
I forgot to call.
[Nancy] You all right?
-Ronnie?
-[Reagan] I'm just...
I'm-I'm just tired.
[Nancy] How's the hand?
[inhales]
Fine.
[Nancy] Do they have a TV there
at least?
You need to take
your mind off things.
Well, I'm sure there's one
around here somewhere,
but I... I just don't think
Icelandic broadcasters
have Family Ties.
[both laugh]
You know,
they say that Icelanders
don't have TV
at all on Thursdays.
Something about having time for
family and cultural awareness.
Can you imagine, whole country
with no TV for a night?
Well, thank goodness
it's Saturday. [chuckles]
[Nancy] I know how lonely
the job feels,
being responsible
for millions of people.
I'm so sorry
I'm not there with you.
It was a mistake.
Eh, it's okay. Uh...
I'm just fine.
I love you.
Good night.
Love you.
Good night.
[music continues]
[sighs]
I should've stayed on a boat.
[groans]
-[ship horn blows]
-[seagull squawking]
[groans]
[Gorbachev]
This is different, hm?
You coming home after me.
We seize
the opportunities we have.
[Gorbachev] How many times
did you change today?
Eight already.
The models of Milan
have nothing on you.
Going back out?
Dinner with the prime minister
of Iceland.
How is it with your American?
Hmm.
You must trust and believe
in people.
Otherwise,
-life becomes impossible.
-Life becomes impossible.
You got a KGB report on me
at the hot springs?
What has happened?
I cannot say.
Are you being proud
or desperate?
I think you will say we have
something to be proud of.
Good.
Good.
Then you will be able to make
the changes we need
and our people will prosper.
You harbor no doubts?
Not about our nation.
Not about you.
-Do you?
-[door opens]
[door closes]
[Raisa grunts softly]
What?
You think the KGB
is now bugging
the Soviet premier's toilet?
I think the minister
of state security
chose this boat and not
the embassy for our lodging
so that we could not take long
walks away from microphones.
What preys upon your mind,
my love?
[tuts, sighs]
He seems genuine.
[Raisa] But you're not sure.
I offer him Nuclear Zero.
But I cannot tell.
I don't think
he will give up SDI.
Well...
I brought it up for the first
time at the close of day
and the look on his face
was clear.
SDI is a mirage.
Even his own people
don't think it'll work.
Don't let it distract you.
Nuclear weapons gave them
powered submarines
so quiet we cannot detect them.
The space race gave them
computers now so small
they fit on a desk.
If we cannot contain this SDI...
who knows
what terrible inventions
they will come up with.
And if we have to take
the arms race into space,
our people will starve.
Hmm.
[Raisa sighs]
Famine.
Like Stalin's time.
But your reforms--
perestroika, glasnost--
they are working.
We just need time.
The one thing we cannot beg,
borrow, or steal.
Hm.
Don't let them harm the rodina.
But even more, my love,
don't let us harm the rodina.
Even with the best
of intentions.
[dramatic music plays]
Our submarines have the ability
to protect our homeland
the longest--
Which is precisely why we want
them gone in the first round.
Can you not understand?
We must become
vulnerable together.
We think the opposite.
A slow drawdown,
several years of
confidence-building reductions
in other areas,
culminating in--
Let it be noted
it's the Americans
who wish to proceed cautiously
for the first time in history.
Why don't we proceed
with a different topic?
We proceed nowhere.
-[wind howling]
-[loud banging]
Well, it is supposed
to be haunted.
It is the wind from the sea.
I will go out to enjoy it
for a moment.
[contemplative music plays]
[ominous music plays]
[female reporter]
Reagan shot at close range,
apparently by a lone assailant.
[man yelling indistinctly]
[panting]
[grunts]
[sips, swallows]
[sighs]
[pants]
[gentle, solemn music plays]
How close are we?
Well, there's a reason
they trained
the astronauts here, sir.
Might as well be the moon.
How do you tell one mound
of lava rock from another?
I meant our team.
Oh, yes. Sorry.
Um, they're closing in.
[grunts]
-I want it done.
-[Shultz] Yes, sir.
Thatcher was telling me
her theory one time
at Chequers.
You heard this?
"Two lads and a pint"?
That like two guys and a beer?
[chuckles] She has this theory
that everything in the world
is actually decided
by two lads and a pint.
Or in her case,
two ladies and a whiskey?
[chuckles]
It's not a bad theory.
Can we trust an enemy?
Can we trust Gorbachev?
If so, then in theory,
we can trust his word
to stick to this plan
until we can ink a treaty.
-And we can verify.
-Yes.
I want you to get me some
information on the refuseniks.
Sir?
-The refuseniks--
-[Shultz] I mean,
why do you want
that information?
[huffs] Get me the information.
[tense, dramatic music plays]
Yes, sir.
[bird squawking]
[indistinct chatter]
Good morning, Mr. President.
Good morning,
Mr. General Secretary.
I understand from my team that
we have made some progress,
but not all the progress.
I have instructed them
to continue.
As have I, for our side.
Good. [exhales]
Then, for the moment,
shall we pick other topics?
-Human rights.
-[Gorbachev] Yes.
[Gorbachev clears throat]
I have spoken with my ministers
about your maestro
in Washington.
They believe he would be
a bad person to appease.
He is very prominent
and his case would undoubtedly
cause unwanted attention.
Public opinion.
So perhaps now we can discuss
the ABM Treaty and your SDI.
Well, first, let me just say
that we are
particularly sensitive
to the travel rights
of the Soviet peoples,
not just Mr. Rostropovich.
And we are concerned,
especially with those who wish
to practice their religion,
enshrined
in our Bill of Rights.
There are small numbers
of Jewish peoples
wishing to emigrate to Israel.
The refuseniks, you call them.
Yes, and there are some
Christians, Pentecostals,
who wish to leave as well
to come to America.
Did you know
Jesus was the first socialist?
It's true.
The first to seek
a better life for all mankind.
So why would these Christians
want to leave my country
and go to yours?
You have homeless.
What do you mean?
Your citizens who are homeless
have no rights to housing.
We have no homeless
in the Soviet Union.
Your m*rder rates are enormous.
And... [sighs]
...the less said about your
country's longstanding history
of racism, the better.
Well, unlike you,
we acknowledge, uh,
we have many faults.
And yet I'm the one that must
be lectured on human rights
and people without passports?
Well, then I would ask you
if they may not have
the freedom to travel,
why not give them the freedom
to form
their own political party?
Organize their future
in your country?
The Soviet people organized
this Communist Party.
Seventy years ago.
You think they might like
to try something else?
Your own party
has been around much longer.
Yes, but Republicans
can be voted out of office.
Your backstabbing
political gridlock
is something you wish us
to endure?
No, thank you.
"Democracy is the worst form
of government,
except for all the others."
Churchill had a rather
convenient horse in that race,
don't you think?
And Lenin,
like Marx before him,
suggested that socialism may
need to be global to succeed.
And so we see you
actively trying
to manipulate the elections
and futures of nations
around the globe.
And you do not? [laughs]
In Chile? In Iran? In Angola?
[Reagan] And I suppose
you were just helping
the people of Cuba
and Poland and Vietnam
to choose
their oppressive regimes,
and Germany,
when you tore it in two?
[Gorbachev]
You fly your U-2 spy planes
over our heads with impunity,
sail your Seventh Fleet
around the Pacific as if
it were your swimming pool,
and park your submarines
within sight of our shores,
and yet you expect
my people to trust you?
And seizing our journalist
in Moscow
only a few months ago?
Does that encourage trust?
[Gorbachev] I returned him!
Despite evidence
from my security services.
He was a spy.
The United States
will remain vigilant and strong
to the threats posed
by international communism
by the Soviet Union.
As we will maintain
our strength as well
in defense of socialism
desired by billions
all around the globe.
To defend those
who seek our way of life.
In all your speeches,
you deride us
as the "evil empire"
to be met by force
in every sphere.
I wonder, Mr. President,
who it is here that is trying
to expand his ideas by force.
You would do well to remember
that no such method
has ever succeeded on Russia.
Not by Napoleon, not by Hitler.
No one.
We are a strong people.
And we have learned
that strength
is how you win a w*r.
We're not trying to win a w*r.
We're trying to end one.
Perhaps a break, hm?
[chair scrapes]
[sighs]
[Shultz inhales, sighs]
May I speak candidly,
Mr. President?
George, we're both exhausted,
just speak.
Let it go.
Don't blow this deal
over refuseniks
and Pentecostals and a cellist.
I love classical music,
and I dearly love the freedom
that comes
with being an American...
but...
he said Rostropovich left,
when we all know he defected.
And if his sister
was allowed to defect
at a birthday party
in Washington, DC,
it would be a public relations
disaster.
Gorbachev cannot take
that risk.
Sir, I'm truly afraid
that we could lose this deal.
Well, George,
what about
the millions of people
that'd still be oppressed?
[door opens]
[clears throat]
Tell me good news, Democrats.
-Sir, I-I'm a--
-[Shultz] Yes.
Can we all agree
that this is a bipartisan
effort
to avoid World w*r III?
Just tell us.
The most stealthy, stable,
and, therefore, serious part
of the triad
is the submarines, sir.
They are impossible to track,
and therefore
cannot be targeted.
They are the absolute
last line of defense.
You can't get rid of the subs?
We're close.
Almost there, but, uh...
You're out of time.
[clicks tongue]
Well, all right.
Give me what you got.
We're not giving up the game
on the ten-yard line.
[Reagan sighs]
We have already agreed
to unilaterally suspend
nuclear testing,
draw down our conventional
forces in Western Europe,
offered a 50% reduction
in all arms,
and agreed
to a Nuclear Zero future,
and still he tries
to distract you
with this dissident conductor.
Constantly evading SDI.
Constantly.
You must at least consider
that he is making you
the obstacle
and is not a partner in peace.
[Reagan]
We should thank our teams.
They have not reached
a, uh, final agreement,
but they have come close.
We are indeed very close.
We've reached an agreement
in the first five years
to eliminate the SOA category
of land-based ICBMs.
And in the next five years
to dismantling
the remaining IRBMs
and cruise missiles.
Yes, which leaves only the
submarine-launched missiles.
We must first discuss SDI.
In regards to the
Anti-Ballistic m*ssile Treaty?
The ABM treaty forbids SDI.
[Reagan] Well, we, uh,
we disagree
and, anyway, you...
you've already violated
the ABM at Krasnoyarsk
with your defenses
around Moscow.
We have no such defenses
in Washington.
Our defenses are exactly
matching to the letter
of the ABM treaty.
And it is not our fault
that you chose not to exercise
your rights under the treaty
to build such defenses
around your capital.
But the ABM treaty
specifically rejects the idea
of space-based weapons.
SDI is not solely space-based.
How are we to begin
to eliminate
our Strategic Offensive Arms
if you will have a "shield"
to defend yourself?
You could renege or launch
a first strike from a NATO ally
and we would be defenseless.
You are obsessed with this SDI.
What about the people?
It will make the people safer
for both our nations.
What if some rogue state
launches a m*ssile?
The shield will protect us,
protect the American people.
You are free to develop
your own for your people.
You won't let them leave,
at least you can protect them.
Of course I care
about the people.
The Soviet people
are my responsibility.
But you cannot possibly believe
that their fate
is not tied to this shield,
which you have already
announced you intend to--
Mutually assured destruction
works from the point of view
that each side
must be vulnerable.
That the, uh, Sword of Damocles
not only hangs above us,
but must remain hanging
over us.
Why can we simply
not take the sword down?
This is what SDI will do.
[sighs deeply]
[tense music plays]
"Men rise from one ambition
to the next.
First, they seek to secure
themselves from attack,
and then to attack others."
Machiavelli.
Are you suggesting
that we are building a shield
in order that once we have it
we can then strike you first
with impunity?
Well, why wouldn't you strike
the "evil empire"?
[sighs]
Look...
all we are asking
is that you do not develop
this SDI
during the ten years
that we are eliminating
these weapons,
so as not to gain an advantage.
This is not
an offensive weapon.
It is a shield.
It is a threat.
[clears throat]
Mr. General Secretary,
are you coupling
the arms reduction
to the end of SDI?
I am.
It is the position
of the Soviet Union
that they are the same thing.
[sighs]
[tense, dramatic music plays]
After the use of mustard gas
in World w*r I,
we developed a gas mask.
Why would you not want
a gas mask, a shield,
against nuclear missiles?
We owe it to the world
to develop this technology.
The world has gotten along
just fine without it.
This is absurd.
And how will you ensure
that your allies
do not strike us?
I will do everything
in my power
to get them to give up
their nuclear weapons as well.
But do you really believe
that their people
will let them keep them?
With the costs of maintenance
and dangers of mistakes,
when there is no longer a
threat from the Soviet Union?
I believe it is very difficult
for people to give up
their weapons of any kind,
including shields.
Gentlemen, I suggest
we take a short break.
-Perhaps--
-I would like to know
if the President is serious
about continuing
this discussion on SDI.
If he is serious
about compromise.
[suspenseful music plays]
[grunts]
-[horses whinnying]
-[indistinct chatter]
[camera shutters clicking]
Isn't it beautiful?
The Icelandic horse
is the only horse in the world
that has a fifth gait
called the tlt.
[scoffs] Amazing.
Oh, is it? I'm still hungover.
I told you to quit
on the schnapps.
You did not.
Just watch.
You won't even spill
your coffee.
Or vodka!
[Cleo whimpers]
Really think I'm gonna blow
schnapps chunks.
I can't believe you'd insult
Icelandic schnapps
by calling it chunky.
[groans] Do something.
Do something?
What do you want me to--
Distract me.
Mrs. Gorbachev!
[groans]
I didn't mean shouting.
I have a question for you.
Of course, wonderful.
How can I help?
Well, the White House
released a statement
just before we got
in the vans--
The First Lady decided
to come here
to see the famous
Icelandic horse?
She's a little late.
Actually, sources say
that she's launched
a new national campaign
for breast cancer awareness.
It's a major new initiative
that she hopes can be a model
for the world.
What do you say
to the American people
and people across the globe
about your own efforts
this weekend
on behalf
of the Soviet peoples?
Not that this Icelandic horse
isn't important,
but it's not exactly
cancer prevention.
[reporter 1] Mrs. Gorbachev,
have you spoken to Mrs. Reagan?
Would you like to meet
with Nancy Reagan?
-No questions.
-[reporters clamoring]
Mrs. Gorbachev must be livid,
her spotlight pulled
so hastily.
[Reagan chuckles]
You mess with the bull.
[laughs]
[Nancy] How's it going?
Well, we're, uh, at an impasse.
Well, Mars is ascendant,
so we have that going for us.
Yes, yes.
They can't afford it.
What?
They can't afford to compete.
Not on SDI,
not on any of it anymore.
Isn't that what you wanted?
What you've been working
towards?
I know.
I've just gotta reach him.
I've gotta try, Nance.
[Nancy] Go be great.
[dramatic music plays]
[Reagan] Can we agree,
Mr. General Secretary,
that the, uh, issue of
submarines can be resolved
with our considerable
engagement
and commitment at a later date,
and that, uh, the main focus
of our last discussion
should be about SDI?
Yes.
Then I would like
to take us back to World w*r I.
The horrifying advent
of chemical warfare,
mustard gas and chlorine.
We have been over this before,
Mr. President.
And-And the development,
in a few years,
of the gas mask,
of chemical and biological
protection suits.
An anti-ballistic
m*ssile system,
full of lasers,
counter-attack radars,
interceptors,
and satellite weapons
is hardly a gas mask.
[Reagan]
But the principle is the same.
[Gorbachev] I returned to this
session under the impression
that you were serious
about compromise.
What if we gave it to you?
[wind howling]
This is not serious.
I will give you the shield.
I will give you SDI.
Your Congress
will never allow it.
They will if it's coupled
with complete Soviet nuclear
disarmament.
Nor will your military.
I have told you,
they report to me.
Say nothing of your military
industrial complex.
What does that have to do...
You expect Lockheed
and Northrup
and all your other
defense contractors
to simply give up the license
to the most complex
and advanced military
technology ever developed?
I may not be a capitalist,
Mr. President,
but I do understand
how it works.
[Reagan] We can work that out.
[sighs] This is a fantasy!
You have come in here
with a fantasy.
Or is this some trick?
You can't afford it,
you don't believe me
that we won't use it
to protect ourselves
and preemptively strike.
I'm telling you
that I won't give it up
because of rogue nations
and I will not have
future generations
of Americans live in fear.
We will give it to you.
You won't even
give us milking machines!
You have a stranglehold
on every technology
ever created in the West
so tight
that you will not sell us
basic agricultural
tractors, plows,
milking machines
for cows to us!
But you want me to believe
that you will give us
the most incredible American
science ever created
and that you will be able
to do this
over the objections
of your Congress
and your companies
and your Pentagon
and your citizens
and your allies and...
and you won't even sell
the machines
so that we can produce
more milk for our children!
[inhales deeply, sighs]
I, uh... I will look
into the milking machines.
I-I...
[sniffs] Never, uh,
never occurred to me
that I might get assassinated.
Not once.
Nancy would, uh, bring it up
during the first campaign,
but I just never...
If I survived that b*llet,
uh, it was for a reason,
a new mission, a purpose, so...
What if we agree...
not to deploy the system
for ten years?
[dramatic music plays]
SDI?
You will not deploy it
for the ten years that we are
eliminating these weapons?
And you will do everything
in your power
to persuade the British
and the French
to give up
their weapons as well
or else you'll not extend
your shield to them?
It will be very hard,
many of our allies are under
our nuclear umbrella.
As are ours.
We would all be exposed
together.
Yes. Okay.
I will talk with our allies.
I don't believe their peoples
will wish them to continue
when we have given them up.
Such is the peace-loving nature
of a democratic people.
Yes.
So...
we will both agree
to remove all warheads
over the next ten years.
Nuclear Zero.
And, of course,
your inspectors,
trust, but verify.
And, um, you can develop SDI
in the laboratory.
[clatters loudly]
Not just the laboratory.
I'm sorry?
We will not deploy the system,
but we must be allowed
to test the shield
to know if it can work.
You can test it
in the laboratory.
Of course, but-but they must be
tested in the real world.
Progress cannot be made
in just a laboratory.
I mean, you think
we could launch
a man into space on a rocket
that just worked
on a simulation
in some scientist's lab?
So you will agree,
we can test the shield?
In the laboratory.
You will have inspectors
at our secure sites as well.
We would welcome them
to our testing grounds.
You put a man on the moon
in less than ten years.
Yes, I was just talking
about that.
Developed the atom b*mb
in under five.
-Okay.
-Do you not see?
[Reagan] See what?
I cannot allow you to field test
a new weapons system...
Shield.
...this thing,
in the next ten years,
less time than it took you
to put a man on the moon.
I can't understand--
You will have inspectors.
If you're successful,
you could immediately deploy it,
and we would be right back
to where we are now.
You could order a strike.
We would be defenseless while
you hid behind your shield.
You can test it
in a laboratory,
just like any other
scientific advance.
And in the meantime,
if in the next ten years
some other state wants
to launch a m*ssile
against my people,
we won't be able to prove
that it would be futile
except in some sort
of, uh, scientific journal.
We will be defenseless.
As would we.
It's one word.
"Laboratory."
It's one word.
It's one word that changes
everything for my people.
And my people.
Another generation
lost to the terror
and horror of waiting
for the b*mb to drop.
Not if the bombs don't exist.
[ominous music plays]
[inhales deeply, sighs]
I-I don't know what else
I could have done.
Just say yes.
[scoffs]
On this one point,
Mr. President...
[sniffs]
...I cannot compromise.
Where are you going?
I'm afraid
I will not see you again.
[thunder rumbling]
[sighs]
[sighs]
[thunder rumbling]
[waves crashing]
[lightning cracking]
[Shultz] Mr. President.
[female reporter] ...apparently
by a lone assailant.
[Shultz] Mr. President.
[wind howling]
Mr. President!
I failed.
[inhales]
I offered him the deal
of the century,
of human history,
and he's walking away
over one word,
a single word.
Never should've trusted him.
Sir, the car is here,
ready to take him
to the airport,
but it's not over, not yet.
It's over.
The whole world living on hope.
Press will know by tonight.
Sir, when you recruited me,
you told me
we could make a difference.
You told me
we could make America safer
than when we found her.
It's over.
Ask him to come to Washington.
For what? More talk
that leads to nothing?
Maybe this place is haunted.
Ask him anyway, sir.
Please, in spite of it all.
We have maybe a minute left
until he comes out that door,
gets in that car,
and he is gone.
Do not let what happened
in that house, in that room,
over the last 30 hours
destroy our entire future.
[thunder rumbling]
This is the red line, sir.
You asked me to tell you.
Well, this is it.
This is it.
You don't want
to be seen as a warmonger.
Sir, if we fail here,
there will be w*r.
And when that w*r is over,
there will be nothing left
on God's green earth
but smoldering, irradiated,
lifeless rock.
I know that
that is not what they want.
That is not what
any sane person wants.
It's not about want, George,
it's about need.
We need peace.
And that requires
the end of them.
Liberty, George,
only liberty equals peace.
You didn't come here
to negotiate
about nuclear weapons.
You came here
to try to prove to them
that they are
fundamentally wrong.
You came here
to end the Soviet Union.
I came here to show him
the contradiction.
That holding people at gunpoint
and claiming you're a utopia
is not possible.
No one is safe,
no free citizen anywhere
is safe,
until a system
that is based on the devaluing
of individual liberty,
that threatens everyone
with tyranny, is over.
We can talk about arms control,
arms reduction,
m*ssile shields
'til Kingdom come,
but if they just admit
that they're wrong,
they admit that their perfect
Soviet commune is wrong...
if he admits
something as simple
as people want to leave...
then it's over, it crumbles.
We consign them
to the ash heap of history.
George, we just have
to show that it's possible.
-[sighs, sniffles]
-[laughs]
Last night we had a deal
to rid the planet
of nuclear weapons, sir.
Ah, anything is possible.
May I suggest, sir,
that you retry your test
with Rostropovich's sister,
this time with a compromise.
Well, why should I compromise
when he won't?
Because, sir, good leaders
make the present better,
great leaders
make the future better.
He wants
to do great things too, sir.
He needs a partner.
Well...
what's the compromise?
That you'll send her back home.
And it won't be forever, sir.
Not if you're right.
Secretary-General.
[reporters clamoring]
Let Rostropovich's sister come
to his birthday in Washington.
Let her leave,
and I give you my word,
she'll return.
A journey of a thousand miles
doesn't start
with the most incredible
arms agreement in history,
it begins with a single step.
If you seek peace,
tear down this wall between us,
Mr. Gorbachev,
tear down this wall,
just this one time,
for this one woman,
and we will meet...
we will talk again.
[Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major,
BWV 1007: I. Prlude plays]
[Shultz] The world thought
it was a failure at the time.
Even I had my doubts.
But a year later,
President Reagan
and Mr. Gorbachev
signed the first arms reduction
agreement in human history.
Since then, nuclear weapons
have been reduced
to less than 10%
of their Cold w*r peak.
Two years later,
the Cold w*r was over.
And just as President Reagan
had foreseen,
the Soviet Union ended
because our leaders
decided to build bridges
instead of bombs.
Rostropovich flew to Berlin
and, with a folding chair
and a borrowed cello,
played Bach
as the Wall came down.
A few years later,
Mr. Gorbachev visited me
out at Stanford.
I said, "When we first met,
the Cold w*r
was at its most dangerous point
and, three years later,
it was over.
What do you believe
was the beginning of the end?"
He replied with one word:
"Reykjavik."
[music continues]
Deal.
[applause]
-[camera shutters clicking]
-[indistinct chatter]
[applause continues]
[gentle dramatic music plays]
[music fades]
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Brink of w*r, The (2026)
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