A is for Atom: The Disturbing History of Nuclear Power

In the 50s scientists and politicians had a utopian belief that nuclear power would create a better world with limitless, cheap electricity. They were wrong. Instead it was found that producing nuclear power was extremely expensive. In both the Soviet Union and the USA this led to dangerous short-cuts being taken in the design and implementation of nuclear power plants, to keep the costs down, putting the public gravely at risk.

These issues came to a head with Three Mile Island and Chernobyl disasters. After these the public was quickly disabused of the illusions they had been living under, as it came to light they'd had risks imposed on them without due consultation.

The film ends stressing that these dangers had been imposed for business reasons. There are safer, alternative nuclear power options which are viable. Therefore, nuclear power need not be abandoned, but development should be led by a democratic, public-based process, from a morality-centred point of view.

For more see the book The Demise of Nuclear Energy?: Lessons for Democratic Control of Technology by Joseph G. Morone (interviewed during the film's conclusion), and Edward J. Woodhouse.

The documentary is by the great British filmmaker Adam Curtis, for more of his work see Wikipedia. It's an episode in his Pandora's Box series.