THE ATROCITY EXHIBITION is a faithful adaptation of the 1970 novel of the same name by J.G. Ballard (author of EMPIRE OF THE SUN and CRASH). Jonathan Weiss' filmed adaptation concerns a doctor in a mental research institution who goes insane at the spectacle of the horrors of the end of the twentieth century, especially those communicated through modern media and broadcasting. The film makes extensive use of rare archival footage acquired from such varied sources as the Nuclear Defense Agency, the Car Crash Analysis Library, and the Zapruder Estate. Weiss incorporates this footage into the narrative, weaving fact and fiction to create a unique film experience. Ballard, whose other works were crafted into films by Steven Spielberg and David Cronenberg, writes of Weiss' film: "What a superb adaptation it is - it takes the logic of the book and translates it almost seamlessly into a very different medium...a ceaseless flow of atmospheric locations."