Customer Reviews

The Day After Trinity

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Jon Else's Oscar-nominated documentary is a gem. He tells the story of the creation of the first atomic bomb, through the story of the amazing man who was picked to head up the project. J. Robert Oppenheimer would be a renaissance man in any time, but his presence during WWII and the Cold War afterwards, and his own doomed role in these world history events, makes him a tragic hero. Intelligent beyond comprehension, literate, poetic, charming, and dedicated (both to science and humanity), the experience of WWII's horror diverted his life on a collision course with history. Else's film is poignant, touching, restrained, and ultimately moving. Made in 1979, he was fortunate to be able to interview many of "Oppie's" colleagues, friends, and his brother Frank (who started another, lesser-known revolution, in interactive "museums," with his Exploratorium in San Francisco; WGBH's Nova series did a show on it). They all give us insight into the man, the scientist, the devotee of poetry, as well as the time in which these erudite engineers and scientists came together to build the ultimate weapon. Also of note, at the time of release, THE DAY AFTER TRINITY featured recently discovered, previously unseen footage of the Trinity test.

If you have children, or friends, who have only passing knowledge of the Atomic Age, and the effect it had on history, you deserve to own a copy of this classic film. It's instructive, but it is quietly passionate. You can't watch this and not be effected emotionally. That's the highest praise I can give a film. See this film...!

As a person who enjoys the history of the atomic bomb and the cold war, I thoroughly enjoy this film. It is a brilliant and profound film that out lines the people and events that helped to set the stage for the cold war and the nuclear arms race. It shows the devastating effects of the atomic bomb on not only Japan, but the world. What this film lacks in visual glamor and effects, it makes up for in the powerful and informative stories of the people who actually built the bomb. It packs more emotional punch and significance than more glamorous films about the bomb, or nuclear history in general. It is a must have for any aficionado of cold war/nuclear history.

This is an absolutely stunning documentary. Real footage of individuals and events. Events are put in the perspective of time with the thoughts and even feelings of individuals revealed. The technological developments as well as the moral hurdles the "players" overcome is heroic and at times agonizing. A fabulous piece of film.

The Day After Trinity covers both the day after, but more importantly the days before Trinity experienced by the scientists who built the atom bomb. The story of the bomb is usually told from its public debut, Trinity, though the story begins long before. Here it is told very well, through fascinating interviews with the men and women who lived in the strangely utopian Los Alamos.

Day After Trinity connects the humanity of the project with the horror of the result. The destruction at Hiroshima and Nagasaki make it hard to imagine the sort of people capable of creating such mass destruction. Perhaps for that reason, the creators are sometimes written off as mad scientists, or lumped in under Oppenhiemer's personality. But the people on the screen are brilliant, insightful, agonized, and funny. It contributes a great deal toward our understanding of the bomb, without making it any easier.

Aside from the overall content, there is priceless footage of Robert Serber, Stanislav Ulam, Dorothy McKibbon and many others.

The Day After Trinity, the story of the making and firing of the first atomic bomb, tells in stark, factual interviews the story of the Faustian bargain we made with atomic energy. Tracing the steps taken by our government and leading scientists and focusing on J. Robert Oppenheimer, it is a compelling, riveting story of personal ambition, scientific curiousity, and tragic regret. The martyrdom of Oppenheimer is particularly well-told. Combining the American "can-do" spirit, the philosopher/scientist elite, World War II militarism, and Mc-Carthyism, it is a compelling guide to understanding for anyone interested in the 1950s.

The period around the turn of the 20th century produced an enormous burst of discovery in physics. Often, it is the character of people involved that make this such a fascinating period of history. Still, the technical details of discovery and how it broadens our understanding of the physical world intrigues me to a somewhat larger degree. As I was predisposed to the technical, I had hoped for more technical detail in the film. However, far from disappointed, I watched the DVD twice the day I received it and found the film both compelling and entertaining. Oppenheimer's story, told by those yet alive at the time. A look into the Los Alamos community. His political "rise and fall." A rich and rewarding look into the not so distant past. Highly recommended.

The Day After Trinity is an excellent documentary about Robert Oppenheimer and the development of the atom bomb. The interviews of famous scientists who worked at Los Alamos are remarkable in themselves. The film poses questions about the ethics of nuclear armaments, and the relationship between science and politics in weapons development and deployment. Every American should see it.

I have very little to say that hasn"t been said in the other reviews of this film: it is one of the greatest documentaries ever made and it is very gripping. What I would like to add is this; viewed in conjunction with Richard Rhodes' "The Making Of The Atomic Bomb", the interviews in this film with such people as Bob Serber, Robert Wilson, Hans Bethe and even Oppenheimer himself brought the characters in Rhodes' so much more to life that the film and the book together give you an almost 'you are there' feeling. Don't miss either the film or the book.

I got this DVD after having read Richard Rhodes's "The Making of the Atomic Bomb" and "Dark Sun". Plus, I had grown up from childhood reading a lot of other books about the making of the atomic bomb.

I had even seen that famous clip of Robert Oppenheimer before, in grade school, a long, long time ago, in an educational movie about the making of the atomic bomb, where he says:

"....We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried, most people were silent. I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad-Gita. Vishnu is trying to persuade the Prince that he should do his duty and to impress him takes on his multi-armed form and says, "Now, I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds." I suppose we all thought that one way or another...."

And so I got this DVD, hoping to learn more, about that interview, about Robert J. Oppenheimer, etc.

But NOOOOO.....This DVD turns out to be mostly a series of talking head interviews of a number of the more junior (at the time) physicists involved in the Manhatten Project. Several of them, especially Robert Wilson, speak of their horror and their early opposition to further development and use of the atomic bomb. Almost all of them speak of Robert Oppenheimer, and reminisce about the many conflicts and contradictions of Oppenheimer.

But that's all there is to this DVD. It does not fully explain the contradictions in the life of Robert Oppenheimer, nor how the course of events post-WWII played out that led to Oppenheimer losing his security clearance. It doesn't even explain the setting of that famous Oppenheimer interview quote. A video clip of that famous quote, by the way, can be found online if you search for it.

The DVD only has a couple of other clips of Oppenheimer in action.

All in all, this is a mediocre DVD that does not add much more information if you already know much of the history of the making of the atomic bomb, and Oppenheimer's role in it.

However, if you don't know ANYTHING about this history, probably you'll find this DVD to be fascinating.

This film provided me with new insights into the Trinity Project and the life of the famed Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer and his subsequent downfall after the project's conclusion. I recommend this film to any serious student and/or collector of the Bomb.