Customer Reviews

Day One

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Day One" is the best treatment so far of an overarchingly important era in American history: the development of the Atomic bomb and its use against Japan. Brian Dennehy gives the performance of his career as Gen. Leslie Groves, the military head of the Manhattan Project, and is superbly supported by a cast including Hume Cronyn, Richard Dysart and Tony Shalhoub (memorable as Enrico Fermi). The drama is first-rate, the pace brisk, the dialog crisp and to the point. Even more important, the history is mostly accurate--a real achievement given the controversial nature of this material. Top notch!

As a physics teacher, I appreciate that the Manhattan Project is an important part of recent history that remains controversial to many and interesting to most students. In my opinion, Day One is the most accurate portrayal of this huge endeavor. The three primary actors (Dennehy as General Groves, Strathairn as Oppenheimer, and Tucker as Szilard) not only do an outstanding job of capturing their characters, each also bears a strong resemblence to the person they play. Strathairn, in particular, is marvelous and really drives home the angst that Oppie endured. The film remains very true to actual events, for the most part. There's very little artistic license at play here. Towards the end, the plot wanders and moralizes somewhat. But the use of atomic weapons to end WWII remains something of a moral dilemma, even 60 years after the fact. My only real criticism is the rather shallow characterization of President Truman. But overall, this is THE "must-see" film for those who have any interest in the dawn of the nuclear age.

I had long been a fan of this outstanding mini series, and having been lucky enough to tape it off the air when it was first broadcast, I was able to watch it again and again. Nevertheless, VHS tapes being what they are, I was also really looking forward to an eventual DVD release and was very gratified when it finally came. Unfortunately, I rejoiced a bit too soon. First, the video quality of this DVD release is rather poor, barely any better than that of my aging VHS tape. Second, the program has been edited from the original release. The editing doesn't seem to be major, but is annoying nonetheless. I have not yet looked at the entire DVD, but I already noticed two 20-30 seconds deletions in the first half hour. The first is when Leo Szilard first arrives to Columbia University in March 1939. The original release showed him emerging from the subway and asking directions to a policeman, which is omitted from the DVD. The second more important deletion comes at the conclusion of Szilard and Wigner's first visit with Einstein. In the original release, Einstein suggests that Szilard and Wigner write a letter to President Roosevelt and tells them that he would be happy to sign it, and this is not shown on the DVD. All in all, such an outstanding movie deserved a much better treatment and the problem is that, now that it has been badly done once, the likeliness of an eventual better DVD release is probably not that high. This means that I will unfortunately not be able to retire my aging VHS tape.

Day One is the most believably and well casted movie I have viewed to date. The famous nuclear scientists of the 20th century are exceedingly well portrayed, peaking out with General Groves and Robert Oppenheimer's characters. For those who want to learn of the story behind the development of nuclear technology, both weapons, and later, peacetime uses for power generation and medicinal/health purposes, this story forms the foundation. I have personally viewed the movie at least 6 times since first seeing it on, I believe, an AT&T made for TV showing presentation, and each time, catch something I missed previously. Makes "Fat Man/Little Boy" seem amateurish and exposes the adjustments to factual data made in that movie that are commonly made to meet what the producer believes the audiance demands.

Of all the films on WWII's Manhattan Project, this is the best, in my opinion. It's a no-nonsense account of the hardships, obstacles, and breakthroughs in producing the atomic bombs that ended the war. As far as I know, it's only available on VHS. That's a disadvantage, but no reason to avoid this excellent docudrama. An outstanding cast is complimented by attention to detail in creating an accurate period feel. Some other accounts that I've seen have a definite Hollywood aura to them, but not "Day One." If you're only going to see one film about The Bomb, this should be it. If you've seen the rest, then you really owe it to yourself to see the best.

As a teacher of physics, it is of the utmost importance that I teach my students, prospective physics majors and not, the hallowed tennents of the process of scientific inquiry and its necessary collaborative nature. This movie, does a superb job of forwarding that aspect of the nature of science.

As a physicist, I enjoyed this film a lot. The scientists working on the Manhattan project, and their inward and outward conflicts, are portrayed very believably. To the extent the film delves into the science, it is very accurate too.

The one sour note, however, is that the last third of the film pushes a very definite political agenda. President Truman is portrayed as a shallow, ignorant buffoon. The use of the atomic bomb to end the war is portrayed as an indefensible moral outrage. While that is an arguable (but incorrect, IMO) point of view, the last 45 minutes are almost Orwellian in hitting the viewer over the head with one particular interpretation to the exclusion of other, equally defensible ones.

For a film that goes to great lengths (and largely succeeds) in closely following the historical facts, this sudden twist into advocacy on a point of considerable controversy was disappointing. A more balanced exploration of the morality of using the bomb, rather than caricature, would have been a better way to end this otherwise great film.

This is the best of the atomic-bomb movies, and unfortunately still only available in VHS. Dennehy's performace as General Groves and Strathairn (of Good Night and Good Luck) does an amazing job as Oppenheimer. The characterizations are not the usual Hollywood cliches of professional people and their behavior.

It is also just an excellent job of portraying the history and science, but still remains a gripping human drama.

OK, it's fictionalized, but unlike any other movie doing this, it covers the story from the physicists first coming up with the theory to the military having to deal with a bunch of eggheads. Dennehy is excellent in this. I first saw it years ago and was thrilled it's on VHS and occasionally on DVD. Don't expect HD quality . . . it'll never happen.

I loved this miniseries when it originally aired. When my daughter had to do a research paper on the topic, I jumped on the opportunity to see it again, and bought it for her to watch as well. There is no better portrayal that tells the story so completely and compellingly. For an amazing book on the subject, definitely read the Pulitzer Prize winning "The Making of the Atomic Bomb" by Richard Rhodes. An incredible book. But for a movie version, you can't beat Day One.