Customer Reviews

Einstein: The Real Story of the Man Behind the Theory

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

 

 

I first saw part of this movie on History channel and now I own it. Before this movie, I had trouble seeing the forest for the trees when it comes to Einstein. But this movie explains the four most prominent theories (from his miracle year in 1905) using stunning graphics and explanations from contemporary physicists. This is my favorite part of the movie.

But, there is a broader story being told about how a great man can almost be overlooked by institutional thinking. And, how relatively mundane things like clouds and international disputes (okay wars) can threaten to extinguish some of the most important scientific advancements ever.

Einstein is not portrayed as a saint here either. His personal details both charming and somewhat crass are all woven into the story of how one of the greatest minds of history unlocked and proved some of the most perplexing problems to date.

I love it. If you care anything about Einstein, get it. It is not overly technical and it is fascinating on all dimensions.

I bought this for my husband who is a physicist. I had no intention of watching it myself. However I was making lunch one day when he slipped in the DVD, and I was hooked while listening from the adjoining room. I finished lunch in front of the TV fascinated by the story I had never heard about. Especially the difficulty and the years it took to try to confirm Einstein's theory of relativity - what some scientists went through just to be at the right spot to photograph an eclipse that would help prove the theory - I can't do it justice with my review or explanation. Highly Recommended!!!

This is a very fine documentary on the events leading up to and surrounding the ultimate confirmation of the General Theory of Relativity. Besides the scientific information, you learn a lot about Einstein's personal and professional life, which was more eventful for a retiring academic than one would think, including something about his family life and his two wives. It took eight tense years for Einstein to finally get confirmation during a solar eclipse of his theory. Marginal photographic equipment, uncooperative weather, remote and hard to reach locations--even a world war--interfered with these eclipse expeditions, until one (William Wallace Campbell's, whose first expedition had failed) finally succeeded. The film includes interesting archival footage shot from a WWI biplane of the Lick Observatory atop Mt. Hamilton, which for a time housed the largest reflector in the world (100 inches), before the 200-inch Palomar telescope exceeded it, and the second largest refracting telescope (36 inches), which was interesting to see also. As a young amateur astronomer 30 years ago, I was fortunate enough to attend an open house there once and got to look through the Hooker 36-inch refractor. With commentary by theoretical physicist Michio Kaku, astrophysicist Neil Degrasse Tyson, Einstein expert and historian of science Diana L. Kormos-Buchwald, and other experts to flesh out the story, it's an excellent account of this important event in science.

I brought this DVD home from the library and we were so impressed with the program that we bought our own copy. We've watched it several times with various friends and family members. The program does an excellent job of explaining Einstein's theories in a way that is easy to digest. What we found fascinating was the struggle that ensued to prove his general relativity theory. The story has all the makings for a good Hollywood drama! I highly recommend this DVD.

At first glance, this appears to be a factual biology of Einstein and his quest for a General Theory of Relativity. But about half way through, the narration changes its tone from a presentation of facts to a vehement argument for pacifism at any cost regardless of historical perspective or consequence, casting Einstein as supporting evidence.

In short, this is a propaganda film. It drips with its own point of view, rather than presenting an unbiased historical perspective.

Too bad. It is fairly well produced.