Product Details

• Actors: John Lithgow, Shirley Henderson, Aidan McArdle
• Directors: Gary Johnstone
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Letterboxed, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: PBS
• DVD Release Date: December 6, 2005
• Run Time: 112 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000BKDO6G
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #29,145 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Everyone's heard of it, but what does E=mc2 -- the world’s most famous equation -- really mean? And why did it change the world?

With brilliant period recreations, NOVA dramatizes how an obscure young patent clerk, Albert Einstein, came up with his shattering 1905 discovery that the realms of matter and energy are inescapably linked. An accessible, suspenseful epic, Einstein's Big Idea reveals the roots of his astonishing breakthrough in the human stories of men and women whose innovative thinking across four centuries helped lead to E=mc2, and ultimately unleashed the power of the atom.

Here are stories rich with achievement and failure, feuds and duplicity, love and rivalry, politics and revenge: Michael Faraday, the penniless blacksmith’s son who fought the ridicule of the scientific establishment; Antoine Lavoisier, the cool-headed experimenter who fell victim to the guillotine; and Lise Meitner, the physicist who weathered Nazi persecution and personal betrayal on her path to discovering the splitting of the atom.

As one discovery builds on the next, Einstein's Big Idea shows how Einstein's saga began with the personal lives of these pioneers and their years of persistence, ingenuity, sacrifice, and heroic struggle against the odds.

The film stars Aidan McArdle (Ella Enchanted) as Einstein, and Shirley Henderson (Bridget Jones and Harry Potter) as Einstein's first wife, Mileva Maric.

Special DVD features include: materials and activities for educators; a link to the NOVA Web site; scene selections; closed captions; and described video for the visually impaired.

On one DVD5 disc. Region coding: All regions. Audio: Dolby stereo. Screen format: Letterboxed.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What Every Documentary Should Be, November 27, 2005

By 

Daniel R. Sanderman (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: NOVA: Einstein's Big Idea (DVD)

EINSTEIN'S BIG IDEA is an absolutely fabulous documentary. This film truly sets the standard for NOVa and makes me lament the fact that more programming isn't done like this. If only the amount of money that goes into general programming went into PBS. That would be something else.

But enough of my own ridiculous desires. EINSTEIN'S BIG IDEA chronicles some of the most fascinating scientific work that has been done in the last couple of centuries. It is an idea so big that its implications have been vast, not just within the fields of science & mathematics, but in our society and culture at large. NOVA also shows how Einstein's achievement was not the happy accident we often see it as. Instead, this documentary seeks to situate his discovery by exploring the lives of other pioneers in related fields, richly filling out the personal lives of these scientists and, above all, situating their achievements in a rich history and context.

In the end, EINSTEIN'S BIG IDEA accomplishes two goals. First, I came away from the program with a bunch of ideas and information swimming in my head, the result of handing me the information in a digestible format. Second, I was entertained throughout the entire program. It truly didn't feel like I was learning--I was being entertained.

If only I could go back and replace some of the boring school films I had to watch in middle/high school with the sharp work of NOVA. It would have been a treat! If you haven't seen the excellent NOVA lineup, I suggest that you remedy it with a liberal dose! Happy viewing!

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Superb Scientific Story, April 30, 2006

By 

Osam Alwan (Bahrain) - See all my reviews

This review is from: NOVA: Einstein's Big Idea (DVD)

This program has more science than (Einstein Revealed, Newton's Dark Secrets and The Elegant Universe), although Newton's Dark Secrets has its moments.

Einstein's Big Idea is about the many contributions of earlier scientists leading Einstein to come up with E=mc2. It's also about the later usefulness of E=mc2 in nuclear physics. Unlike Einstein Revealed, which is a story almost entirely about the life of Einstein (private and public), Einstein's Big Idea is a story about science with its ups and downs. There are also some people stories as well, but they are added for dramatic value, which in my view helps instead of hinders the program.

I highly recommend this program for anyone who is interested in the evolution of scientific ideas (7 stars).

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I want to ride on a beam of light., August 31, 2006

By 

Graciela Milakovic "Graciela Milakovic" (Lilburn, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: NOVA: Einstein's Big Idea (DVD)

This is by far the best documentary I have ever seen and it doesn't even feel like one. Einstein's Big Idea truly takes you into the journey of light itself. It takes a hold of you from the beginning with its wonderful introduction into these people's lives and achievements, and it doesn't let go until the end. When you are watching the fascinating stories that make up the equation E=mc2, you relate to the characters and their struggles as if you were part of their discoveries. I specially offer a huge praise to the actor that portrays Einstein (the resemblance is uncanny) who makes you believe he is the icon himself. It is amazing how quickly your mind fills with questions and wonders beyond your average everyday thinking. It makes me wish I was a scientist in this period of time when all bets are off and not even God can tell you what to do.