Fat Man and Little Boy
by Roland Joffé
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Bonnie Bedelia, Dwight Schultz, John Cusack, Laura Dern, Paul NewmanDirector: Roland Joffé
Cinematographer: Vilmos Zsigmond
Writer: Roland Joffé
Editor: Françoise Bonnot
Producer: John Calley
Producer: Kimberly Cooper
Producer: Tony Garnett
Writer: Bruce Robinson
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Subtitled); English (Original Language); French (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Digital Sound, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Surround Sound, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.77:1
Running Time: 127 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-04-27
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Paramount
Movie Reviews of Fat Man and Little Boy
Movie Review: "Should We Save Life Or Destroy It?"
Summary: 5 Stars
Paul Newman, Dwight Schultz, and John Cusack ster in this excellent movie about the Manhattan Project and the development of the world's first atomic bombs. Newman stars as General Leslie Groves, a hard-nosed army general who is assigned to oversee the military aspects of the project. Groves hand picks J. Robert Oppenheimer (Schultz) to head up a group of scientists who's job it is to find a way to harness the power of the atom so that it could be unleashed in the form of a bomb.
Upon being hired by Groves, Oppenheimer suggests that all operations take place in one centralized location. The remote site of Los Alamos, New Mexico is chosen to become the main base of operations, with the scientists and military personnel living on site 24 hours a day. Not long after beginning operations, tempers begin to flare between the much-overworked scientists and Groves. As work progresses, many of the scientists begin to have "moral problems" about dropping such a powerful bomb on helpless civilians.
The bomb was originally developed for use against the Germans, and after Germany surrendered in May, 1945, Oppenheimer thought that the project would be cancelled. Not so. Groves pushed the work forward so the bomb could be used against the Japanese. By July, 1945, the original test bomb was ready to be tested. The test was successful, and three weeks later, "Little Boy" was dropped on Hiroshima, with "Fat Man" following three days later on Nagasaki. Japann surrendered on August 14, 1945.
Paul Newman and Dwight Schultz are both excellent in their roles as Groves and Oppenheimer. Contrary to the movie, both enjoed a quite cordial relationship, and Groves was much more subdued than portrayed in the film. Schultz's performance is the high point of the movie for me. He does a tremendous job portraying the often volatile, but brilliant Oppenheimer. The film also does a good job of explaining his personal life, including his failing marriage to his wife (Bonnie Bedelia) to his relationship with his communist-sympathizing mistress (Natasha Richardson). His drive for perfection and obsession to see the project through are both accurately portrayed in the film. John Cusack also does a fine job as scientist Michael Merriman, who coins the phrase "should we save life or destroy it?"
Some of the world's greatest scientists, from Fermi to Einstein, worked on the bomb. Although some opposed its use, in the end, it saved countless lives. I recommend this great film to anyone who is a history fan or who just enjoys good movies. This is one people will surely enjoy.
Summary of Fat Man and Little Boy
Despite the combined star power in front of and behind the camera, Fat Man and Little Boy is a largely tepid retelling of the history of the Manhattan Project, the atomic testing project that led to the U.S. bombing of Japan during World War II (said bombs were dubbed "Fat Man" and "Little Boy"). The Nevada-based project is headed by General Leslie R. Groves (a testy Paul Newman) and scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer (Dwight Schultz of the TV series The A-Team), who later regretted his cooperation in the project. The problem with the film lies not with the acting, which includes solid performances by Bonnie Bedelia, Laura Dern, John Cusack, and future U.S. Senator Fred Dalton Thompson, but with the script by director Roland Joffé and Bruce Robinson (Withnail and I and Joffé's The Killing Fields). A subject as morally complex as the creation of a supreme weapon requires a strong and thoughtful script, but Fat Man and Little Boy never gets further than establishing that indeed, atomic power is something to reckon with. Joseph Sargent's 1989 made-for-TV film Day One, with Brian Dennehy as Groves and David Straithairn as Oppenheimer, covers the same story with twice the depth and avoids the pitfall of a romantic subplot (Oppenheimer's dalliance with a communist played by Natasha Richardson), which this film stumbles into. Cusack's doomed scientist is actually a combination of two real-life physicists, Harry Daghlian and Louis Slotkin, who died from radiation poisoning, albeit long after V-J Day. --Paul GaitaSimilar DVD Movies
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