Longitude
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Movie Reviews of Longitude
Movie Review: An enjoyable window into technology's past
Summary: 5 Stars
I really enjoyed the glimpse into the past and getting to know Harrison and his son. I think the film is most useful in describing how the process of invention, or any scientific advance, really works. There are always twists and turns and dead ends. It is very difficult to know ahead of time who is on the right track and deserves funding, and who is just another weirdo with a strange idea. As a person who has had a few strange ideas myself, I appreciate that.
Another important point made by the film is the crucial role that prizes can play in technological advance. The way the prize is organized is important. Prizes given after the fact are all well and good, but have a limited effect. Prizes that lay out ahead of time exactly what is wanted, with a large enough amount of money at stake for serious effort to be put into it, do help advance science and technology. I would like to see such a prize offered in elementary education--perhaps for a reliable method for teaching reading which is cheap to administer and which is 95% effective in producing kids who are functionally literate. We could see some major advances in our schools.
I found the film's scenes of life in the 18th century fascinating. The 18th century was the last century in which mankind had not yet become dependent on fossil fuels. As such, studying it can have important lessons for our future in which fossil fuels are exhausted. For more on the reasons for this, check out "The Long Emergency" by Kunstler.
Movie Review: Parallel Lives End Up In Same Spot
Summary: 5 Stars
I saw this movie both in its original form as broadcast on A&E and as a VCR tape. The movie is a stunning example of the power of a well written script, a director with vision and actors that can portray real people. The editing of this movie would win an Academy Award if it were eligible. The weaving of two lives, 200 years apart into one cohesive story line is a wonder to behold. The movie subject is complicated and requires viewer attention. I found the science and the emotion of the time, including class prejudices to be right on. The movie making craft was no better than when the viewer is transported out to sea and witnesses the brutal reality of sailing in the 1700's. A scene when the young Harrison of about 6 or 7 lectures Sir Edmund Haley on the celestal observations of the sun and the accuracy of their own clock is priceless. Some might call the movie predictable at the end, but I think it is fine movie making to remind us that without Harrison, the voyages of James Cook and others after him would never have been successful without his time keepers.
This movie has passion, action, love and devotion. It reminds all of us that to move the human race along to the next plateau requires more than what most of us are willing to risk today.
Movie Review: A wonderful tale of vital historical importance
Summary: 5 Stars
The beginning of this film makes clear the importance of knowing one's position at sea. Disasters--some of epic proportions--were distressingly regular when doubts about one's position relative to land or dangerous reefs were the order of the day. This film tells two stories in parallel. The first is of John Harrison's efforts to make accurate nautical clocks--called chronometers--that could be used at sea and provide a simple means of acertaining longitude (by comparing the time at the home port of known longitude to that of the ship determined by the sun or the stars). Harrison had to struggle against many technical odds to make his machines--and against many bureaucratic barriers to getting them accepted.The second story is that of Rupert Gould, the Royal Navy officer, who, suffering from his experiences in the first world war, begins the process of restoring the old Harrison clocks to working order. This story is of less historical significance than the first, of course, but it is why we are able to go to the Royal Observatory at Greenwich and see the clocks running today. The poor fellow turned the clocks into an obsession as his life changed dramatically around him.
Well done, and well worth the time.
Movie Review: Longitude
Summary: 5 Stars
I had seen this video before purchasing my copy. I must admit that I have a vested interest in this movie because the main character John Harrison, rural clockmaker and maker of the chronometer which was used by the British Navy to plot Longitude is my 6th Grandfather!!!! My sister, a geneologist had only recently come to research this fact and told us about it.
It is a classic tale of how a person's perseverance can affect the lives of many. The fact that he had to spend 40 years of his life fighting the unfair bureaucratic system of the times was sad and yet his determination paid off for the benefit of others.He was certain that despite the many failures he had, that he was right and his chronometer which is now on display at Greenwich in London saved the lives of many shipmen and prevented ships from being lost at sea or running aground. I have tried to teach my sons that any job worth doing is worth doing well and that perseverance in any job which is worthwhile will pay off. I am proud John Harrison was my relative. Janet Watson
Movie Review: Powerful presentation of an important part of history
Summary: 5 Stars
I have watched this story a few times and a couple of times with my children. Always I find new things in this telling of the tale of how Harrison gave us our first ability to find our way across the oceans by knowing longitude with confidence through the accuracy of his timekeepers. The performances by Gambon and Irons are powerful. Just as powerful is the way the story of the builder and the the restorer of 200 years later are intertwined. Their individual stuggles, both personal and technical, are seen more clearly by telling the story this way. This is a skillful crafted movie.
But more than that it is just a wonderful story that is fun to watch. And then there is the payoff of having so many wonderful lessons to teach.
The set also contains a featurette on the making of the movie that is also entertaining and informative. The best part is that my eight year old asked me to get out our copy of Dava Sobel's book (the illustrated version) so we could read it together.
Bravo!