The Day After Trinity
by Jon Else
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: J. Robert Oppenheimer, Paul FreesDirector: Jon Else
Writer: Jon Else
Editor: David Webb Peoples
Writer: David Webb Peoples
Editor: Ralph Wikke
Producer: Janet Peoples
Writer: Janet Peoples
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 88 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2002-05-14
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Image Entertainment
Movie Reviews of The Day After Trinity
Movie Review: Why Doesn't Edward Teller Appear In This Film?
Summary: 4 Stars
I viewed this film after I watched the BBC series "Oppenheimer" and I must say that I didn't really learn much from it that I didn't get from the BBC series. It was interesting to see what the characters we saw in the series really look like, and I must say, the BBC series worked very hard to get actors who looked like the people they were portraying, especially Hughes, Hans Bethe and Frank Oppenheimer.
Unfortunately, unlike the BBC series, this film does not go into the various technical problems the development of the A-Bomb encountered. Those involved in the project all pointed out how Oppenheimer was able to understand the various disciplines involved in building the bomb (physics, pyrotechnics, electronics, communications, shock waves, etc) and thus he was able to focus in on the best way to solve the various technical problems encountered.
One thing I found interesting is the fact that the film left in Haakon Chevalier's devastating critique of Oppenheimer where he says Oppenheimer was lying when he said the Chevalier had approached him with George Eltenton's proposal to transfer information on the Bomb to the Soviets. Chevalier emphatically denied that he supported this idea, saying only the national leaders could make such a decision, whereas the BBC series simply shows us a meeting in Oppenheimer's kitchen where the matter was discussed, but we are not told what was really said. The fact is that Oppenheimer maintained his friendship with Chevalier and he even visited him in Europe during the 1950's when the accusations against Oppenheimer were being loudly proclaimed.
It would have been very interesting to see Edward Teller, who in the hearings convened to determine whether Oppenheimer's security clearance should be revoked said he did not doubt Oppenheimer's loyalty but he did question his judgment, although it is reported that Teller spoke more harshly against him in early, closed meetings on the matter. It is too bad we don't see him in this film to hear how he perceived things 30 years later.
Finally, there is the famous question about whether it was necessary or moral to use the Bomb on the Japanese. Hughes says he is still troubled by the matter and that after Germany was defeated they should have stopped working on the bomb. Freeman Dyson says it was only used out of "bureaucratic inertia". Apparently these men forgot that a bloody war was being fought in the Pacific and that, contrary to the myths of the time this film was being made, they were NOT on the verge of surrender. Even if the US had not carried out an invasion of the Japanese Home Islands and had been willing to carry out a tight blockade for several months, far more Japanese would have died of hunger, disease and possible civil disorder. In addition, 100,000 Chinese were dying every month, so those who express concern for the Japanese civilians killed by the bomb (which is understandable) seem to forget the other Japanese civilians who would have starved to death or the civilians of the countries under Japanse occupation who were dying also, in addition to the Allied Prisoners-of-War (See Richard Frank's book "Downfall" for a full discussion of the matter).
Summary of The Day After Trinity
The Day After Trinity is a haunting journey through the dawn of the nuclear age, an incisive history of humanity's most dubious achievement and the man behind it--J. Robert Oppenheimer, the principal architect of the atomic bomb. Featuring archival footage and commentary from scientists and soldiers directly involved with the Manhattan Project, this gripping film is a fascinating look at the scope and power of the Nuclear Age.Documentary DVD Video
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