The Day After Trinity

I have never worked directly with nuclear weapons but after viewing this movie, I wished I had.

That said, let me state unequivocally that my heart breaks for the suffering of the victims of these terrible weapons, as I sorrow for all victims of war and it's associated atrocities.

What I mean is that this documentary filmmaker has achieved the rare goal of so involving me in the time, place and action of these events, that when the movie ends, it's like saying goodbye to very dear friends.

I don't think I've seen another movie that so effectively combines still shots, interviews, background music and narration. This film should be boring and it is anything but.

Most of the scientists interviewed here have passed on and I mourn both the loss of their lives and the loss of the age. The age that was a time that America excelled in everything it put it's mind to.

A previous reviewer identified the tension between the delight of scientific discovery and the tremendous moral responsibility for the results. I agree; it is deeply moving to witness the obvious delight the scientists have in reliving what may have been the best years of their lives while attempting to resolve the deep struggle with the suffering it occasioned.

(Documentary quote referring to the Atomic bomb's detonation) - "Thank god it wasn't a dud!"

And, I ask you - Do 2 wrongs (Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor & America's A-bombing of Hiroshima) make a right?

Well, if you were to have asked "The Father of the Atomic Bomb", Robert Oppenheimer, that very question following all that took place in 1945, he, I'm sure, would have very likely replied back with a flat "No!".

Anyway - In order to fully appreciate this documentary (which is now 35 years old) and comprehend its historical relevance completely, the viewer must first be willing to look beyond its glaring production deficiencies in order to realize the incredible story that it tells just below its surface flaws.... And, as we all know - It's a story that literally changed the very course of man's future, forever.

*Note* - Robert Oppenheimer (born in 1904) died in 1967 from throat cancer. He was 62 at the time.

I came to look at this television documentary shortly after seeing Christopher Nolan's OPPENHEIMER (2023). The principal difference in the story is that in Nolan's movie, he tries to mislead the security forces about his sources concerning Russian spying at Alamogordo, and is later surprised to discover that it centered around Haakon Chevalier; in the documentary, he is the source for suspicions about the man.

It's not enough to change the story about Oppenheimer, but with the same set of facts, one can construct many stories. Nolan's movie is much more about Oppenheimer's personal life, and begins much earlier. This offers a viewpoint of his activities after the war, to control and limit the damage caused by his work. Each takes advantage of considerable hindsight to reach very different conclusions, both of which seem impeccable given the facts chosen by each. Based on having seen both within a short period of time, I can only conclude that they are both brilliantly done, and both badly lacking in completeness.

In 1942, brilliant physicist, Robert Oppenheimer, joined the top-secret "Manhattan Project" team which had set up its headquarters near the isolated town of Lamy, New Mexico (located in the desert wasteland).

By 1945, Oppenheimer, and his diligent colleagues, had perfected the Atomic bomb. And, yes, it was, then, in retaliation to Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor that the US government (inevitably) ordered that this most-destructive weapon of all be dropped directly onto Hiroshima.

Riddled with guilt over America's horrendous act of mass annihilation, Oppenheimer spent the remainder of his years trying (but to no avail) to somehow undo the wrong he believed he had inadvertently committed as a result of giving birth to the Atomic bomb.

But, alas - No matter how noble a man's pursuit for the greater good may be, it's what happens later when those of very questionable ethics get to play their hand in this ever-treacherous game of "life".

Can't wait for Nolan's 'Oppenheimer', so decided to see this docu. Quiet old but the story itself is pretty amazing. No wonder Nolan picked this story. Guess even without an advance in Germany with the allied troops, this is where the Nazis lost. Innovation is key! Glad Hitler and the Nazis didn't invest much in it. Got me curious how Nolan will use this powerful story of the Manhattan Project and Oppenheimer to his weird but entertaining storytelling.