Day One

This was a very ambitious project for any movie, let alone one made for TV. To make a historically accurate movie on the development and deployment of the atomic bomb, encompassing the scientific, political, diplomatic and military aspects, is, to put it mildly, daunting. Yet this movie largely succeeds, due primarily to a great script and an over-the-top cast. Dramatic tension is maintained throughout, and the script draws the viewer in to the multifarious issues involved. Many viewers have objected to the issue of the morality of the bomb's use being discussed, yet surely this is a legitimate issue for discussion and was raised by various players at the time. Ralph Bard, Undersecretary of the Navy, did indeed resign over its use. The movie, however, is in no way a pacifist screed. All in all a very well-made and thoroughly absorbing treatment of a momentous historical moment.

"Day One" feels like a portrait of the longest pre-meditated murder in the history of mankind. There are the killers, the unwitting accomplices, and the witnesses. It's all so well-documented, so perfectly arranged. This is the coldest kind of tale imaginable. Given the opportunity to put a distance of emotion and miles between the countless innocent dead and some perceived military victory, a country at large was deceived into believing that some great good or justice was being served.

In spite of how you or I might see the results of the design, construction and eventual detonation of the first nuclear devices, this film doesn't take sides. Brian Dennehy and David Strathairn (two of my favorite actors) create incredibly believable characters. Michael Tucker, who looks very much like Leo Szilard, is excellent as well. I enjoyed Joseph Sargent's directorial work, a sort of off-hand realist quality he brings to nearly all his films. It serves the story well. "Day One" is a good film, just not the most engaging or tightly woven one. Your interest should depend directly on your familiarity with the subject matter.

This is quite a good depiction of the history of the development of the bomb, and I was quite enjoying it. Then in about the last half hour the "revisionist" history began to creep in - the type where all good people at the time felt we shouldn't use the bomb, and only the evil military folks were for its use. The dialog at this point sounds absolutely absurd for a wartime 1945, and comes across more like a demonstration at Berkley in the 60s. "Yes we used the bomb, but we were very conflicted about the decision, and we were wrong to do it." Spare me this drivel.

If you agree with this point of view and felt the US was wrong to use the bomb you'll love the movie.

This is a very good film on the Manhattan Project, the building of the atomic bomb. It is especially a faithful adaptation of the book, DAY ONE, by Peter Wyden. Other reviews here have done a good job of description--I will add that it is far superior to the Paul Newman film on the same topic: FAT MAN AND LITTLE BOY.

In addition, this film is a good teaching tool. I used to show clips from the movie to my U.S. History classes, particularly the latter portion of the film where multiple viewpoints are given of the reasons for and against the dropping of the bomb, whether or not it was necessary, and what would be the moral consequences if such a weapon was used. These viewpoints, from the military and civilian leaders in Washington and at Los Alamos, are not conjured up from the mind of some scriptwriter--they are historically accurate.

Brian Dennehy's Commanding Performance as Brig. Gen Leslie Groves drives this TV-Docudrama about "The Manhattan Project", the Scientific/Militaristic Collaboration to Design and Build the First Atomic Bomb.

But Producing the "Super Weapon" opens up a "Pandora's Box" of Conflicting Philosophies and Strategic Questions that Human Beings were Forced to Answer, and Answer Quickly.

History is Played Out quite Accurately, or as Accurate as something like a TV-Movie is Capable. It's an Astonishingly Detailed Account of the much Talked About Event.

"The Manhattan Project, Los Alamos, Oak Ridge, Trinity, Fat Man & Little Boy, Oppenheimer, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Fall Out", and other Terms enters and remains in the Lexicon of Nervous Language to this Day.

This is a good Dramatization. David Strathairn is Excellent as Robert J. Oppenheimer, "Oppie", to His Friends and Colleagues. He is more of a Complex Person than Groves and it wasn't as Easy to Flesh Out, but is given His Due and enough Screen Time to be a Fair Account of the Man.

Overall, the Movie is a Must Watch for Historians and for Anyone Interested in War Room and Laboratory Intrigue where America's "Hawks and Doves" Mated and the "Love Child" and its Offspring are Still Alive and the Biography is Not Yet Complete.