This cerebral and technical documentary will make you use your brain cells, and probably could have used better editing as it runs nearly 2 hours in length. It focuses on the very important contributions of physicist Raemer Schreiber, who played a vital role in the building of the atomic bomb at Los Alamos, New Mexico, and went on to also contribute greatly to scientific projects post WW II, such as nuclear rockets and the hydrogen bomb.
Schreiber was actually one of the few physicists in the world who had the wherewithal to actually construct an atomic bomb piece by piece. In WW II, as America raced against the Nazis to build the bomb, Schreiber was entrusted to accompany the Plutonium core of the Fat Man bomb to Tinian Island, in the Marianas, which would eventually be the second atomic bomb dropped, this one on Nagasaki, Japan.
Rather fascinating to watch the film and stills of the social events at Los Alamos, for the workers on the Manhattan Project, to relieve their stress. But also quite interesting to note that with each unit sworn to its own secrecy they couldn't discuss any "day at the office" details among each other.
I particularly liked the contributions in the movie from Pulitzer Prize winning author Richard Rhodes, who not only is an expert on this subject but has a way of transcribing very technical details into language a layman can understand.
Overall, I certainly learned some new info in this doc but it's not for everyone, as I see it. However for those who like to expand their horizons and, as mentioned, use the old cranium there are rewards to be found here.
The Half-Life of Genius Physicist Raemer Schreiber
2017
Action / Biography / Documentary / History / War
The Half-Life of Genius Physicist Raemer Schreiber
2017
Action / Biography / Documentary / History / War
Keywords: biography
Plot summary
Schreiber was one of Oppenheimer's brilliant young physicists recruited for the Manhattan Project during World War II. He was entrusted to carry the Plutonium core to Tinian Island where he'd assemble the atomic bomb known to history as "Fatman". In the mid-fifties, he was selected to lead the American effort to build powerful nuclear rocket engines in the secrecy of the Nevada desert just miles from the infamous Area 51. The film includes Interviews with Los Alamos historian Roger Meade and Pulitzer Prize-winning Richard Rhodes. As well, nuclear physicist Taylor Wilson and nuclear engineer Carl Willis discuss Schreiber's "rocket science" with project ROVER. The film contains rare footage, artifacts, photos and audio recordings not seen or heard outside of family for decades. Some consider Schreiber atomic royalty. This is his story.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
Director
Top cast
Tech specs
720p.WEB 1080p.WEBMovie Reviews
Cerebral Documentary
Starts too slow, worth it eventually
WAY too chronological up front. Boring in the extreme while farming etc. but worth it. Fast forward a few minutes or stick it out. Slightly unusually interesting stuff for the Manhattan project recruiting stuff with many of the familiar faces, then he gets increasingly interesting jobs, which you've often never quite heard about. Good stories, and he also recorded a grainy audio interview, so we get a fair amount of his own voice in them.