By: JWBM
Anyone who's seen imagery or heard stories from World War II wouldn't argue that it was anything less than primal, traumatic, gruesome, and life-changing for all involved. Each side—whether they were Axis or Allies—had goals in mind to come out on top. One could say this war was a technological and scientific race: from aeronautics, code breaking, chemical warfare, weaponry, to, here, bomb making. Decisions were often made higher up in the food chain and then carried out by those people handed down their orders to follow. Every attack at that point had a counter; what made the proposition of the atomic bomb different was it would have a total one-sided success rate. Once it was dropped, everyone on the opposing side should start saying their respective prayers.
In the beginning of the war, Albert Einstein proposed to the US government that German physicists were well on their way to developing the atomic bomb. US Major General Leslie Groves appointed Robert Oppenheimer—a highly respected American scientist—to lead teams towards beating Hitler and his physicists to the punch. This led to a remote area in New Mexico that would be not only secretive, but would also be used in case there was fallout if successful. Eventually all walks of the scientific elite came together and formed a community that would make it their set goal despite budget or having a social life outside of the complex. The sky was the limit—literally.
One of the most important points made in this documentary and one that some of the scientists grappled with once the smoke cleared, was what could a bomb of that size do on its own, and what would happen if it was dropped on living, breathing persons? All this manpower, time, and resources poured into this project, and more importantly all those young, countless soldiers' lives lost. Germany was out of the picture now, but Japan would not cease fire despite efforts to come to a deal made by then President Harry S. Truman. It was a decision not for the feint of heart, nor one without a compassionate heart. What took years to develop, now came to fruition and was being used before anyone could think twice about it. The impression was that the American people—who had friends and family involved with the war—could go back to their lives. Oppenheimer felt otherwise about something so quickly and massively destructive.
It's interesting to hear the thought processes that led up to the atomic bomb. Though being made in '81, this is a slower moving documentary than most nowadays might be accustomed to. A share of the people being interviewed are dry and slightly eccentric academics that speak freely and at their own pace. There are no rapid edits or gravitating music to sway the viewer. It takes on one word and point at a time without jumping around. Though, in that regard, one can be assured that these were the direct opinions and viewpoints of those involved. This mixes science and politics; something that looks like oil meeting water. The latter half of this documentary focuses on just that: Oppenheimer's rise and fall from both politics and science due to a series of complexities.
Director: Jon Else
Info: IMDB link
Trailer: Youtube link
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