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Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 9780792115144
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
ISBN: 0792115147
Label: Paramount
Manufacturer: Paramount
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Paramount
Release Date: May 05, 1998
Running Time: 127 minutes
Sales Rank: 1219
Studio: Paramount
Theatrical Release Date: October 20, 1989
Editorial Review:
Amazon.com:
Despite the combined star power in front of and behind the camera, Fat Man and Little Boy is a largely tepid retelling of the history of the Manhattan Project, the atomic testing project that led to the U.S. bombing of Japan during World War II (said bombs were dubbed 'Fat Man' and 'Little Boy'). The Nevada-based project is headed by General Leslie R. Groves (a testy Paul Newman) and scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer (Dwight Schultz of the TV series The A-Team), who later regretted his cooperation in the project. The problem with the film lies not with the acting, which includes solid performances by Bonnie Bedelia, Laura Dern, John Cusack, and future U.S. Senator Fred Dalton Thompson, but with the script by director Roland Joffé and Bruce Robinson (Withnail and I and Joffé's The Killing Fields). A subject as morally complex as the creation of a supreme weapon requires a strong and thoughtful script, but Fat Man and Little Boy never gets further than establishing that indeed, atomic power is something to reckon with. Joseph Sargent's 1989 made-for-TV film Day One, with Brian Dennehy as Groves and David Straithairn as Oppenheimer, covers the same story with twice the depth and avoids the pitfall of a romantic subplot (Oppenheimer's dalliance with a communist played by Natasha Richardson), which this film stumbles into. Cusack's doomed scientist is actually a combination of two real-life physicists, Harry Daghlian and Louis Slotkin, who died from radiation poisoning, albeit long after V-J Day. --Paul Gaita
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - The Eve of Destruction
"Fat Man and Little Boy" takes a human look at the history behind the making of the atomic bomb. It has a superb ensemble cast- with the late Paul Newman as Gen. Leslie Groves, Dwight Schultz as Robert Oppenheimer, Jon Cusak as a scientist, and Natasha Richardson as Oppenheimer's Russian mistress. The movie avoids passing judgment on the Manhattan Project. Was it necessary for winning WWII, or was it human meddling with powers beyond their reach? What is the relationship between science and morality, ... Read More
Rating:  - Highly recommended
I am a retired research physicist who spent 13 years in New Mexico. I highly recommend this movie for those with an interest in the history of physics or interesting people or whatever. This movie is not completely factual, but I love it anyway. As a historical drama, it is very well done.
Rating:  - You also might be interested in the great mini-series "Oppenheimer"...
The BBC released the great mini-series "Oppenheimer" on Region Two DVD format last year.
This great mini-series is still felt to be the best re-creation on film of the people and events leading up to the explosions of the atomic bombs in August 1945. A young SAM WATERSTON plays Oppenheimer brilliantly.
It took years for the BBC to decide to release the series in DVD format, and then it was only in Region Two (PAL), the format used in the UK.
You'd think that they'd ... Read More
Rating:  - Very Disappointing
As much as I admire Paul Newman, this film is so terribly flawed that even his presence can't salvage it. The Manhattan Project is such a critical juncture in recent history that I think it's very important that the story be told realistically. This film is 90% Hollywood formula and 10% history. Only in the broadest brushstrokes does this movie give the viewer any kind of concept of that monumental undertaking. Do yourself a BIG favor; watch the far superior (and very accurate) "Day One" instead. In all ... Read More
Rating: - Uses for HS chem classes are endless
this is a great movie to teach students about the atomic bomb and its creation. I use it in my chemistry class all the time
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