The Day After Trinity

For a 90 minute film, this documentary does an admirable job of telling the tale of the making of the atom bomb. It's great value is the recording of interviews of some of the major players at a time when they had had time to reflect on the event. Since most all of those directly involved with the development of the bomb are now dead, this documentary is a priceless piece of history.

The events are centered around Robert Oppenheimer, the brilliant physicist who became the director of the Los Alamos branch of the Manhattan Project that was responsible for the design, construction, and testing of the bomb. Oppenheimer was a person who had that unusual combination of a supreme knowledge of technology and theory as well as skills as an administrator. I think part of his success as an administrator was due to the respect he commanded from all who worked with him. Ultimately there were hundreds of scientists at the Los Alamos site; it was remarked that there has never been in history such a large gathering of world-class scientists at one place. I found it odd that there was no mention of Leó Szilárd who envisioned the idea of a nuclear chain reaction in 1933.

Unfortunately Robert Oppenheimer was not alive to be interviewed for this film, but there is substantial archival footage of him. Robert's brother Frank, also a physicist, was interviewed at some length. There is archival footage of the destruction caused by the dropping of the two bombs, both the physical and human destruction. Such scenes require a strong stomach to watch, and what is shown is only a small glimpse of the horror. The dropping of the bombs had a profound effect on the scientists who were responsible for the development. Some, like Robert Wilson, abandoned all classified work. Oppenheimer--who made the remark, "the physicists have known sin, and this is a knowledge which they cannot lose"-- spent time after the war agitating for world control over nuclear weapons; he was never the same person after the war and became a tragic figure.

Given that the development of the atom bomb was a significant event in human history, there is no lacking of reference material. A complete exposition is contained in Richard Rhodes', "The Making of the Atom Bomb." I found the fact-based docudrama, "Day One," to be interesting, particularly in its dealing with the discussions surrounding the decision to drop the bombs.

(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 first saw this documentary in 1981 and I am not exaggerating when I say it changed my life. A few years later I took an 18 month unpaid leave from my professorship to work as a full-time volunteer trying to defuse the nuclear threat. While many factors contributed to that decision, "The Day After Trinity" certainly was one of them.

The thing that impressed me most about this film was that it showed me how we can fool ourselves as to our motivation. We think we base our decisions on a rational foundation, but this film helped me to see places in my own past where I had made major decisions and not been totally honest about some of my motivation. We have socially acceptable and socially unacceptable reasons for doing things and hide the socially unacceptable ones even from our own consciousness. But they are at work in the unconscious, where they can take over and do great harm. Watching this film made me vow to do my utmost never to do that again. (It's not as easy as it might sound!) It is not light fare, but definitely worth watching. Aside from what a viewer can learn from it, the film is very well done, with much high drama.

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.

Often gripping documentary detailing the father of the American atomic bomb. Two interesting themes emerged throughout the film. The first is the tension between the delight of scientific discovery and the social responsibility for its results. The second was the story of how the American government co-opted the scientific brilliance of a generation of progressive/left-wing scientists (who were rallied by anti-fascist fervour) to ignite a so-called Cold War with Communist Russia.

In both cases the hubris of the scientists (that nuclear weapons can be controlled, that politicians will act selflessly and share the knowledge, and enter into an international stewardship of the Bomb) reminds us of the gulf between technical skill and political savvy.

All of this is well presented well in the film, focused through the lens of the story of Robert Oppenheimer, and his triumphs and failings - his genius and short-sightedness - are laid bare. It does falter a bit after detailing the use of atomic weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki - seeing anything after the presentation of this destruction leaves us emotionally exhausted - but Oppenheimer's fall from grace does feel like an anti-climax, and seems a little rushed.

Rating 7 out of 10 (quite good).