The Day After Trinity

In 1942, brilliant physicist, Robert Oppenheimer, joined the top-secret "Manhattan Project" team which had set up its headquarters near the isolated town of Lamy, New Mexico (located in the desert wasteland).

By 1945, Oppenheimer, and his diligent colleagues, had perfected the Atomic bomb. And, yes, it was, then, in retaliation to Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor that the US government (inevitably) ordered that this most-destructive weapon of all be dropped directly onto Hiroshima.

Riddled with guilt over America's horrendous act of mass annihilation, Oppenheimer spent the remainder of his years trying (but to no avail) to somehow undo the wrong he believed he had inadvertently committed as a result of giving birth to the Atomic bomb.

But, alas - No matter how noble a man's pursuit for the greater good may be, it's what happens later when those of very questionable ethics get to play their hand in this ever-treacherous game of "life".

I have never worked directly with nuclear weapons but after viewing this movie, I wished I had.

That said, let me state unequivocally that my heart breaks for the suffering of the victims of these terrible weapons, as I sorrow for all victims of war and it's associated atrocities.

What I mean is that this documentary filmmaker has achieved the rare goal of so involving me in the time, place and action of these events, that when the movie ends, it's like saying goodbye to very dear friends.

I don't think I've seen another movie that so effectively combines still shots, interviews, background music and narration. This film should be boring and it is anything but.

Most of the scientists interviewed here have passed on and I mourn both the loss of their lives and the loss of the age. The age that was a time that America excelled in everything it put it's mind to.

A previous reviewer identified the tension between the delight of scientific discovery and the tremendous moral responsibility for the results. I agree; it is deeply moving to witness the obvious delight the scientists have in reliving what may have been the best years of their lives while attempting to resolve the deep struggle with the suffering it occasioned.

Jon Else's documentary, The Day After Trinity, is about the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, a genius who helped develop the atomic bomb and whose life ended in criticism by Joseph McCarthy. The film also documents the establishment of Los Alamos and the length of time that led up to the Trinity test along with interviews of the people who worked with Oppenheimer. It is the best document involving nuclear weapons that I have seen and I highly recommend it to those would like to know more about the people who assisted on the world's most dangerous weapon. The actual footage of the hoisting of the bomb is excellent.

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.

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.