THE STORY OF THE EXTRAORDINARY PEOPLE WHO CHANGED OUR WORLD.
In 1943, U.S. general Leslie R. Groves (Paul Newman) is putting together a top-secret team to build the first atomic bomb, led by the physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer (Dwight Schultz)… but the two men find themselves at odds. By focusing on the uneasy relationship between a soldier and a scientist, Roland Joffé is not exactly getting down to what was most intriguing about the Manhattan Project. Neither Newman nor Schultz are able to make the drama exciting enough. Still, sunbaked locations and an emotional score bring some atmosphere, and the filmmakers give us an idea of the kind of moral consequences Oppenheimer was facing.
1989-U.S. 126 min. Color. Widescreen. Directed by Roland Joffé. Screenplay: Roland Joffé, Bruce Robinson. Music: Ennio Morricone. Cast: Paul Newman (Leslie R. Groves), Dwight Schultz (J. Robert Oppenheimer), Bonnie Bedelia (Kitty Oppenheimer), John Cusack, Laura Dern, John Frazier… John C. McGinley, Natasha Richardson.
Trivia: Alternative title: Shadow Makers.
