This exciting picture is a dramatization of nuclear run and follows the development of the Manhattan project in Los Alamos from first conception of the power within the atom , the 235 uranium , with the neutrons bombing into the piles of graphite which leads to nuclear reaction that produces the atomic bomb , ¨the Trinity¨ . The movie describes the power struggles and tensions between an idealist Robert Oppenheimer (Dwight Schulz) , the project's science leader and General Leslie Groves (Paul Newman) , the project's military commander . It was a race for the bomb because of the Nazis with the scientist Heisenberg were also making a nuclear bomb . Besides, there appears famous scientists who contributed to the atomic success with the first bomb as Leo Szilard , Enrico Fermi and Edward Teller .
The film is overlong , a little bit dull and slow-moving , though the semi-fictional accounts narrated are very interesting . Paul Newman as the military brain is excellent and Dwight Schulz (A team) as Oppenheimer , the head behind it , is magnificent . In real life , Newman was a liberal progressist and Schultz is a Republican conservative , poles opposites to the attractive roles they performed in this film . Furthermore , a distinguished rest cast , such as : John Cusack , Laura Dern , Bonnie Bedelia , John G. McGinley , Allan Corduner , Clark Gregg , James Eckhouse , Todd Field and Natasha Richardson , all of them are enjoyable . Director Roland Joffé cast some real-life scientific people in short background characters , as future Nobel Prize winner David Politzer, among others . It contains exceptional as well as colorful cinematography by Vilmos Zsigmond and sensitive musical score by the master Ennio Morricone in his usual style . The motion picture was professionally directed by Roland Joffe (The mission , Killing fields ) .
Other films as ¨Fat man (this way called by bombing in Hiroshima) and Little boy¨ (so named by bombing in Nagasaki) are the following ones : ¨Day one¨ , ¨Engola Day¨ , ¨Hiroshima¨ and for TV : ¨Oppenheimer¨ with Sam Waterson and one of the best resulted to be the Canadian series titled ¨Race for the bomb¨ with Maury Chaykin as General Groves and directed by Allan Eastman . Rating : Good and worthwhile seeing.
