Plot: What’s it about?
I remember seeing “Fat Man and Little Boy” on HBO, some fifteen years ago. About the only thing that I remember from it was the scene where John Cusack’s character accidentally picks up a radioactive ball in order to save the lives of those around him. I trust that’s not giving too much away, but it’s amazing the indelible images that movies have upon us, isn’t it? Of course, when I saw this the Cold War was still on (this movie was made in 1989, just before the fall of Communism) and the nuclear race was almost at its all-time high. Funny, of course, how time can change things so much. Paul Newman played the title character of Gen. Leslie Groves and he was now Paul Newman the Academy Award winning actor. The movie sported an all-star case in Newman, Cusack, John C. McGinley, Bonnie Bedelia, Laura Dern and Natasha Richardson to name a few. Directed by Roand Joffe (“The Killing Fields”), this had all the right elements for a successful movie. But then the reviews were lukewarm – so what went wrong?
The story focuses on the “Manhattan Project”, the code name for the development of the nuclear weapons used on Japan in World War II. Nuclear weapons have only been used twice in war, both during World War II and both by the United States. These have been credited with “winning the war” for us and it’s hard to imagine what life would be like had we not used them. Then again, the sheer threat of nuclear weapons is more than enough for all countries to think first and act later. But in World War II, the United States needed an advantage. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the world’s leading scientists were gathered in New Mexico to start work on what would become “The Manhattan Project”. They were given a deadline and under the leadership of Army Gen. Leslie Groves (Paul Newman). There’s not a lot of character development except in the major players. Cusack and Dern fall in love, Dwight Schultz plays Jessie Oppenheimer and it tells of the strains that this project put on his life and McGinley’s amicable doctor seemed to always be watching from the sidelines. The subject matter is important here, though and this details it in a way never before seen.
“Fat Man and Little Boy” were the names given to the two atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki Japan (on August 6 and August 9, 1945). What this story tells us is that though the leading minds were in charge of the operation, there was still dissent even at that time. They were competing against other countries that were undoubtedly working on the same thing and the characters were essentially a backdrop to what was really going on. I’m not out to say that this is a “bad” movie, because it certainly is not. Joffe is a talented director who tells a story that very few would touch. The ensemble cast is excellent as well. My problem with the movie is that it assumes too much. It assumes that every viewer is already familiar with the situation and now that this hasn’t been an issue for almost twenty years, we have nearly a generation of people who don’t know what it was like to grow up in a “Cold War” atmosphere. Is it dated? No. Is it a good and interesting movie? Yes. Does it deserve to be seen? My opinion is yes, but I’m sure others will disagree. In any case, fans of the movie will be glad that this is on DVD.
Video: How does it look?
I mentioned earlier that I saw this on HBO some time ago. Well, as one might imagine, it was shown in a full-frame format and imagine my surprise when I saw a 2.35:1 scope transfer of the movie! Ok, I wasn’t that excited, but it’s nice to see films in their original aspect ratio. Paramount has done a nice job of cleaning up the transfer as the detail and clarity of the movie are great. My problem with how this looks is the amount of redness and brown in the movie. Now don’t get me wrong, it might have been intended that way; but the transfer seems to have an unusual amount of reddish-brown hues in every scene. I have to remember that the movie took place in New Mexico, so maybe they did this on purpose to show us that. In any case, I’ve seen better from this time frame but it’s not as bad as I make it out to be.
Audio: How does it sound?
As with most Paramount catalog titles, this has been re-mastered in Dolby Digital 5.1 sound and for the most part it’s average at best. Most of the movie uses dialogue to convey the points and only at the end (with a big “bang” as one might imagine) do we really get any sort of surround sound. Dialogue, though, is very clean even considering Cusack’s incessant mumbling. There were a few early scenes in which the surrounds were used (one involving a jeep that drove almost “through” the screen) and they did a good job. I wouldn’t classify this as a great soundtrack, but it more than serves its purpose, too.
Supplements: What are the extras?
No extras have been included.
