During 2015 I was lucky to see a National Theatre play about J Robert Oppenheimer and I wrote about it here
https://wordpress.com/post/helenthehare.org.uk/13072
I am a retired physics teacher and I try to keep up with everything physics so I made a point of seeing Christopher Nolan’s 2023 film about J Robert Oppenheimer
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oppenheimer_(film)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15398776/
I did enjoy the film, it was spectacular. I got quite a thrill hearing all the physics terms and recognising the scientists involved in the project. I also have to say that Cillian Murphy was brilliant in the role of Oppenheimer
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cillian_Murphy
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0614165/
What I didn’t enjoy was the fact that the film kept jumping backwards and forwards in time.
I also thought the way the sex scenes were filmed was unnecessary. I don’t object to the fact that there were sex scenes, after all Oppenheimer was known to have had many affairs, and his relationship with Jean Tatlock was an important part of Oppenheimer’s story.
The opening of the film prompted the BBC to show their 1980 award winning series again and I found watching it much more satisfying.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oppenheimer_(TV_series)
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0g3j9cp/episodes/guide
The series kept to a linear timeline, it was easier to follow what was happening to Oppenheimer and you learnt more about Kitty Oppenheimer. Emily Blunt as Kitty in the film was seriously underused.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emily_Blunt
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1289434/
I have to confess that I didn’t see the series when it was first shown. I wasn’t particularly interested in physics then. I took it as an A level because in those days it was one of the four acceptable A levels for medical school (chemistry was compulsory and you could pick two from biology, physics and maths). I hope I won’t shock my ex-students but I failed A level physics when I first took it (along with chemistry). I re-took my A levels whilst holding down a full-time job and started a degree in 1982. Initially I only took a few physics courses and I fell in love with the subject. I ended up with an upper second-class honours degree in Physics. Forty one years later I am still in love with the subject and in 2015 I was privileged to become a Fellow of the Institute of Physics.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institute_of_Physics
The IOP has reviewed the Oppenheimer film
https://physicsworld.com/a/oppenheimer-the-movie-physics-world-writers-give-their-verdict/
https://physicsworld.com/a/beyond-the-bomb-the-life-and-times-of-j-robert-oppenheimer/
Christopher Nolan used American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J Sherwin as source material
helen the hare 