The Manhattan Project (1986)

A teen and his girlfriend make an atomic bomb with plutonium stolen from a scientist dating his mother.

Director:

Marshall Brickman

Writers:

Marshall Brickman, Thomas Baum

Stars:

John Lithgow, Richard Council, Robert Schenkkan

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Lithgow	...	John Mathewson
Richard Council	...	Government
Robert Schenkkan	...	Government Aide
Paul Austin	...	General
Adrian Sparks	...	Scientist
Curt Dempster	...	Scientist
Bran Ferren	...	Lab Assistant
Christopher Collet	...	Paul Stephens
Jill Eikenberry	...	Elizabeth Stephens
Cynthia Nixon	...	Jenny Anderman
Gregg Edelman	...	Science Teacher
Abraham Unger	...	Roland (as Abe Unger)
Robert Sean Leonard	...	Max (as Robert Leonard)
David Quinn	...	Tennis
Geoffrey Nauffts	...	Craig

Storyline

A teen and his girlfriend make an atomic bomb with plutonium stolen from a scientist dating his mother.

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Plot Keywords:

scientist | plutonium | atomic bomb | science fair | teen | 

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Taglines:

Paul Stevens' high school science project has gotten a little out of hand. He just built an atomic bomb. Now he's got 11 hours to make sure it doesn't work.

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Genres:

Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 June 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

Deadly Game

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$3,900,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gladden Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min 107 min (video)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The science projects and kids in the background of the science fair scenes were actual NYC middle school students with real science projects which were submitted to the NYC borough-wide science fair. These scenes were filmed over a three day period at the Penta Hotel in NYC on 33rd St.

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Goofs

The security guard spends several minutes in the rain. When he goes into the lab to investigate he is dry and leaves no wet trail.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Dr. John Matthewson: Now, the beta synchrotron sends the electrons through this magnet which bends the course of them down to the reaction vessel. Stay away from that elbow joint. All right. Bran, you want to get that? Now, this is a tunable excimer laser. It's tuned to the exact resonance of the plutonium-239 that's in the reaction vessel down at that end. Now, I think we're all set. Hit it.

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Connections

Referenced in Sneakers (1992)

User Reviews

Entertaining enough....BUT....

This film is entertaining enough, in fact it is quite exciting. However, in a real-life scenario, the end result would not and could not have had such a clichéd "Hollywood ending", so in that respect it sort of resembles a "fractured fairytale". The storyline is credible enough with a bit of imagination stretching, the acting is tolerable, only the irony is laid on a bit too thick. I found the attitude of the principal character to be much too cynical, unrealistic and extremely condescending, even for the likes of some precocious, science-savvy prodigy. Getting back to the entertainment value, the plot progresses expectedly only it thickens toward the direction of the surrealistic, though the basic concept is actually pretty frightening. However, the movie is watchable with its impressive cast; a young Cynthia Nixon, John Lithgow, Chris Collet et al. I have mixed feelings about this film, I did enjoy watching it, but when I began to rationalize it began to appear quite nonsensical. So, if you intend on watching it, simply keep your powers of logic and common sense subdued and it will remain an enjoyable experience.