A Brief History of Time (1991)

A film about the life and work of the cosmologist, Stephen Hawking, who despite his near total paralysis, is one of the great minds of all time.

Director:

Errol Morris

Writer:

Stephen Hawking (book)

Stars:

Isobel Hawking, Stephen Hawking, Janet Humphrey

5 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Isobel Hawking	...	Herself - Stephen Hawking's Mother
Stephen Hawking	...	Himself
Janet Humphrey	...	Herself - Stephen Hawking's Aunt
Mary Hawking	...	Herself - Stephen Hawking's Sister
Basil King	...	Himself - Hawking Family Neighbor
Derek Powney	...	Himself - Hawking Classmate at Oxford
Norman Dix	...	Himself - Hawking Classmate at Oxford
Robert Berman	...	Himself - Hawking Tutor at Oxford
Gordon Berry	...	Himself - Hawking Classmate at Oxford
Roger Penrose	...	Himself - Professor at Cambridge
Dennis Sciama	...	Himself - Professor at Cambridge
John Wheeler	...	Himself - Astrophysicist
Brandon Carter	...	Himself - Astrophysicist
John Taylor	...	Himself - Astrophysicist
Kip Thorne	...	Himself - Research Scientist at Cambridge

Storyline

Unlike the book, this film is really an anecdotal biography of Stephen Hawking. Clips of his lectures, interviews with friends and family and a little physics are thrown together.

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Plot Keywords:

physics | paralysis | cosmology | astronomy | professor | 

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Taglines:

Where did the universe come from? Will time ever come to an end? Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

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Genres:

Documentary | Biography

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Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

UK Japan USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 October 1992 (Australia)

Also Known As:

Ajan lyhyt historia

Filming Locations:

Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, UK

Box Office

Gross:

$2,279,692 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Amblin Entertainment, Anglia Television, Channel Four Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Black and White Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Appearances to the contrary, all interviews were filmed on sets built for the movie.

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Quotes

Stephen Hawking: I wanted to understand how the universe began.

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Connections

Featured in The Making of 'A Brief History of Time' (1992)

User Reviews

2 Stories in 1

A Brief History of Time is not only a documentary on the beginning and the ending of the universal and reality as we know it, this is a story about the man and the genius known as Stephen Hawking. It is his story that reflects the story of time and change throughout the history of the universal. The style of the documentary / editing style of the interviews begin and end with a quick fade to black. Almost like blinking in between segments and interviews, the documentary gives you an odd feeling like this is the view point of Stephen Hawking and not the eye of the camera. The running time is only a little longer than an hour. It is a short story, then again, its subject matter could be talked about for days and days. An interesting and proud story.