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

References The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)

User Reviews

Outstanding and Thoughtprovoking...A Must See!!

Based on Stephen Hawking's "A Brief History of Time", this amazing film by Eroll Morris documents the the life and work of one of the greatest minds in the history of astronomy. He has contributed more to Science, despite his debilitating disease, ALS, than an able bodied Scientist could only dream of.

The film begins by telling of Hawking's childhood, and how he was a poor student that was recognizably bright. He slacked his way through college and university, where he was diagnosed with the disease that would take away normal functions of his body, but would allow him to continue living and thinking perfectly.

Morris discusses how the brilliant mind of Stephen developed from childhood to the present, at one point his mother tells how- when she was pregnant- she prophetically bought a astronomical atlas to read while in the hospital. Hawking himself narrates the timeline of his discoveries, while Morris interviews close friends and colleagues whom have been lucky enough to befriend the magnificent man.

He tells how he was first intrigued by the discovery that the Universe was expanding similar to how a star would expand. We also know that stars eventually die and become what is now known as "black holes", if this is the case,will the universe not too begin to contract, reversing itself until we reach the "big crunch"? as Hawking puts it. And when the universe does begin to recede, will time not "reverse"? When posed this question, I began to think that death may not be the end, perhaps one day time will go backwards, and our death will become our rebirth and our birth our death. The universe is one big cycle just like everything else in life.

This is what Hawking is telling us, everything in the universe recycles itself. This is completely logical and can make your mind wonder in a million directions pondering it. This is why i love this film and why isay it is a MUST SEE!!! An 11 out of 10 ...Morris never ceases toamaze!