American Experience (TV Series)
Race for the Superbomb (1999)
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- 1h 53min
- Documentary, Biography
- 11 Jan 1999
- TV Episode
Photos and Videos
Cast
David Ogden Stiers | ... |
Self - Narrator (voice)
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Rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
Hans Bethe | ... |
Self
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Peter Haydu | ... |
Russian voices (voice)
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Curtis LeMay | ... |
Self (archiveFootage)
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David McCullough | ... |
Self - Host
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Richard Rhodes | ... |
Self
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Edward Teller | ... |
Self
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Directed by
Thomas Ott |
Written by
Thomas Ott | ... | (writer) |
Richard Rhodes | ... | (book "Dark Sun: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb") |
Richard Rhodes | ... | (story) |
Produced by
Margaret Drain | ... | executive producer |
Sharon Grimberg | ... | associate producer |
Larry LeCain | ... | field producer |
Bob M. McCausland | ... | field producer |
Susan Mottau | ... | coordinating producer |
Chas Norton | ... | field producer |
Thomas Ott | ... | producer |
Mark Samels | ... | senior producer |
Joseph Tovares | ... | series editor |
Music by
Michael Whalen |
Editing by
Peter Rhodes |
Editorial Department
David Allen | ... | on-line editor |
Maureen Barden Lynch | ... | post-production coordinator (as Maureen Barden) |
Angelica Brisk | ... | assistant editor |
Frank Capria | ... | post-production editor |
Spencer Gentry | ... | on-line editor |
Doug Martin | ... | on-line editor |
Mark Steele | ... | on-line editor |
Production Design by
Alison Kennedy | ... | series designer |
Chris Pullman | ... | series designer |
Production Management
Alison Bassett | ... | production manager |
Christine Larson | ... | unit manager |
Sound Department
Mariusz Glabinski | ... | sound editor |
Greg McCleary | ... | sound mixer |
John Osborne | ... | sound |
Ira Spiegel | ... | supervising sound editor |
Mark A. Van Der Willigen | ... | sound recordist / sound |
Camera and Electrical Department
Brian Dowley | ... | camera operator |
Chris Eichman | ... | gaffer |
John Else | ... | camera operator |
Bruce Lewis | ... | gaffer |
Animation Department
Ellie Lee | ... | animator |
Salvatore Raciti | ... | animator |
Music Department
Michael Bacon | ... | music score adaptor |
Charles Kuskin | ... | music theme |
Additional Crew
Michael Azevedo | ... | interactive media |
Johanna Baker | ... | publicist |
Joy Conley | ... | archival researcher |
Judy Crichton | ... | executive consultant |
Danielle Dell'Olio | ... | interactive media |
Nancy Farrell | ... | project administrator |
John Lewis Gaddis | ... | academic advisor |
Gary Garber | ... | intern |
Sylvester James Gates Jr. | ... | academic advisor (as James Gates Jr.) |
Marina Golovchenko | ... | translator |
German A. Goncharov | ... | academic advisor |
Diane Hamilton | ... | archival researcher |
David Holloway | ... | academic advisor |
Jinna Lee | ... | intern |
Valentina Levina | ... | translator |
Merryl Loonin | ... | senior researcher |
Mary McGowan | ... | senior researcher |
Daphne B. Noyes | ... | publicist |
Masha Oleneva | ... | archival researcher |
Kathleen Padulchick | ... | intern |
Helen R. Russell | ... | project administrator |
Stacy Schwatz | ... | intern |
Joanna Stewart | ... | intern |
Vincent J. Straggas | ... | on-air promotion |
Jennifer Trask | ... | intern |
Julia Vaingurt | ... | translator |
Thanks
Henry Hampton | ... | special thanks |
Bill Karavas | ... | special thanks |
J. Philip Miller | ... | special thanks |
Gian Carlo Rota | ... | special thanks |
Production Companies
- Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) (for)
- Robert Stone Productions
- WGBH
- WGBH (produced by)
Distributors
- PBS Home Video (1988) (United States) (video)
- PBS International (1987) (World-wide) (tv)
- Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) (1987) (United States) (tv)
- Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) (1999) (United States) (tv)
- Yleisradio (YLE) (2021) (Finland) (tv)
Special Effects
Other Companies
- Aetna Life Insurance Co. (funding)
- Alfred P. Sloan Foundation (funding)
- American Mutoscope & Biograph (archival film)
- Arthur Vining Davis Foundations (funding)
- Ashland (funding)
- Berkeley Sound Artists (post-production sound services)
- Consumer Cellular (funding)
- Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) (funding)
- Digital One (additional voice recording)
- Kentucky River Coal (funding)
- Liberty Mutual Insurance Company (funding)
- Park Foundation (funding)
- Robert D.L. Gardiner Foundation (funding)
- String and Can (sound post-production)
- The Documentary Investment Group (funding)
- The Ford Foundation (funding)
- The National Endowment for the Humanities (funding)
- The Scotts Company (funding)
- Viewers Like You (sound post-production)
Storyline
Plot Summary |
This documentary chronicles the development of the hydrogen bomb by both the Americans and the Soviets, from World War II to the early 1960s. After the invention of the atomic (fission) bomb brings World War II to an end, physicist Edward Teller pushes for the development of a "super" (fusion) bomb of theoretically-unlimited power. Meanwhile, the Soviets embark upon a crash program to build their own atomic bomb, using information provided by Klaus Fuchs and other spies. The Strategic Air Command (SAC) is formed to counter the Soviet military threat, with General Curtis LeMay in charge. When the United States learns of the first Soviet atomic blast, the Americans start developing the H-bomb in response. To no avail, several U.S. atomic scientists oppose the H-bomb as an immoral weapon that threatens the entire human race. After the Americans detonate their first hydrogen bombs (which are too large to be transported by air), the Soviets successfully test an air-dropped hydrogen bomb of their own "layer-cake" design developed by Soviet physicist Andrei Sakharov. The American public becomes increasingly convinced that surviving atomic war is futile, as the two superpowers continue to improve the quantity, reliability, and accuracy of their nuclear arsenals. Written by yortsnave |
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