Fat Man and Little Boy (1989)

This film reenacts the Manhattan Project, the secret wartime project in New Mexico where the first atomic bombs were designed and built.

Director:

Roland Joffé

Writers:

Bruce Robinson (story), Bruce Robinson (screenplay)

Stars:

Paul Newman, Dwight Schultz, Bonnie Bedelia

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Paul Newman	...	General Leslie R. Groves
Dwight Schultz	...	J. Robert Oppenheimer
Bonnie Bedelia	...	Kitty Oppenheimer
John Cusack	...	Michael Merriman
Laura Dern	...	Kathleen Robinson
Ron Frazier	...	Peer de Silva
John C. McGinley	...	Richard Schoenfield
Natasha Richardson	...	Jean Tatlock
Ron Vawter	...	Jamie Latrobe
Michael Brockman	...	William 'Deke' Parsons
Del Close	...	Dr. Kenneth Whiteside
John Considine	...	Robert Tuckson
Allan Corduner	...	Franz Goethe (as Alan Corduner)
Joe D'Angerio	...	Seth Neddermeyer (as Joseph D'Angerio)
Jon DeVries	...	Johnny Mount (as Jon De Vries)

Storyline

In real life, Robert Oppenheimer was the scientific head of the Manhattan Project, the secret wartime project in New Mexico where the first atomic bombs were designed and built. General Leslie Groves was in overall command of it. This film reenacts the project with an emphasis on their relationship.

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Plot Keywords:

new mexico desert | new mexico | new mexico territory | manhattan project | atomic bomb | 

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Taglines:

The story of the extraordinary people who changed our world.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History | War

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 October 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Die Schattenmacher

Filming Locations:

USA

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,476,994, 20 October 1989, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$3,563,162

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures,Lightmotive

Technical Specs

Runtime:

127 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Los Alamos laboratory and research facility center seen in the film is now known as the Los Alamos National Laboratory and is also known in abbreviate form by the acronym LANL. Other earlier names for the lab over the years have been Project Y, the Los Alamos Laboratory and the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory.

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Goofs

General officers do not wear branch insignia. All the general officers in this film do.

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Quotes

Gen. Leslie R. Groves: It's all about ass, isn't it? Either you kick it... or you lick it.

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Connections

Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Fat Man and Little Boy/I, Madman/Gross Anatomy/Story of Women/When the Whales Came (1989)

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Soundtracks

Dance of the Reed Flutes
By Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (as P. Tchaikovsky)
Courtesy of TRF Production Music Libraries
By Arrangement with Kaleidosound

User Reviews

A Great Movie, Despite What They Say...

Cold War enthusiasts are like Civil War enthusiasts in that they get extremely upset when something is portrayed differently than it actually happened (or differently than they THINK it happened). When you read a negative review of this movie, that is what you are seeing. It may not be 100% factual with the timeline and all of that, but who cares? It is still an excellent movie. The acting is wonderful and the message is even better. Dwight Schultz does an amazing job with his role. The entire cast must have lost 50 lbs each to look like skinny 1940s people. If you haven't seen this film, see it. If you have and you didn't like it, please see it again and look at it with an open heart. It truly questions the moral issues of developing the bomb. It makes you think!