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IMDbPro

Fat Man and Little Boy

  • 19891989
  • PG-13PG-13
  • 2h 7m
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
8K
YOUR RATING
Paul Newman in Fat Man and Little Boy (1989)
Theatrical Trailer from Paramount
Play trailer3:08
1 Video
45 Photos
BiographyDramaHistory
This film reenacts the Manhattan Project, the secret wartime project in New Mexico where the first atomic bombs were designed and built.This film reenacts the Manhattan Project, the secret wartime project in New Mexico where the first atomic bombs were designed and built.This film reenacts the Manhattan Project, the secret wartime project in New Mexico where the first atomic bombs were designed and built.
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
8K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Roland Joffé
  • Writers
    • Bruce Robinson(story)
    • Roland Joffé(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Paul Newman
    • Dwight Schultz
    • Bonnie Bedelia
  • Director
    • Roland Joffé
  • Writers
    • Bruce Robinson(story)
    • Roland Joffé(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Paul Newman
    • Dwight Schultz
    • Bonnie Bedelia
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 60User reviews
    • 27Critic reviews
    • 50Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 2 nominations

    Videos1

    Fat Man and Little Boy
    Trailer 3:08
    Watch Fat Man and Little Boy

    Photos45

    John Cusack, Laura Dern, and John C. McGinley in Fat Man and Little Boy (1989)
    Bonnie Bedelia in Fat Man and Little Boy (1989)
    Paul Newman and Dwight Schultz in Fat Man and Little Boy (1989)
    John Cusack and Dwight Schultz in Fat Man and Little Boy (1989)
    Paul Newman, Roland Joffé, and Dwight Schultz in Fat Man and Little Boy (1989)
    Bonnie Bedelia and Dwight Schultz in Fat Man and Little Boy (1989)
    Natasha Richardson in Fat Man and Little Boy (1989)
    Laura Dern in Fat Man and Little Boy (1989)
    Paul Newman and Bonnie Bedelia in Fat Man and Little Boy (1989)
    Paul Newman and Dwight Schultz in Fat Man and Little Boy (1989)
    John C. McGinley in Fat Man and Little Boy (1989)
    Dwight Schultz in Fat Man and Little Boy (1989)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Paul Newman
    Paul Newman
    • General Leslie R. Groves
    Dwight Schultz
    Dwight Schultz
    • J. Robert Oppenheimer
    Bonnie Bedelia
    Bonnie Bedelia
    • Kitty Oppenheimer
    John Cusack
    John Cusack
    • Michael Merriman
    Laura Dern
    Laura Dern
    • Kathleen Robinson
    Ron Frazier
    Ron Frazier
    • Peer de Silva
    John C. McGinley
    John C. McGinley
    • Richard Schoenfield
    Natasha Richardson
    Natasha Richardson
    • Jean Tatlock
    Ron Vawter
    Ron Vawter
    • Jamie Latrobe
    Michael Brockman
    • William 'Deke' Parsons
    Del Close
    Del Close
    • Dr. Kenneth Whiteside
    John Considine
    John Considine
    • Robert Tuckson
    Allan Corduner
    Allan Corduner
    • Franz Goethe
    • (as Alan Corduner)
    Joe D'Angerio
    Joe D'Angerio
    • Seth Neddermeyer
    • (as Joseph D'Angerio)
    Jon DeVries
    • Johnny Mount
    • (as Jon De Vries)
    James Eckhouse
    James Eckhouse
    • Robert Harper
    Todd Field
    Todd Field
    • Robert Wilson
    Mary Pat Gleason
    Mary Pat Gleason
    • Dora Welsh
    • Director
      • Roland Joffé
    • Writers
      • Bruce Robinson(story) (screenplay)
      • Roland Joffé(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The code names for the weapons - "Fat Man" and "Little Boy" - stem from characters in the written stories of writer Dashiell Hammett. Originally the names "Fat Man" and "Thin Man" were lifted directly from the stories, but the Thin Man weapon design (a Plutonium gun-type weapon) had to be abandoned. The relatively small Uranium gun-type weapon that followed was then named "Little Boy" as a contrast to "Fat Man".
    • Goofs
      It was actually Seth Neddermeyer who originally conceived the implosion theory, and John von Neumann who refined it to usability.
    • Quotes

      Richard Schoenfield: Hey Oppenheimer! Oppenheimer! You oughta stop playing God, 'cause you're no good at it, and the position's taken!

    • Connections
      Featured in Siskel & Ebert: The Fabulous Baker Boys/Breaking In/Crimes and Misdemeanors/Look Who's Talking (1989)
    • Soundtracks
      The Sorcerer's Apprentice
      Written by Paul Dukas

      Performed by the Wiener Symphoniker (as The Vienna Symphony)

      Edouard Van Remoortel, Conductor

      Courtesy of The Moss Music Group

      By Arrangement with Warner Special Products

    User reviews60

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    7/10
    Weird and Compelling
    This is a weird and compelling film. The topic, about the atom bombs created at Los Alamos, NM in the USA and used on Japan during the latter part of World War II, is huge, and of course deeply disturbing. The film's plot takes on a lot of heavy issues and the actors have to carry much of the creative tension. I had never seen the film, or was much interested in it I have to admit, until I read the book "Smoking in Bed: Conversations with Bruce Robinson." Robinson wrote the story and screenplay. I think the film was better than I expected from reading Robinson's point of view in the conversations about it, but I can see how he thought it got derailed. I think Paul Newman is pretty good, but is somehow at bottom, miscast. He's too Hollywood. At one point, a big, mean-looking guy storms into Newman's office and has such a striking presence, I immediately thought he should be playing the character Newman is playing. The other lead, who plays the head scientist, is also fairly good, but somehow not brilliant enough to portray the huge angst that goes with the part - the immense responsibility for creation of an ultimate machine of death and destruction. One of the more effective characters seems to be a composite personality, played by John Cusack. He is oddly affecting throughout, and in the end, is the character whose fate really hits home and who made me think most vividly of the fate of more than 200,000 Japanese people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
    helpful•8
    3
    • pswitzertatum
    • Nov 24, 2004

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 20, 1989 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United States
      • Mexico
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Debeljko i Malisa
    • Filming locations
      • Durango, Mexico
    • Production company
      • Lightmotive
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $30,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $3,563,162
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $1,476,994
      • Oct 22, 1989
    • Gross worldwide
      • $3,563,162
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 7 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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