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Particle Fever

  • 20132013
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 1h 39m
IMDb RATING
7.4/10
7.5K
YOUR RATING
Particle Fever (2013)
Particle Fever follows six brilliant scientists during the launch of the Large Hadron Collider, marking the start-up of the biggest and most expensive experiment in the history of the planet, pushing the edge of human innovation.
As they seek to unravel the mysteries of the universe, 10,000 scientists from over 100 countries joined forces in pursuit of a single goal: to recreate conditions that existed just moments after the Big Bang and find the Higgs boson, potentially explaining the origin of all matter.
Play trailer2:13
1 Video
3 Photos
Documentary
As the Large Hadron Collider is about to be launched for the first time, physicists are on the cusp of the greatest scientific discovery of all time -- or perhaps their greatest failure.As the Large Hadron Collider is about to be launched for the first time, physicists are on the cusp of the greatest scientific discovery of all time -- or perhaps their greatest failure.As the Large Hadron Collider is about to be launched for the first time, physicists are on the cusp of the greatest scientific discovery of all time -- or perhaps their greatest failure.
IMDb RATING
7.4/10
7.5K
YOUR RATING
    • Mark Levinson
  • Stars
    • David Kaplan
    • Fabiola Gianotti
    • Sherwood Boehlert(archive footage)
    • Mark Levinson
  • Stars
    • David Kaplan
    • Fabiola Gianotti
    • Sherwood Boehlert(archive footage)
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 33User reviews
    • 48Critic reviews
    • 87Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Videos1

    Theatrical Trailer
    Trailer 2:13
    Watch Theatrical Trailer

    Photos

    Particle Fever (2013)
    Particle Fever (2013)
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    Top cast

    Edit
    David Kaplan
    • Self - Theoretical Physicist, John Hopkins University
    Fabiola Gianotti
    • Self - Project Leader Atlas Experiment
    Sherwood Boehlert
    • Self - Representative, New York
    • (archive footage)
    Joel Hefley
    • Self - Representative, Colorado
    • (archive footage)
    Savas Dimopoulos
    • Self - Theoretical Physicist, Stanford University
    Nima Arkani-Hamed
    • Self - Theoretical Physicist, Princeton University
    Monica Dunford
    • Self - Postdoc Student, Atlas Experiment
    Martin Aleksa
    • Self - Run Coordinator, Atlas Experiment
    Lyn Evans
    • Self - LHC Project Director
    Mike Lamont
    • Self - Head of Collider Operations, LHC
    Peter Jenni
    • Self - Founding Leader, Atlas Experiment
    Riccardo Barbieri
    • Self - Theoretical Physicist, University of Pisa
    Peter Higgs
    • Self - Theoretical Physicist
    Rolf-Dieter Heuer
    • Self - Director General, CERN
    • (as Rolph-Dieter Heuer)
    Asmina Arvanitaki
    • Self
    Brooke Baldwin
    Brooke Baldwin
    • Self
    • (archive footage)
    Ashleigh Banfield
    Ashleigh Banfield
    • Self
    • (archive footage)
    James Beacham
    • Self
      • Mark Levinson
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Goofs
      Two Republican congressman speak against funding for the construction of the Superconducting Super Collider in Texas. This gives the false impression that it was Republicans who ended the project. The 1993 Congress had Democrat majorities in both the House and the Senate. Additionally, the President at that time was a Democrat. The leader of the effort to end funding for the project in the House was Democrat Jim Slattery. Voting to end the funding was bipartisan.
    • Quotes

      David Kaplan: Basic science for big breakthroughs needs to occur at a level where you're not asking "What is the economic gain?" You're asking "What do we not know, and where can we make progress?"

    • Connections
      References Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010)

    User reviews33

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    6/10
    Lightweight but well-planned film
    The main focus of this film is the interaction of scientists with the LHC and its data. Many shots are either banter in the CERN offices or YouTube-like video contributions from scientists themselves. Basically, it adds a human element to what you might read in the news. The engineering of the LHC is scarcely touched upon, and while the film (directed by a physicist) attempts to explain the consequences for particle physics, its dramatized overview is not really accurate; the viewer would be advised to read Lee Smolin's book "The Trouble With Physics". The substitution of pictures of difficult-looking math equations for real scientific exposition became irritating. Furthermore, while we see people interacting with each other in a superficial way, the film doesn't really dig into the culture of theoretical physics -- for example, I enjoyed a shot where physicists discuss how rumors are displacing older methods of data distribution like the arXiv, but the context of this discussion was not given and I worried most of the audience would not understand it.

    I subtract four stars for lack of depth and would probably extract more, except that the screening I went to had an interview with the director afterwards, and I realized from him that it was quite difficult for this documentary to achieve what it did. The science the LHC produces comes in the form of millions of spreadsheets full of numbers, which must be analyzed by thousands of experimental physicists sitting at computers around the world. It is rather hard to make a long documentary film about people analyzing numbers on computers. The director made a number of clever stylistic decisions, like mainly interviewing people who were physically present at the CERN buildings, and separating the segments of experimental and theoretical physicists. To get theoretical physics onto the big screen in a thoughtful and entertaining way is really an accomplishment in itself. It was also pointed out that the documentary skillfully focused on a few likable subjects among many to give a hint of the vast size of the project. All in all, the film is a decent portrayal of the kind of willpower and teamwork that is needed on a project the size of the LHC, but don't go to it expecting to gain a very deep knowledge of today's physics or the scientific community.
    helpful•17
    16
    • ShiiStyle
    • Feb 11, 2014

    FAQ1

    • Where to see Particle Fever.

    Details

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    • Release date
      • September 3, 2014 (Netherlands)
      • United States
    • Official sites
      • Official Facebook
      • Official Facebook
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Geneva, Canton de Genève, Switzerland
    • Production companies
      • Particle Fever
      • Anthos Media
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 1 hour 39 minutes
      • Color

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