The Trials of J. Robert Oppenheimer is a documentary film which premiered on US television (PBS) in 2009.
It is an episode of the long-running program American Experience.
Here is some basic information about this film:
** Written, produced and directed by David Grubin
** Narrated by Campbell Scott
** Language: English
** Run time: 95 minutes
American scientist J. R. Oppenheimer is known as “the father of the atomic bomb.”
During World War II, he was the director of the top-secret facility at Los Alamos, New Mexico, a part of the Manhattan Project to develop the atomic bomb.
During the first few years after the war, he was regarded as a hero, but a few years later - during the Second Red Scare (1947-1957) - he was criticized because of his connections to communists or communist-sympathizers.
His loyalty to the USA was questioned and his security clearance was revoked as a result of a hearing held behind closed doors in 1954 and after that he was a broken man.
This film is the story of his life.
The participants
Several persons are interviewed in the film.
Here are the names of the participants:
The first group
** Marvin L. Goldberger (1922-2014) - physicist
** Herbert F. York (1921-2009) - physicist
** Robert Christy (1916-2012) - physicist
** Harold M. Agnew (1921-2013) - physicist
** Freeman Dyson (1923-2020) - physicist
The second group
** Roy J. Glauber (1925-2018) - physicist
** Richard Rhodes (born 1937) - writer
** Martin J. Sherwin (1937-2021) - historian
** Priscilla J. McMillan (1928-2021) - writer
** Jeremy Bernstein (born 1929) - writer
Historical advisors:
*** Richard Rhodes
*** Martin J. Sherwin
As you can see from the list above, many of the people who are interviewed in the film are no longer alive. It is fortunate that their statements and their memories have been preserved in this film.
Marvin L. Goldberger summarizes what happened to Oppenheimer with the following words:
“The country asked him to do something [that was difficult but important] and he did it brilliantly, and they paid him for the tremendous job by breaking him.”
Part one
This film follows the life of Julius Robert Oppenheimer from the beginning to the end. From the beginning in 1904 until the end in 1967.
His life can be divided into three phases:
# 1. The time before WW II
# 2. The time during WW II
# 3. The time after WW II
The second phase was much shorter than the first and the last, but in retrospect we can see that it was the most important of the three phases. The time when he was the director of the top-secret facility at Los Alamos in New Mexico was the defining moment of his life.
The film is composed of three elements:
# 1. Interviews with historical and scientific experts.
# 2. Archive footage, photos and film. These items are mostly in black-and-white.
# 3. Re-enactment of the hearing which took place in 1954. These scenes are in colour.
An on-screen message placed at the beginning of the film states:
“The words spoken in the courtroom in this documentary are taken directly from the transcript of the hearing in the matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer.”
The re-enactment of the hearing has a prominent place in the film, because it was a turning point in his life.
The role of Oppenheimer is played by the actor David Strathairn, who had (incidentally) played this character once before: in the television movie Day One aka Hiroshima.
This movie, which premiered in 1989, was released on DVD in 2001.
Oppenheimer was a controversial and enigmatic character. He was a brilliant scientist and an able administrator, but he lacked social skills.
He had many colleagues, but not many personal friends. During his career, he also made enemies, not only in the FBI and among politicians but also in the world of science.
This film focuses on two persons who played a significant role in his downfall: Edward Teller (1908-2003) and Lewis Strauss (1896-1974).
Part two
Oppenheimer was never accused of breaking the law. The hearing held behind closed doors in 1954 was not a trial. He was not accused of committing a crime. But his loyalty was questioned.
The purpose of the hearing was to determine if his security clearance should be revoked. But the hearing seemed like a trial with a prosecutor who interrogated him for almost four weeks.
When the hearing was over, his security clearance was revoked. His enemies wanted to break him and in a way they succeeded.
He did not lose his life or his liberty, but he lost his security clearance and after this moment in time, his life was never the same again.
Army Intelligence had him under surveillance while he worked on the Manhattan Project. The FBI had him under surveillance before and after World War II because of his contacts with communists or communist-sympathizers.
Had they ever caught him breaking the law, we can be sure they would have used this fact against him. But they never claimed he had done anything illegal. This is a clear sign that it never happened.
The charge against him was about morals. His enemies found it immoral to meet with a communist, even if it was not illegal.
Oppenheimer had contacts with several communists, as the film explains. His first girlfriend, his wife, and his brother were all communists.
But he did not want to abandon them just because of their political opinions. He was perhaps a bit naïve on this point. He did not understand the power of the forces that he was up against.
Oppenheimer was asked to build the atomic bomb and he did it. But once the work had been done, he began to have doubts about it:
Was it right to build the bomb? Was it right to build more and more bombs? Should the US try to maintain a monopoly on nuclear power or should the knowledge be available to the whole world?
His enemies did not want to discuss such questions.
They said asking such questions was unpatriotic.
The US had the nuclear bomb in 1945. The USSR was not far behind. They had it in 1949.
Teller wanted to build an H-bomb. But Oppenheimer had been against it, because he saw it as a weapon of mass destruction.
Teller was able to convince President Truman and he got what he wanted. The US had the H-bomb in 1952. Once again, the USSR was not far behind. They had it in 1953.
A dangerous arms race between the superpowers was beginning. Precisely what Oppenheimer had feared.
According to this film, the 1954 hearing was a turning point not only for Oppenheimer but also for the US and indeed the whole world.
The decision to remove Oppenheimer from the scientific community opened the door to a massive arms race which lasted for several decades.
In 1963, nine years after the hearing, Oppenheimer was awarded the Enrico Fermi award. The decision was made by President John F. Kennedy shortly before he was killed and the award was presented to Oppenheimer by President Lyndon Johnson.
In the film, it is suggested that this honour was some kind of apology for what had happened in 1954. Perhaps it was, but it did not really change anything.
He still did not have a security clearance, meaning he was still regarded as a security risk and a threat to national security.
David Grubin – writer, producer, and director of the film – does not appear in the film. But on the PBS website, on a special page devoted to the film, he explains why he thinks the story about Oppenheimer is important and relevant to the world of today:
“For me, the idea that the loyalty of one of our most distinguished scientists could be called into question and the rules of justice set aside, all justified because we were in a war against Communism, is a tragic reminder of how staunchly we must protect our freedoms, especially in perilous times.”
In December 2022, the US government announced that Oppenheimer’s security clearance had been posthumously restored.
The government explained that the decision which had been made in 1954, during the Cold War, was wrong.
Conclusion
This film is an excellent biography of Oppenheimer. His life and his work are covered in great detail. And the people who are interviewed are well-chosen.
It is a balanced account. Neither a total defense, nor a total attack. The film-makers present the facts, telling us what Oppenheimer did and said, allowing the viewers to draw their own conclusions.
Whether you like him or not, Oppenheimer played an important role at a crucial moment in the history of the United States. The story of his life and work deserves to be told, and in this film, it is done very well.
Most episodes of American Experience run for ca. 52 minutes, but there are exceptions to the rule. When a person or a topic is considered very important, the producers will make an episode longer.
Oppenheimer is an exception. This episode about his life and work runs for 95 minutes. This means the topic is covered in great detail.
If you are interested in the history of the modern world - in particular World War II, the Cold War, the question of human rights and political ideologies - this film is definitely something for you.
It is highly recommended.
PS # 1. What do reviewers say about this film?
On IMDb it has a rating of 73 percent.
On Amazon there are at the moment 27 ratings of this product, 12 with reviews. The average rating is 4.7 stars which corresponds to a rating of 94 percent.
In my opinion, the rating on IMDb is too low, while the rating on Amazon is more appropriate.
PS # 2. Oppenheimer: The Father of the Atomic Bomb is a miniseries in seven parts which premiered in the UK in 1980 and in the US in 1982.
It was released on DVD in 2006.
The American actor Sam Waterston plays the role of Oppenheimer in this drama.
PS # 3. Manhattan is a television series about the top-secret Manhattan Project during World War II.
** Season one = 2014 (13 episodes)
** Season two = 2015 (10 episodes)
While some characters in this show are real historical persons, most are fictional, and the show is not intended to maintain historical accuracy.
The role of Robert Oppenheimer (who is a minor character here) is played by Daniel London.
PS # 4. Books
** The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes (1986) (2012)
** Racing for the Bomb: General Leslie R. Groves, the Manhattan Project’s Indispensable Man by Robert S. Norris (2002)
** Brotherhood of the Bomb: The Tangled Lives of Robert Oppenheimer, Ernest Lawrence, and Edward Teller by Gregg Herken (2002)
** Oppenheimer: Portrait of an Enigma by Jeremy Bernstein (2004) (2005)
** East Palace 109: Robert Oppenheimer and the Secret City of Los Alamos by Jennet Conant (2005)
** American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin (2005) (2006)
** The Ruin of J. Robert Oppenheimer and the Birth of the Modern Arms Race by Priscilla J. McMillan (2005)
** Robert Oppenheimer: A Life Inside the Center by Ray Monk (2012)
PS # 5. Film and video
The Day after Trinity
A documentary film which premiered in 1981
** Director: Jon Else
** Run time: 88 minutes
** Rating on IMDb: 79 percent
** Rating on Rotten Tomatoes: 97 percent
Fat Man and Little Boy
A historical drama which premiered in 1989
** Run time: 127 minutes
Hiroshima and Nagasaki: 75 Years Later
A documentary film which premiered in 2020
** Run time: 79 minutes
To End All War: Oppenheimer & the Atomic Bomb
A documentary film which premiered in 2023
** Director: Christopher Cassel
** Run time: 87 minutes
Oppenheimer
A historical drama which premiered in 2023
** The Irish actor Cillian Murphy plays the role of Oppenheimer
** Writer and director: Christopher Nolan
** Based on the book American Prometheus by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin (2005) (2006)
** Run time: 180 minutes
*****
The Trials of J. Robert Oppenheimer
A documentary film which
premiered on US television (PBS)
in 2009
*****
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