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Day One | 
| Director: Joseph Sargent
Actors: Brian Dennehy, Alan Scarfe, John Pielmeier, Ken Pogue, David Strathairn
Studio: ACORN MEDIA
Category: DVD
List Price: $24.99
Buy New: $14.88
You Save: $10.11 (40%)
New (27) Used (4) from $14.88
Rating:  14 reviews
Sales Rank: 37269
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dvd, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Region: 1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 140 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: ACRDAMP9810D
UPC: 054961981090
EAN: 0054961981090
ASIN: B000UL60XU
Theatrical Release Date: March 5, 1989
Release Date: November 13, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Studio: Acorn Media Release Date: 11/13/2007 Run time: 140 minutes Rating: Nr
Amazon.com
The history of the atomic bomb--its conception, creation, and deployment--gets an impressively complex yet propulsive treatment in this compelling docudrama. Day One balances human drama, scientific history, and political machinations with uncommon skill and considerable smarts. From the moment that General Groves (Brian Dennehy, Presumed Innocent) is appointed to drive the Manhattan Project, the movie has a driving force; Dennehy presents a brusk and demanding man who never questions whether he is right or wrong. In contrast comes J. Robert Oppenheimer (David Strathairn, Good Night, and Good Luck), a fundamentally decent man whose conflicts about the consequences of the atomic bomb eat at him--Strathairn captures Oppenheimer's qualms even as his will to succeed drives him forward. Day One cunningly juxtaposes political meetings with scientific discussions, subtly comparing different paths of thought. The compressed script distills enormous debates without simplifying them and--even more striking--making the discussions feel like actual conversation, with irrational and expedient factors as significant as the weighty ideas. The story builds to considerable tension as the bomb is tested and, with highly debatable justification, used on a civilian population. Day One presents history at a breakneck pace, using human detail to keep the broad sweep of events grounded, without losing sight of that big picture. Rarely have momentous decisions been so well interlaced with human fallibility. Also featuring Tony Shalhoub (Monk), Michael Tucker (L.A. Law), and a powerhouse supporting cast of old-school character actors like Hume Cronyn, Barnard Hughes, and Hal Holbrook. --Bret Fetzer
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| Customer Reviews: Read 9 more reviews...
 Great Docudrama May 8, 2009
Richard Walters (New Mexico)
I have most of the popular written and video publications on the advent of our nuclear weapon program. I would rate "Hiroshima" as the number one video docudrama, and this film a close second. It clearly eclipses the more available "Fat Man and Little Boy" in its authenticity. Dennehy's protrayal of Groves is highly credible based on the general's reputation, as is Strathairn's Oppenheimer. Highly recommended for student's of this interesting era of American military history.
Really good historical entertainment. Excellent cast March 23, 2009
Roger J. Buffington (Huntington Beach, CA United States)
"Day One" is the story of the development of the atomic bomb by the United States. Brian Dennehy is tremendous in his role as General Groves, the military commander of the project. Too often, Hollywood depicts General Groves as a warmongering buffoon, which he was not. Dennehy gets Groves just right, as the can-do, highly intelligent, and determined military commander of the Manhattan Project. Michael Tucker is very good as Leo Szilard. In fact, one of the things that this storyline does very well is to contrast the attitudes of the "Chicago Group" led by Szilard, with the people out in the Alamogordo desert, led by Robert Oppenheimer.
The storyline of this film is quite good, and holds the viewer's interest, even though we all know what the ultimate outcome will be -- the problem with all historical pieces of this genre. The film will make the viewer consider whether dropping the atomic bomb on Japan should have been done or not. This question will never be fully or satisfactorily answered, although the soldiers and sailors in the Pacific who were preparing for the bloody invasion of Japan had few doubts at the time. On the other hand, the weapon mostly harmed Japanese civilians at a time when Japan was already defeated militarily. Did America really wish to be the first country to unleash atomic horror? There are no easy answers. Of one thing I am certain--a 21st Century perspective is not useful in judging decisions made by a people in the mid-20th Century who had been struggling through four long years of a world war and who suddenly saw that they had the means of instantly ending it.
This film is far better than "Fat Man and Little Boy." Those who enjoyed this one will likely also enjoy "Hiroshima" by Wesley Addy, which is an unusually balanced examination of the decision to use the atomic bomb in World War II.
 Spotlight on Leo Szilard and Michael Tucker October 25, 2008
jimFromNewYork
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I also agree with all the insights of the positive reviews to DAY ONE. One point I'd like to emphasize is the point the movie makes of the role of Leo Szilard, played by very well by Michael Tucker.
No other film on the Bomb really captures the whole history, or identifies the significance of the event to the history of science. Szilard represents the need of science to be open and devoted to collaboration. The film shows how vital scientists like Szilard are to real inquiry. And the flim shows how open inquiry is shut down in favor of engineering. And the film thereby shows how much we have changed, as science is privatized or isolated. The film shows how competent Szilard was in other areas as well, such as realizing Jews needed to escape from Germany while there was still time, and realizing how to handle to politics when he devised the way to get President Roosevelt's attention to the threat of a German Bomb. Michael Tucker's protrayal of Leo Szilard demonstrates his authenticity, and demonstrates we did really have alternatives.
And, today, continue to have alternatives in how we conduct science and military policy.
I hope it is not true that the DVD version released in America deleted crucial Szilard scenes I have in my VHS tape.
Excellent, compelling. Outstanding cast. May 30, 2008
Rick Valeriote (Vacaville, CA USA)
I loved this miniseries when it originally aired. When my daughter had to do a research paper on the topic, I jumped on the opportunity to see it again, and bought it for her to watch as well. There is no better portrayal that tells the story so completely and compellingly. For an amazing book on the subject, definitely read the Pulitzer Prize winning "The Making of the Atomic Bomb" by Richard Rhodes. An incredible book. But for a movie version, you can't beat Day One.
 Great Mini Series, Poor DVD Release February 17, 2008
Jean-Luc Glorieux
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
I had long been a fan of this outstanding mini series, and having been lucky enough to tape it off the air when it was first broadcast, I was able to watch it again and again. Nevertheless, VHS tapes being what they are, I was also really looking forward to an eventual DVD release and was very gratified when it finally came. Unfortunately, I rejoiced a bit too soon. First, the video quality of this DVD release is rather poor, barely any better than that of my aging VHS tape. Second, the program has been edited from the original release. The editing doesn't seem to be major, but is annoying nonetheless. I have not yet looked at the entire DVD, but I already noticed two 20-30 seconds deletions in the first half hour. The first is when Leo Szilard first arrives to Columbia University in March 1939. The original release showed him emerging from the subway and asking directions to a policeman, which is omitted from the DVD. The second more important deletion comes at the conclusion of Szilard and Wigner's first visit with Einstein. In the original release, Einstein suggests that Szilard and Wigner write a letter to President Roosevelt and tells them that he would be happy to sign it, and this is not shown on the DVD. All in all, such an outstanding movie deserved a much better treatment and the problem is that, now that it has been badly done once, the likeliness of an eventual better DVD release is probably not that high. This means that I will unfortunately not be able to retire my aging VHS tape.
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