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Poster for Fat Man and Little Boy

Fat Man and Little Boy

1989 · 127 min

A sober, talky historical drama that builds quiet dread toward an awe-inspiring and terrible climax.

Directed by
Roland Joffé
Genres
Drama, History, War
Tagline
The story of the extraordinary people who changed our world.
Overview
Assigned to oversee the development of the atomic bomb, Gen. Leslie Groves is a stern military man determined to have the project go according to plan. He selects J. Robert Oppenheimer as the key scientist on the top-secret operation, but the two men clash fiercely on a number of issues. Despite their frequent conflicts, Groves and Oppenheimer ultimately push ahead with two bomb designs — the bigger "Fat Man" and the more streamlined "Little Boy."

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Directed by
Roland Joffé
Genres
Drama, History, War
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How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • tensestrength 2 of 3
  • earneststrength 2 of 3
  • melancholicstrength 2 of 3
  • darkstrength 1 of 3
Pacing
measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • war
  • science
  • morality
  • guilt
  • power
Places
  • military
  • small town
  • countryside
Era
period
Audience
adult
Form
  • true story
  • ensemble
Content intensity
  • Gore mild
  • Language mild
  • Violence mild
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action2
Horror3
Humour2
Realism8
Romance2
Tension7
Darkness7
Complexity7
Emotional weight8

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Cast

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Streaming data from JustWatch.TMDB

Details

Genres
drama, history, war
Directed by
Roland Joffé
Written by
Bruce Robinson, Roland Joffé
Starring
Paul Newman, Dwight Schultz, Bonnie Bedelia, John Cusack, Laura Dern, Ron Frazier, John C. McGinley, Natasha Richardson
Music
Ennio Morricone
Cinematography
Vilmos Zsigmond
Runtime
127 min
Country
United Kingdom, United States of America
Languages
English

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