All language subtitles for Day One (1989)

I wish you'd think it over, lad.

There is no place but
Berlin to be a physicist today.

All the best people are here.

This week, all the
Jewish lawyers

and judges are dismissed.

How long do you
think it will take them

to get to the physicists?

England will be
smarter than we are.

They'll have room for
a man of conscience.

Auf Wiedersehen.

I will miss you.

As soon as you
finish your studies,

the moment you get your degree,

leave Germany, please.

Until then, I will
worry about you.

He's really making too much

of this political
business, you know?

Mmm.

To save mankind, maybe first
he has to save himself, hmm?

Say, what does all this mean?

From now on, nobody leaves
Germany without clearance.

Clearance? Who from?

Nazis.

You mean that
was the last train?

For god's sakes, watch
where you're going.

When you say that
any idea of atomic energy

is a mere delusion,

have you by any
chance read H.G. Wells,

where he talks about
an atomic reaction

that unleashes a limitless power
and leads to global warfare?

Sir, if you would just be
seated... 200 cities destroyed

by the "unquenchable
crimson conflagrations

of the atomic bombs."

Mr. Wells is a writer
of science fiction

with a vivid imagination.

To split the atom, to
cause a chain reaction,

to release unlimited
power cannot be.

Cannot?

Lord Rutherford,

I know that you are
acknowledged by all

to be the world's
greatest physicist.

But "cannot" is a word one
does not often hear in science.

On the contrary, sir,

when one is dealing
with a fixed, immutable,

irreducible, absolute
law of physics,

one which says
something cannot be,

then it cannot be.

If you were a student
of scientific fact,

unlike your Mr. Wells,
you'd know that.

Actually, lord Rutherford,
I am a physicist myself.

That cannot be, either.

It would violate the
absolute, irreducible,

immutable law of common sense.

Good day.

It's safe to cross now, sir.

Sir?

A foreigner. He'll
work it out for himself.

Splitting the atom...

Cause a chain reaction...

Cannot.

It's the explanation, the proof,

how the chain reaction works.

In principle, you're saying.

Yeah, in principle, of course.

I see.

And what exactly is it
you wish to do with it?

I wish to assign
the patent to you,

to the British war office.

What is it we have here?

It is the process by which
a chain reaction is achieved,

releasing unlimited
power to illuminate cities,

run ships, create
fantastic new explosives.

"Fantastic," you say.

Excuse me, sir.

I have lived in Germany.

Have you?

Hardly.

I take Hitler seriously.

I was on the last
train out of Berlin

just before they sealed it off.

Even in England,

I keep two suitcases
packed at all times.

Really?

I hope you'll take me seriously,

because my suitcases and I

are running out of
places to go next.

Yes, of course.

Well, sir, very good.

Thank you. It's all
complete here, is it?

Everything except
the split table element.

I would start with
beryllium and uranium.

Well, that should do it then.

Thank you very
much indeed, Mr...

Dr. Szilard.

Dr. Szilard. Sorry.

Well, very good to
think of us, I must say.

Hey!

Szilard!

How are you?

Dr. Fermi, Szilard, my
old Hungarian friend.

Szilard, Fermi, my
new Italian friend.

Come.

So, he has told you?

Yeah.

What did he say?

Nuts.

What does it mean, "nuts"?

Why do you say "nuts"?

A chain reaction in uranium
is only a remote possibility.

How remote?

Well... 10%.

10%?

It's not a remote possibility
if it means we may die of it.

Listen, Fermi, you know what's
happening with the world.

Austria's gone.
Czechoslovakia? Gone.

Who's next, huh?

England? France?

We are refugees, huh?

After America, where do we go?

Please, god, we need to know.

Does fission
produce the neutrons

to release this energy?

Do the experiments
yourself. I don't care.

Because unless you think

the physicists in Germany
are idiots, which they're not,

unless you think that
Hitler does not care

about being able to take
over the world, which he does...

Basta, basta. Enough, Szilard.

I will do the experiments.

And you can use the lab, too.

Barium is ready?

Yeah.

Uranium?

Everything is in place, Wigner.

Remove the cadmium shield.

The world is headed for trouble.

The world is headed for grief.

A uranium chain reaction
had never, till this moment,

occurred to me.

And you say Hahn has already
split the atom in Berlin?

I'm sorry, but it's going
to take me a moment

to grasp the implications.

It's... very
frightening, isn't it?

Yes, professor Einstein, it is.

Well, what can I do?

Please, you must tell me.

Well, what we are
most concerned about

is getting the American
government to pay attention.

It's a hard thing to
put this idea across

to a military mind.

Do you think we should approach
president Roosevelt directly?

Yeah.

This is very interesting, Alex.

I wasn't aware of any of this.

You want my reaction?

It seems a little
premature to me

for us to get involved
in anything like this.

I don't think so.

They just want funding
for some experiments.

I understand the
Germans are working on it.

Their physicists are excellent.

Ah, it will be expensive, too.

That's another thing.

I'm not convinced the
government should get involved

in such a costly enterprise.

Mr. President, may
I tell you a story?

Ah! Alex, you know
I love your stories.

Tell me two.

Just one, but this
happens to be true.

During the Napoleonic wars,
a young American inventor

offered to build a
fleet of steamships

with which Napoleon
could invade England.

Ships without sails?

This seemed to the great
Napoleon so impossible

that he sent Fulton away.

Had Napoleon more
imagination and humility,

history would have taken
a very different course.

Get general Watson, please.

So, what you're after

is to see that the
Nazis don't blow us up.

Precisely.

Sir?

Ah. This requires action.

I don't know how it happened,

but Fermi and Szilard

have been waiting for an
answer from us for over a year.

For over a year?

It says the Germans are
way ahead... seems to be true.

Bureaucracy.

F.D.R. Sent it to a
committee. They sat on it.

What are they asking for?

Szilard says he needs $40,000

to experiment on a
chain reaction in graphite.

You think Szilard and
Fermi will be willing

to move to Chicago, Arthur,

work with you on
designing a bomb?

The way they feel about Hitler,

I think they'll do
anything we ask them to.

What we need now is emergency
funding to get us started.

I'll talk to the
president tomorrow.

Ernest, start uranium
production at Berkeley.

If we're making bombs,

better get a military
man in to head it up.

This could turn out to
be a pretty big project.

Good idea.

I still can't believe
we have sat on this a year.

Closer to two. Hope we
haven't lost too much time.

We could be in the war
any day now ourselves.

Sorry I'm late.

Colonel.

Well, that's the last
time I'll have to testify

on military
construction programs.

Have you gotten the word?
I got my overseas command.

Thank you, Captain.

Let's have some lunch.

Groves, overseas combat is off.

The secretary of
war has selected you

for a very important assignment.

You can't leave Washington.

Sir, I've spent most of
my career in Washington.

I am sick of Washington.

I've been angling for months
to get this combat-engineers job.

Our problem is we need
an organiser and builder.

You built the Pentagon.
You can build anything.

With respect, sir,

I'd like to get out of the
construction business

and see some action in this war.

If you do this job right,
it could WiN the war.

Oh, that thing.

Basic research and
development are done.

You just have to take
the rough designs,

put them into final
shape, build some plans,

and organise an operating force,

and your job will be
finished and the war over.

Part of the deal is you'll
be made a brigadier general.

Well, I'd want
that to be official

before I started the job.

I'll be working with a bunch
of academics and scientists.

My position with them
will be a lot stronger

if they think they're
dealing with a general

right from the start,

rather than some
newly promoted colonel.

Oh, Colonel Nichols
is already here, sir.

What do you know about all this?

They just put me on
it a couple of hours ago, sir.

Well, they tell me that they have
got rough designs completed.

All I've got to do is
slap it all together.

All right, where are the plans?

Maybe in some scientist's
head somewhere, sir.

They don't exist.

What about factories,
production facilities?

No, we'd have to acquire
planned sites first.

They don't even
have factory sites?

No, sir.

Raw materials?

Nope, and no production
equipment either.

We're going to need all the
uranium ore we can get.

We may be lucky there.

The Belgians may have
sent some to New York

before the Nazis
got their hooks on it.

Get it.

I'm going to go see bush.

Oh, shall I call and
tell him you're coming?

No, I'd like to surprise him!

Yes, sir.

I'm going to get the uranium.

I'd better.

Arthur Compton at Chicago

could give you a
status report on design.

What about uranium research?

That's being done by
Lawrence at Berkeley.

I understand you're
working on plutonium, as well.

Tell me, what
exactly is plutonium?

I mean, is it a gas, a solid,
electric substance, what?

You'll have to ask
Lawrence directly.

I'm not sure any of us really
knows very much about it yet.

I can see that.

Is this meeting
really necessary?

No, I could tell the
secretary of war,

the army chief of staff,

and the president's
science advisor

that you're too busy.

Ah, General Somervell,
good to see you.

Colonel Groves, I
don't believe you have met

the secretary of
war, Colonel Stimson.

It's general Groves
now, Colonel.

Of course.

Yes, well, our heartiest
congratulations.

Well, let's get
started, shall we?

General.

Our first order of business

is to put together
a top policy group

to oversee the atomic
project on a day-to-day basis.

General Marshall and
I shall be far too busy

to be directly involved.

But we thought a committee

of some seven to nine
officers of the army...

That's too many.

Excuse me, sir, that's too many.

I could keep three people
reasonably well-informed

and, of course,
get their advice.

All right.

Three officers it is.

Fine.

Well, that's settled.

Now, I think we'd
better have a code name.

We got an office in
New York... Manhattan.

What about "Manhattan"?

"Manhattan
engineering district."

"Manhattan project."

Is that obscure enough?

Well, General Groves, as
head of the Manhattan project,

perhaps you'd be
willing to tell us

a little something about it.

I'm going to Tennessee
this afternoon

to inspect a large site

where we hope to
produce purified uranium...

Oak Ridge.

Then the laboratories

at the university of
Chicago and Berkeley...

As a matter of fact, if I'm no
longer needed here, gentlemen,

I would like to be excused.

I've got to get out
of uniform before I go.

I'm sure we all
agree, gentlemen...

The fewer questions I'm asked

about where I'm
going or what I'm doing,

the better our security will be.

So, if there's nothing else...

Thank you.

Good morning, General.

Well, I told you, with
Groves in charge,

you'd start to get things done.

Why is everyone just
sitting around talking?

Why aren't they working?

They are... exchanging
ideas, General.

This way.

Is this case, we can
express the flux just as a...

No, no, no, no. Not
even as an estimate.

Gentlemen, I want you all
to meet general Groves,

who's heading up our atomic
effort for the government.

He'd like a briefing of
what we're doing down here.

So, why don't, Leo, you
and Enrico handle this?

General, I'd like you
to meet Enrico Fermi.

I've heard of you.

Leo Szilard.

I've heard of you, too.

Eugene Wigner.

Please, don't get up.

Dr. Vincent. Doctor.

Well, what are you working on?

We're considering
different methods

for reactor cooling.

There are four
methods we are considering.

Water and air, of course.

That's right. And
helium and heavy water.

According to your numbers,
which are the likeliest two?

At this point, I would
say helium and air.

Mm-hmm. And the likeliest one?

Uh, helium.

Well, why not just
drop the other three...

Work on helium?

Concentrate your forces...

That's the way we
do it in the army.

Well, maybe we could do that.

Well, we don't need to decide
about cooling systems today.

What I need to know
right away, gentlemen,

is how much uranium or plutonium
will one of these bombs require?

That's what you're supposed
to be concentrating on, isn't it?

No, that's one of
the things, General.

The cooling system is
part of the whole process.

I understand that, doctor.

Good. Why don't we do
the numbers for you...

Show you where we are?

Let me do that for you.

What we calculate

is the critical mass
for a uranium bomb.

The critical mass is
the mass necessary

to maintain the chain reaction.

If we consider
only the free parts

of the neutron in the uranium,

it should be in the order
of the critical radius

and can be characterised by
the cross-section for fission

for the neutrons

times the number of
atoms per cubic centimetre,

where "n" is equal to 6
times 10 to the 23 over 235,

the mass number for uranium...

This symbol is the density in
grams per cubic centimetres.

Which is equal to
4 pi over 3 times 235

over 6 times 10
to the 24th times...

Just a minute,
professor Vincent.

I don't see how you moved

from the second
equation to the fourth.

In the second equation,
you have 10 to the 23rd power,

and then somehow in the
fourth it becomes 10 to the 24th?

Yes, you're right. That's wrong.

Yes, thank you
very much, doctor.

Just a second.

Actually, it brings
up a very good point.

When you do get your
figures, gentlemen,

just how accurate will they be?

At the moment, within...

Within a factor of 10.

A factor of 10? That's idiotic.

They're unusable.

It's like telling a
wedding caterer

to have food ready for
10 guests or 1,000 guests.

How do you expect me, if
I'm supposed to produce

a specific number
of bombs per month,

how do I build a factory

based on such
imprecise information?

Shall I design for
3 bombs a month,

3/10 of a bomb, or 30 bombs?

I need answers to these
questions, gentlemen.

When am I going to get them?

We are all working
extremely hard

to get you those
answers, General.

It sure doesn't
look like it to me!

Well, you're obviously
not ready for me here.

I'll go on to Berkeley.

I'll be back here in a few days.

Maybe you'll be ready by then.

Gentlemen, let me point
something out to you.

When I was at west
point, I took algebra,

descriptive geometry,
and trigonometry.

I did very well
in those courses.

And then I took them again.

Now, you may know
that I don't have a PhD.

But I have 10 years
of formal education

after I entered
college... 10 years.

I believe that would
be the equivalent

of two PhDs, wouldn't it?

Let's get out of
here, Dr. Compton.

They have work to do.

They have a lot of work to do.

How can you work
with people like that?

They don't have the first idea

what they're doing at
the university of Chicago.

It's a sloppy, undisciplined,
disorganised mob.

They don't do any real
work at all, all day long.

They just sit there and gossip.

I think I made a good
impression on them.

Too much theory at Chicago.

Out here, you'll actually see
uranium preparation going on.

Well...

Well, this is more like it.

How much uranium do you get?

Well, actually, we
don't get any yet.

This is still all
experimental, you see.

Well, when you do start
to get uranium, doctor,

how pure will it have to be?

Ah, well, I'm only the
experimentalist here, General.

You'll want to ask our
theoretician, Dr. Oppenheimer.

You know, Dr. Lawrence,
you'd better do a good job here.

Your reputation depends on it.

With all due respect, General,

my reputation is already made.

I've won the Nobel
prize in physics.

It's your reputation that
depends on this project.

I'll show you where
Oppenheimer works.

They tell me you're the expert
on all this, Dr. Oppenheimer.

There are no experts, General.
This field is too new.

If I may, let me give
you an example,

which proves that none
of us so-called experts

really knows very much.

Go ahead.

I head up a study group on
the consequences of the bomb,

and one of our
physicists, Edward Teller,

made some calculations
which showed

that when the bomb went off,

it would set fire to
the earth's atmosphere.

Well, the whole
sky would catch fire,

and we'd destroy the world.

So, naturally, I took the
next train back to Chicago

to tell Arthur Compton
what we'd found.

And Compton said that that
would be the ultimate catastrophe,

and it's better to risk
slavery under the Nazis

that run the chance

of drawing the final
curtain on mankind.

We couldn't make the bomb.

But I came back here.

We did some more figuring
and found a couple of things

that Edward Teller
hadn't taken into account.

We refigured the odds.

Now we think the
chances are 3 in a million

we'll destroy the world.

And on that basis,
Compton said, "go ahead."

So, you see, none of us
knows very much, really.

It's all too new.

Hmm.

How long have you
been with the project?

About a year.

What exactly do you do?
What's your job?

Well, my title, they tell
me with a straight face,

is "coordinator
of rapid rupture."

But what I actually do

is lead the seminars
on bomb-design theory...

What will have to go into it.

At the moment, we're concerned

with the time required
to complete detonation.

How long will it take?

Less than a
millionth of a second.

Tell me, Dr. Oppenheimer,
this atomic-fission bomb...

Do you think it could be done?

Yes. Yes.

Technically, it's
a sweet problem,

and, yes, it can be done.

How long would it take to build?

I'd guess two years.

Well, he gives you
straight answers...

Unlike those guys in Chicago.

I like talking to you.

Doctor, how about meeting
me in Chicago on Thursday?

I've got to take the
train down to Washington.

You could ride down with
me. We could have a real talk.

Fine, certainly. Just give
me my orders, General.

We now must
come to grips with it.

It is time to build
a nuclear reactor.

And for various reasons...

Construction
problems and so forth...

We think the place to
build it is right here.

Here?

You mean on campus at
the university of Chicago?

The squash courts, under
the stands at Stagg field.

There's no alternative?

There's no practical
alternative, no.

Who'll do the experiment?

Fermi and Szilard.

Fermi will be in charge.

What are the risks?

We have computed
with greatest of care.

We are certain there would
be no runaway reaction

to release lethal
amounts of radiation.

We also have ruled
out an atomic explosion.

On paper.

Of course, we really don't
know what will happen at all.

Sir, we will allow the reaction
to grow only very slowly

so it cannot get out of control.

But if it does...

The likelihood...

If it does,

you could radioactively
poison or blow up Chicago.

If you're wrong.

But none of you
thinks you're wrong.

All right, proceed...

For now... for now!

Inform me immediately of
any and all developments.

All right, the next order
of business is a new policy.

Beginning today, all
scientists will not...

I repeat... Not discuss
with their colleagues

what they're working on.

Now, there are two
reasons for this.

The first, of
course, is security.

We want to minimise
the likelihood

of any vital secrets
falling into enemy hands.

The second is to improve
overall efficiency

by making people
stick to their knitting!

Each man will know only
what he needs to know

in order to do his
job and nothing else.

Yes, Dr. Szilard?

General, that won't work.

Let me tell you how
we function here.

We help each other.

We build on each
other's theories.

I know, to you, it looks
like we are wasting time,

but really, it speeds things up.

It makes the work go
faster, not to mention better.

Our job is to build a bomb here,

not to enable you to satisfy
your intellectual curiosity.

Yeah?

Well, if we can't
talk to each other,

it could delay our work.

It could help the Germans,

which I'm sure none of us wants.

You have one job here... one...

To build an atomic bomb

that will end the war at
the earliest possible date.

Now, get on with it.

Dr. Compton, may I see you?

I want Mr. Szilard fired.

I want him off
this project today.

General, I can't do that.
Everyone else will quit.

All right, thank you, doctor.

All right, I want
Mr. Szilard followed...

24-hour surveillance,
around the clock.

Lansdale: We got a more
immediate security problem

than just Szilard, General.

Who's that?

Oppenheimer.

He dated for three
years one Jean Tatlock.

She's an active member
of the communist party.

He joined with her, through her,

such left-wing organisations

as friends of the Chinese
people, consumers union,

American committee for
democracy and intellectual freedom,

help set up a branch
of the teachers' union.

A lot of his friends are
members of the communist party.

Is he a member of
the communist party?

We haven't been looking
for very long yet.

But his wife, Kitty, was.
His brother is.

Kitty was married to Joe Dallet.

Come in.

Mr. Oppenheimer,
come in, come in.

Have you had your dinner?

Just finished.

Well, how about some chocolate?

Um, no.

You know colonel Nichols.

Have you met
colonel Lansdale yet?

He's head of our security.

Colonel. Doctor.

Security. You have got
an interesting job.

You need top security
on a job like this.

The trick is to get it

without depressing the
scientists who do the work.

Well, at the moment,
we're just asking them

to fill out a few
questionnaires.

Well, when you get to mine,

you'll find out that
I'm not a communist.

But I've belonged to probably

every communist-funded
organisation on the west coast.

Do you belong now?

No, now I'm not
involved in anything.

The only thing I want to do

is help build this bomb
and to WiN the war.

The only security problem
that bothers me right now

are all those Yakkers

that we have got at the
university of Chicago.

How are you supposed to
keep secrets in a place like that?

Your people that way out
there in Berkeley, doctor?

Oh, we talk, try to help
each other with ideas.

But if that's a problem...

And I can see how
it would be here...

Why not get all the
scientists together

in one far-off place?

Bring them in from
Chicago, Berkeley, whatever,

to a place you can control,

make it as secure as possible,

and it would help us
with bomb design, too,

having everybody together.

Did you just come
up with this idea?

What if we took
all the scientists,

put them into
uniform, swear them in,

give them commissions,
make them officers?

They'd be subject
to military discipline.

How would that be?

I'd be proud to be an
officer. Who wouldn't?

That's all right.
That's all right.

I like the way
you think, doctor.

You have got some good ideas.

When you talk, you make sense.

Some far-off place? Hmm.

Need a good man to head that up.

Yeah.

Got any ideas about that?

You need a theoretician,
an experimentalist,

and an administrator all in one.

Lawrence, my boss at Berkeley...

He's the best man
in the world for it.

Then McMillan. He's doing
radar work in Boston.

Panofsky from Pasadena.

Robby from Columbia.

Oh, you could get
anybody you wanted.

After all, you're offering them

the best, single most
important job in the world today.

I know Oppenheimer's brilliant.

Everyone says he's a genius.

But security says absolutely no.

Compton and Lawrence
both have doubts

about his leadership qualities.

Bush and Coleman say he's
not a good administrator.

He says himself that what
we need is an experimentalist,

and he's only a theoretician.

He's never won the Nobel prize.

He won't have the prestige
among the other scientists.

Is there nobody else
you'd be satisfied with?

General...

What if he really
is a communist?

If he's a communist,

I'll blow the
whole deal sky-high.

I don't know. There's...

There's just something
about Oppenheimer.

He has ability.

Maybe it's just that
he agrees with me.

Whatever it is, he's the man.

I want him.

All right, now.

If the reaction starts
to run out of control,

you cut the rope instantly.

You, you, and you,
douse the pile instantly.

You may step up
there. Step closer.

George will pull out
the rod a little at a time.

We shall take
measurements and verify

that the pile will keep on
acting as we have calculated.

Ready?

Go ahead, George.

It should level
off in five seconds.

Pull it out another foot.

It will level off now.

One more foot.

This will do it. Now the
pile with chain react.

The pile has gone critical.

Zip in!

The pile is secure.

Yes!

Wait a minute! I can't hear!

Bedlam in here!

Are you still there, Jim?

Enrico! Enrico!

We have got Dr. Conant
on the line in Washington.

Let's open a bottle.

The Italian navigator has
landed in the new world.

And the natives were friendly!

No more experiments.
Now we start to produce.

Leo.

Hey, congratulations.

What?

What?

This day will go down in history

as a black mark against mankind.

We're out of Martinis.

Want some help?

Would you help
Shakespeare to write

or Caruso to sing? Go!

Don't be so chintzy
on the gin this time.

No, it's inconceivable that
such a bomb would ever be used.

Robert, who are those young
people arguing with Teller?

They're from Los Alamos.

I got them as a job
lot at Princeton.

As I was saying, the bomb
would never be used on people.

As soon as we get it, we'd only
use it to dictate peace terms.

Amen.

Two or three
years in the desert,

you of all people, Kitty,
you'll rot on the vine there.

Yeah? Look at it this way.

I'll be alone with
1,000 horny men.

I was wondering, Oppie.

By any chance, do you
know a friend of mine

from around here,
Charles Satterlee?

Oh, vaguely. Engineer
for unified oil.

Mm-hmm.

Used to live in Russia.

How's this?

The hand of the master.

Charles was saying that
he thinks it's a damn shame.

Even though the Russians
and Americans are allies,

there's no... oh, thank you.

There's no sharing of scientific
information between them.

He happened to
mention that he had ways

of getting technical
information to the Russians...

If anyone were interested.

I want absolutely nothing
to do with that, Haakon.

Nothing at all.

Of course not. Of course not.

I just thought that
it was something

you ought to know about...

You know, between friends.

Well, let's rejoin
the party, shall we?

I'm glad that Berkeley
is still going to be home.

Not selling the
house, eh? That's good.

Hey, folks.

Welcome to the
Los Alamos Waldorf.

Connie Trowbridge.

I'm an old-timer here...
Been here since Thursday.

Aw, they always cry

when they get off that
bumpy road from Santa Fe.

I'm supposed to tell you
there's a briefing for the men

in the main hall
in five minutes.

Where's that? Uh, it's that away.

Gentlemen.

Gentlemen!

For those of you who don't
know me, I'm general Groves.

You are here to
build an atomic bomb.

If you succeed,
you will win the war

and save countless
American lives.

If you fail...

I will have to appear before
a congressional committee

and justify your
squandering of their money.

So, don't fail.

Dr. Oppenheimer will brief
you on your assignments.

Welcome, gentlemen.

Excuse me, doctor.

When I call a meeting for 1400
hours, we start at 1400 hours.

Go ahead, doctor.

Well, um...

Well, I'm excited.

What about you?

We're gathered here together
to leap into the unknown,

to create the
hitherto impossible.

And to accomplish our task,

we have assembled in this
room the very best men,

each chosen individually
to work with us.

There's not one of you I'm not
honoured to be associated with.

Everything we can do to help
you in your labours, we will.

Come see me or Ed Condon here,

who's come down
from Westinghouse

to lend a hand on
administrative problems.

Hey, fellas.

Hey. Hi, Ed.

Ed helped prepare those
organisational charts

you all have in your packets,

which prove how
organised we are...

On paper.

As you know, some of us
have been working on this

for a year or more.

I've asked Bob Serber to tell
you what we already know

and what we need to know, too.

Bob, it's yours.

Don't call it a bomb,
Bob. Call it a gadget, huh?

The U-235 uranium bomb

will have a critical
mass of 15 kilograms.

The plutonium bomb
about 5 kilograms.

Manufacturing plants
at oak Ridge, Tennessee,

and Hanford, Washington,
will make the materials.

But we'll have to have
the gadget ready by then...

Two years or less.

How much U-235
do we have so far?

Just minute smears.

Can we get some to
fool around with?

Yes. When, we're
not really sure.

How about plutonium?

It doesn't exist yet.

So, okay, we'll do "let's
pretend" for a while.

We'll stay in close
contact with oak Ridge and Hanford

and see what we can get
and when we can get it.

Meanwhile, we have got a
little catching up to do.

Atten-hut!

Be seated.

Welcome to Los Alamos...

Where, at great expense,
the United States government

has gathered the largest
collection of crackpots

the world has ever seen.

However, these crackpots
are engaged on a mission

of vital importance
to your country.

Your responsibility will
be to maintain security here.

Specifically, that means
keeping the Germans, the Russians,

or anyone else for that matter,
from learning about our efforts.

How you will
accomplish that mission

will be the assignment
of colonel pash...

Captain de Silva...

And colonel Lansdale.

Colonel Lansdale will
now take over the briefing.

There are four areas
we'll be concentrating on.

Not one letter goes in
or out that we don't read...

Not one phone
call we don't hear...

Not one office we don't monitor.

Personal surveillance...

That one's going to
be a little trickier.

We're all talking
about explosion.

And what I'm thinking

is that maybe we ought to
be talking about implosion.

Wh-what I mean is,
instead of exploding out,

maybe... maybe we ought to
be squeezing a mass in on itself

from all sides at once.

N-Not drive it apart to
get fission... together.

No, you can't do that
because you'd have to set off

a zillion chemical
explosions at the same time.

They'd have to be
uniform and so violent...

There's never been a degree
of compression anything like it.

It must be explosion...
The gun method.

It's physically impossible.

You have never
worked on explosives,

have you, Niedermayer?

What do you know
about them? Nothing.

Sit down, Goofus.

Okay, let's keep going here.

Let's get back
to the gun method.

First, the main problem is
how to avoid pre-detonation.

You told me if I came here,

I could work on
the fusion weapon

and I could work on my own.

Edward, that's right,
I did. And you can.

Instead you have me working
in the theoretical division

under Hans Bethe.

First Bethe, then
Teller assisting.

Everything I promised
you, you'll get.

This is just until
we get started.

It's just for
organisational purposes.

Help me out with this, Edward.

You have cheated me.

I want you to work on your own.

You're one of
the most brilliant,

innovative men we have,

and you can help us tremendously
in the theoretical division.

Hello.

Hi.

Niedermayer, I want
you to work on implosion.

What did you say?

I'm making you group leader...
Implosion experimentation.

War research isn't
like college research.

Don't have to be cheap.

Use as many men and as
much equipment as you need.

Myself, I don't think
implosion will work.

It's just too complicated.

It's too hard to get a
symmetrical shock wave.

Prove me wrong.

And if you do, I'll give
you a bottle of whisky.

I've been looking for that
mistake for three days.

Oppie, I have an idea I
want to talk to you about.

We know it may take us two years

to come up with the bomb, yeah?

We don't know if
we have that long.

We started late,
later than Germany.

So, what would you think

of taking the radioactive
material we are now producing

and drop it on Germany...

Poison their food supply.

This we could do now.

What would you
use, strontium-90?

Strontium-90. Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

What do I think?

I think you should
start work right now.

On what scale?

I don't think we should
even attempt a plan

unless we can poison
food sufficient to kill...

Half a million people.

I have to go to Chicago tomorrow

and see how the
plutonium's coming.

Then I'll take it up
with Washington.

Not a word to anyone, Enrico.

Oppie, you know
what's the difference

between us and Chicago?

There they think they
have to build the bomb

because of Hitler.

Here, everyone
wants to build it.

That's because I'm here
and Szilard's there.

You surprised he didn't
want to come here with us?

Ah, Leo is Leo.
He's a city person.

What would he do
without his hot pastrami?

A million ideas a day, a
thousand of them good.

Let him drive everyone
in Chicago crazy.

So, what was it you wanted
to see me about, colonel?

Oh, I just thought we
should get better acquainted.

Socially?

Personally?

Sexually?

You have made Martinis before.

Once or twice.

So, what should I call you?
Kitty? Mrs. Oppenheimer?

It depends why you're here.

Well, I have been charged
with security on this project.

And naturally,
I've been developing

certain information about you...

Your past, some of
your associations,

relationships.

And I wondered if
you wouldn't mind

talking to me about it.

It's past.

It has nothing to
do with who I am now.

Now the only things
that matter to me

are Robert and his work.

I understand that.

Then you don't mind talking.

It'll help to set
our minds to rest.

We're on the same side.

Then you were, very briefly, a
member of the communist party,

is that right?

What did you do for them?

Typed letters,
mimeoed leaflets...

General office work.

Why them?

Please, I just want to
understand... it was the '30s.

It seemed to a lot of us

that communism was the
only alternative to fascism.

The democracies
weren't doing a thing

to help in the
Spanish civil war.

Hitler came in on
the side of Franco.

Who was going to fight
for democracy in Spain?

America? Britain?

They didn't want
to get involved.

The communists did.

Then it was the depression.

The party cared about the
people who were starving

when a lot of others didn't.

The party wanted to do
something for the little guy.

So did a lot of us.

That's not that hard
to understand, is it?

No.

You know, in a lot of places,
especially where I was,

it was hard to meet people
who weren't in the party

or at least on the edges.

Around the universities. Mm-hmm.

Including Oppenheimer.

He was never, never
a member of the party.

Why is that?

Obviously, he cared
for the same things you...

He never was that involved.

It was so long ago. It
was a different time.

We were different.

Now the depression's over.

The war... we're
all in it together.

Robert's a physicist.

He's a brilliant,
brilliant scientist.

He's an American.

He'd never do anything
to hurt this country.

He wants to win the
war. That's all he wants.

And he can do it.

That's what's important.

He can do it.

Leo, what's the question?

Huh?

You sound like you
already have the answer.

No, I just got some
very good news

about a friend of
mine from Germany.

So, what brings you
to civilization, Robert?

I miss you.

Aw.

So, how's the pastrami
in Chicago these days?

How are all your little
hot dogs in Los Alamos?

Come and see for yourself.

Nah! Nobody can think
straight in a place like that.

Everybody who goes there
will go crazy. You watch.

Hmm.

What are you doing here?

I'm seeing Arthur,

checking when we can
expect some contributions

from the worker bees.

Cheers.

After I got
my degree in Berlin,

you remember how
important that was to me.

I remember. It was
too important, huh?

Yeah, well, I wound up in
Austria in public health.

I don't mind telling you,
the public health of Austria

has been not too good
since Hitler took over.

Then England, and then here.

Ay-yi-yi-yi-yi.

It wasn't so bad, Leo.

I guess my imagination
got the worst of me, huh?

You know, you
have always figured

in my imagination, Trude.

I have?

Yeah. More than you know.

You have always been in mine, too.

You know, I was afraid
you'd be married by now

or have a girlfriend.

No.

Leo, put your arm around me.

Subject Szilard
is of Jewish extraction.

He has a fondness for delicacies

and frequently eats his
breakfast in drug stores

and other meals in restaurants.

He walks a great deal
when he cannot secure a taxi.

He usually is shaven
in a barbershop.

He speaks occasionally
in a foreign tongue

and associates mostly with
people of Jewish extraction.

His is inclined to be
rather absent-minded

and will start out a door,
turn around and come back,

go out on a street
without his coat or hat,

and frequently looks
up and down the street

as if he did not know for
sure where he wanted to go.

Recently, subject has
started sharing his hotel room

with this woman,

a refugee from
Germany via Austria,

a doctor named
Gertrude "Trude" Weiss.

What else do they talk about?

Tell me, what
are you working on?

This will be hard
for you to believe,

but I cannot say.

Yeah, I know.

When have I ever been
quiet about anything?

It's just that everything has
to be so secret these days.

I don't have to know anything.

I don't want to know.

I just want to be near you.

Don't talk.

Come here, Leo.

Come here.

If you knew how long
I've prayed for this.

That's all?

Yes, sir.

For now.

All right, keep on him.

We'll maintain surveillance

until we're absolutely
certain that he's 100% reliable.

Yes, sir.

All right, now
I've got something.

Oppenheimer's been head

of the most secret
project of the war

for several months now.

You still haven't issued his
security clearance. Why not?

We don't think we should.
May we tell you why?

Well, I think you'd better.

Sir, he's just a real bad risk.

His wife was a communist.

He knows communists.
He associates with them.

He's hired a lot of
them from the colleges

to work at los
Alamos... all lefties.

Where would you suggest
we get our scientists

if not from the colleges?

He belongs to a lot
of front organisations.

He was at Berkeley.

Everybody who was at Berkeley

joined some screwball
organisation or another

in the '30s.

What have you got
on him that's new...

Since he's joined the project?

What have you found
out about him recently?

I want his security
clearance issued,

and I want it issued today.

Thank you, gentlemen.

Sir.

It doesn't mean we have
to stop looking, does it?

Who knew
Oppenheimer was in Chicago?

I didn't.

No outside contact.

No outside contact!

We had a firm agreement.

Yeah, but I
don't think I violated it.

I had to find out when the
plutonium was going to be ready.

You're not to speak to
anyone outside Los Alamos!

Not even Compton? He's
the head of the lab there.

He's the only one who can
tell us when to expect...

You spoke to Leo
Szilard, didn't you?

Bad enough you all want to
talk to each other down here!

Who else knew you
were going to Chicago?

Just ed.

Just ed... the responsible man,

the corporate executive
with administrative experience,

who should have
had better judgment.

General, now it's come
up, you ought to know...

I think your policy
here is dead wrong.

I think it is slowing us down
and for no good reason.

Well, anybody who
thinks that should leave.

Scientists have
to help each other.

If they can't...

Oppie, would you tell him?

Um, I see what you're saying...

Don't drag him into it, Condon.

It's my policy,

it's my decision,
and it's final.

You see what I'm saying.
You agree with me.

General, if it's my
resignation you want,

you can have it.

Ed, listen. Let's don't
do anything rash.

If these are the rules, then
we can learn to live with them.

I don't even want to try.

Goodbye, Oppie.

Good luck.

Forget about Condon.

He probably quit

because he thought
the project would fail.

Well, it's not going to fail.

I was just telling them, Oppie.

If this pipe collapses evenly

but doesn't get
twisted and deformed,

then that's
successful implosion.

That's what we're looking for.

I don't know. I wouldn't
stand so close.

It's all right.

We're not... we're not
using that much explosive.

I'm just saying, I wouldn't.

All set?

Go ahead.

What the hell was that?!

You all right?

I've seen better-looking pipes.

Back to the drawing board.

Why don't they do it out
in some field somewhere?

I hope I'm not interrupting.

No, not at all.
Please, sit down.

Kitty's probably got
some coffee ready.

Would you like some? No, thanks.

So, what's up?

Well, I understand that you
went to Berkeley this week.

Wait, wait, whoa,
whoa. That was cleared.

I had permission.

There was somebody
that I had to...

No, that's not what I want
to speak to you about, doctor.

You mentioned to security
there they ought to keep an eye

on a man named
Charles Satterlee,

works for unified oil.

I wondered what that was about.

You know Satterlee personally?

Um, no, somebody just
mentioned he knew something.

Who mentioned it?
Was a friend of yours?

You don't mind telling me?

Well, I've... I've thought
about it a good deal,

and I feel I shouldn't.

I'd just bet dollars
to doughnuts

he isn't personally involved.

I understand personal loyalty.

But in a case like this...

I'd regard it as a low
trick to involve someone

when I'd bet anything
he's not involved with it.

Okay, Bob, don't
think it's the last time

I'm going to ask you,
because it's not.

No, no. The war
should be over by now.

If we had listened to us
when we first told them,

if that idiot Groves
treated us like grown men

instead of like
spies or children...

Military geniuses.

Believe me, in Germany,

they're working five
times as fast as we are.

And one day very soon,
Hitler will drop a bomb on us.

Leo!

Yeah, yeah, one bomb...
Right on Chicago,

stop our work and
kill everyone involved.

It's possible but not probable.

You know Hitler.

He loves the grand gesture, huh?

Christmas day will be
the perfect time to do it.

Boom.

Merry Christmas.

No, I don't want him
fired. I want him arrested.

I want him locked up.

I want Leo Szilard interned
for as long as the war lasts.

I can't sign that, general.
He hasn't done anything.

The man has absolutely no
sense of security whatsoever.

He's always stirring things up,

working everyone up into a
state of rebellion all the time.

One thing we have to
concern ourselves with

is how far along
are the Germans.

We're not getting
hard evidence there.

General...

Any reason you can't take
over foreign intelligence, too?

No, sir.

Good.

Anything else we
have to go over?

Gentlemen.

General.

I do not get the feeling

general Groves
much likes Leo Szilard.

What else?

This idea that
Oppenheimer and Fermi have

of poisoning
Germany's food supply.

Why don't we just
sit on that, huh?

Of course. Why don't we?

Oh, gentlemen, come
in, come in, come in.

Dr... I'm sorry, is it
pronounced "good-Schmidt"?

"House-Schmidt."

Thank you very much. Sit down.

Colonel pash, nice to see you.

Gentlemen, I'm assembling
an intelligence team

that will enter Europe
with our invasion forces.

This team will
have one mission...

To determine exactly
what the Germans know

about the atomic bomb

and what they intend to
do with that knowledge.

Doctor, let me ask you.

If you were a
member of this team,

where would you start?

What would you look for?

Uh, well, sir...

We are always told

that only a dozen people in
the world understand Einstein.

If follows that at
least one of that dozen

must be included in
any atomic-bomb project,

since its construction

is closely tied up
with Einstein's theory.

So, I'd look for
Werner Heisenberg.

You just made the team.

Colonel pash, I want you

to be the military
head of this team.

Doctor, I'd like
you to be scientific.

When our troops enter Europe,

I expect you both to be right
at the head of the parade.

General, I am
flattered, of course,

but you should know I've never
done anything even remotely...

Doctor, you're European.
You speak the languages.

You know the scientists.
You even know atomic physics.

You're not working on our
project, so I can spare you.

You do want to help
your adopted country,

don't you, doctor?

Yes, sir, it's not that. It's...

I only wish I was
going with you.

You'll probably see
more combat in this war

than colonel Nichols
and I put together.

We, on the other hand,
must go to New York

to entertain some Britishers,

who, in the spirit of
allied cooperation,

have volunteered their services

in aid of the
beleaguered colonists.

Careful, lads.

Remember what happened

the last time these
chaps gave us a tea party.

Where exactly in America
will we be working, general?

Uh, I'd rather not say.

Loose lips sink ships.

Did I say something funny?

On what problems

do you imagine we could
be most helpful, sir?

We'll tell you whatever
you need to know

whenever you need to know it.

General, I don't believe
you have met my colleague.

Dr. Klaus Fuchs.

Are you British, Dr. Fuchs?

Of somewhat recent vintage.

A refugee from Hitler.

What do you do?

I'm a physicist
and theoretician.

Well, welcome to America.

Thank you.

Excuse me.

I'm Raymond.

Klaus Fuchs.

Use your code name.
Didn't they teach you?

There's a lot of
questions I have to ask you.

Are you hungry?

Yeah.

Let's get something to eat.

Moscow has a lot of questions.

♪ Silent night ♪

♪ holy night ♪

♪ all is calm ♪

♪ all is bright ♪

Sounds nice.

I always
liked this time of year.

A little family time.

My father was an army chaplain.

We...

we were never too much on
having fun when I was growing up.

He was a pretty strict daddy.

But Christmas was special.

Merry Christmas.
Merry Christmas.

Well, we always did
everything at Christmas...

Always did it together.

Do you celebrate Christmas?

For the children... an
excuse to give them presents.

I wasn't sure, you
being Jewish and all.

You have a little boy.

Yeah.

Yeah, my boy's at
west point... naturally.

He's still got three
years to go, thank god.

My little girl... my little
girl is not so little any more.

She's all grown up, just
as beautiful as she can be.

I'm going to have my hands full
when the boys discover her.

Is it rough on your family

knowing you're 2,000
miles away on Christmas?

Oh, they don't have
any idea where I am...

Where I am or what I'm doing.

My wife is army all
the way, god bless her.

I mean, she knows
I do something,

but she'd never ask what.

I'd never tell her.

Merry Christmas.

You must find that strange.

No.

You know why Leo Szilard
is such a pain in the rear end?

Because he never played
baseball when he was a kid.

No, it's true. I
really believe that.

He never learned
how to cooperate,

how to be part of a team.

See, that's what's
different about you.

You know how to
work with people.

That's why we get along so well.

Robert...

Do you trust me
enough to do me a favour

if I said that it was personally
very important to me?

Of course I do.

It's a tough one.

Don't say yes if
you don't mean it.

I never say
anything I don't mean.

All right.

I need the name, Robert.

I need the name of the man

who told you that Satterlee
had a Russian contact.

Now, politics is one thing.

Espionage is something else.

Well, espionage...

Are you...

If you order me.

But he was just saying

that he knew Satterlee
knew of a way to...

This isn't easy for me.

Chevalier. Haakon Chevalier.

How do you spell that?

H-a-a-k-o-n C-h-e-v-a-l-i-e-r.

Where would I find him?

Berkeley.

But I'd bet anything in the
world he's not involved.

He's not the type of
man... what does he do?

Is he a teacher?

Not physics?

French.

Robert.

I know this was
hard for you, Robert.

But you trusted me,
and I appreciate that.

It means a great deal to me.

You did the right thing.

♪ Oh, come let us adore him ♪

♪ Christ the lord ♪

Damn it.

Damn it.

That method won't work.

We can't get the
plutonium pure enough.

Besides, there's
too much 240 in it.

Well, pal, your
implosion theory's

looking better all the time.

Everybody out.

Out!

Use more men. Work faster.

I never worked with more
than two or three guys... start.

Oppie, we think that
implosion can work.

Doc has an idea.

It's really rather
simple, sir...

I mean, in theory.

In practice, it'll be
fantastically complicated.

You see, we have the explosive.

And if you surround
it with lenses

and then detonate
them all at once...

You could theoretically
get simultaneous detonation

and a symmetrical shock wave.

What do you think, Robert?

Explosive lenses, huh?

I think, uh, it's brilliant.

Brilliant, brilliant
work. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Thank you.

Thank you.

Oh, it's like starting
over from scratch, isn't it?

I'm afraid so, Robert.

Well, we're going to need
new teams and workshops,

machining, moulding equipment,

and hundreds of
skilled, new men...

Uh, 400, 600... with
housing for their families.

Everything else was
just dress rehearsal

for this, wasn't it?

Amateur hour.

All right.

Niedermayer obviously
can't handle it.

Who's the best
theoretician to work on this?

Let's get a look.

I have to make a change, Seth.

I'm bringing in 600 new
men to work on implosion.

Who will be in charge?

Kistiakowsky.

Like that, huh?

Swell, thanks a lot.

Seth.

Seth!

Move it out! Move it out!

Freeze it right there, Hans!

Goudsmit? Samuel Goudsmit?

Any experiences with plutonium?

No, we had no factories to
make uranium or plutonium.

We had no uranium
burners, nothing.

We never started.

The ability we had,
the men we had,

but the resources...
Those we did not.

What?! No resources.

Why was that?

Reichsminister Spier.

We told him two years ago we
were ready to make the bomb.

All he was interested in
was atomic energy for power.

Yeah, because that was
so much easier and quicker.

Everything had to be so quick.

Do you remember an
order from Hitler in 1942

bearing on this
decision not to proceed?

Yeah, yeah, yeah,
yeah. Yeah, absolutely.

"Start no projects
which does not guarantee

weapons ready for
field use in six weeks."

Six weeks.

Our führer, the genius,
so sure of the final victory.

Why bother? I mean,
who are we fighting?

Shopkeepers, farmers.

You see, we were
not the only ones

who needed the resources.

There were others, as well.

But there is something
that is very important

for you to understand.

We did not all
want to cooperate.

We did not want
Hitler to get the bomb.

I remember Schumann, who
said... a very bad physicist.

Yeah, but a good technician.

Schumann said, "never breath
a word about atomic bomb

"to the higher-ups.

"If the fuhrer hears
of it, he will say,

"'oh, well, how much time
do you need... six months?

Then, if we do not have
atomic bomb in six months..."

Walk away for a bit,
will you, please, soldier?

Still, there is
no doubt about it.

There are not making the bomb.

They never even started.

Are you sure? That
could be a trick.

We have purchase orders,
employment figures,

acquisitions fees, everything.

These are their top people.

You can see here what
they have been working on

for the last two years.

Ain't that going to make them
happy down on the farm in D.C.?

You know what's wonderful?

The Germans have no atom bomb.

Now we won't have to use ours.

Sam, you understand, if we have
got a bomb, we're going to use it.

It's amazing...
Absolutely amazing.

We were so sure the Germans
were building the bomb.

That they are not
changes everything.

Why were we building the
bomb in the first place, huh?

For one reason...

To prevent them from
dropping the bomb on us.

We were building the bomb
so it would not be used.

You see...

If we started this
to prevent them

from dropping the bomb on us...

As men of conscience,

we must now prevent America

from dropping the
bomb on someone else.

Two years.

Two years and $2 billion.

100,000 people on the
payroll in 16 states,

and the whole shooting match

depends on a
couple of screwballs

playing in the sand
with a big firecracker.

Heck, I'm the least pessimistic
man you'll ever meet.

But after all the
corners I've cut

and all the toes
I've stepped on,

if this thing doesn't work,

I might just as well buy
a house on capitol hill.

I'm going to spend
the rest of my life

testifying before a
congressional committee.

If this thing works,

if that pipe stays in one
nice, smooth piece, Seth,

so we can finally
build this thing,

I'm still going to give you
that bottle of whisky.

Everybody ready?

I've been with this
thing longer than anybody...

2 1/2 years now.

I just want to tell
you how I feel, general.

Now, I realise the
war against Germany

may be over before
we're ready to go,

but I think Japan is a better
target for us anyway,

and I'll tell you why.

If we did drop the
gadget on Germany,

suppose it didn't go off?

And the Germans...

The Germans might
be able to recover it.

They could use it as a
model to build their own.

The Japanese
could never do that.

Also, the Japanese
use wood and paper

in their building construction.

Our bombs would be much
more effective against Japan.

In any case, we need to start

planning bombing
operations right away.

Don't like to get too many
people involved in this.

Any reason you can't
handle this yourself?

No, sir.

I'd be glad to.

Professor, there are so
many things I cannot tell you,

things I cannot tell
Trude or anyone.

But you must know, we
are no longer concerned

with what Germany
might do with us.

We are concerned with
what the United States

will do with other countries.

And I'm not speaking now
about the moral questions,

the wave of revulsion and
horror that will sweep the world.

Only that if we drop the bomb,

an arms race will have started,
and we will have started it.

In a few years, we
will be ahead of Russia.

Then with the
development of rockets,

it will be possible to
drop atomic bombs on cities

from great distances.

In the event of a war,

all our major cities would
vanish within a few hours.

Yeah, yeah.

We have no influence
with Roosevelt.

Would you write
another letter...

Tell him these things
and ask him to see me?

Of course I will.

Thank you.

The test tower's going to
be down where George is.

Weather shack over there
and all that other stuff.

Where is the control
centre going to be?

Over there, about five miles.

That should be far enough, huh?

That's where you and I are
going to be watching from.

Sorry I'm late.

We are just reading the letter

Leo and Einstein are
giving to Roosevelt.

Nice to see you.

Just announced that
president Roosevelt is dead.

The president died of
a cerebral haemorrhage.

All is we know so far is
that the president died...

Trude, what did they say?

He's dead.

They just said that
president Roosevelt is dead.

The president died of
a cerebral haemorrhage.

All we know so far

is that the president died
at warm Springs in Georgia.

Thanks.

Admiral Leahy,

you were president
Roosevelt's chief of staff.

I'd like you to say on as mine.

I want the truth.

I want the facts at all times.

You have my pledge,
Mr. President.

Thank you.

You can count on me.

Yes, sir.

Ain't this the damndest
awful thing, Jimmy?

There is one fact
we both know...

That you're more qualified
to be here than I am.

I was his vice president.

But you're the man

the country called
"assistant president."

Now I need you to help me.

You know what I've got to know

about dealing with Stalin
and the Russians and...

Everything else.

I want you to be my
secretary of state.

Will you do that for me?

Yes, I will, Harry.

That's fine.

I will. I'll do it.

Thank you.

All right.

Mr. President, the first
thing you have got to know

is that we're
perfecting an explosive

great enough to
destroy the whole world,

wipe out entire
cities and people

on an unprecedented scale.

And this puts the united
states into a position

of dictating its own
terms at the end of the war.

Look at
this. Look at this.

I go to Washington
for two weeks,

and look what happens.

That is absolutely and
totally inexcusable.

It's Sunday,
general, day of rest.

I don't give a damn
if it's a Sunday.

I wouldn't care if we were
buried under six feet of snow.

But we'll have a full
crew working next Sunday,

and every Sunday until
this tower is finished.

When you're ready to
test, we'll be ready for you.

I promise you that.

Good.

Robert.

Don't you ever worry

the war will be over before
the bomb is ready to drop?

Before general Groves
gets here, Mr. President,

I've put some thoughts
down on paper.

Just go ahead and tell me.

It's about our responsibility

for the development of
this most terrible weapon,

by which modern civilization
could be completely destroyed.

But, on the other
hand, if the problem

of the proper use of
this weapon can be solved,

why, we'll have the
opportunity to save world peace

and our civilization.

Thank you.

Good afternoon,
Mr. President, Mr. Secretary.

Have a seat.

Thank you, sir. Sorry I'm late.

I thought if anybody saw me
walk in here with the secretary,

they might put 2 and 2 together.

Secretary Stimson was
just catching me up. Yes, sir.

Well, I've prepared a very
detailed report for you,

covering every
aspect... how long is it?

24 pages.

I don't like to
read long reports.

Well, I don't know how
we can tell you this

in any more concise
language, Mr. President.

This is a big project. Mm-hmm.

You just tell me
what I have to know.

All right, Mr. President.

Sometime in early July,

our scientific people will be
testing an implosion weapon

at Alamogordo, new Mexico.

Around August 1st,

a uranium bomb called
"little boy" should be ready.

It won't need any testing.

We're in the process

of selecting specific
targets in Japan right now.

That's the story.

All right.

Your present course is sound.

Continue on as you're doing now.

Yes, sir.

Mr. President, there
will be various questions

about the handling
of the bomb...

Political, scientific,
diplomatic.

May I respectfully recommend
that you assemble a committee

of military and
scientific experts

to study these matters
and report back to you?

That's a good idea.

Just make sure that
secretary of state Jimmy Byrnes

is on that committee.

Yes, sir.

President. True, I only wish
that Franklin D. Roosevelt

had lived to witness this day.

General Eisenhower informs
me that the forces of Germany

have surrendered
to the United Nations.

What happens now, Oppie?

What do you mean,
"what happens now?"

Here, with the bomb,

with us, now that
Germany surrendered.

Well, there's
still a war on, Bob.

Japan hasn't surrendered.

A bunch of us have been...

Well, to come
straight out with it,

we don't must like the idea
of dropping it on Japan, Oppie.

They're no real threat to us.

They never were
an atomic threat.

We don't need the
bomb to beat Japan.

We don't know that.

We're scientists, not soldiers.

I do know there
are alternatives.

One I've been giving some real
thought to is a demonstration.

Invite the Japanese
to see the test.

Let them see what will happen
if they don't surrender.

Look, nobody knows this yet,

but the president has just
put together a committee

to advise him on
the use of the bomb,

and I've been asked to serve.

I promise you that will
be one of the options

we explore in depth.

And even though I cannot
guarantee the results,

well, you know how I feel,

and you know we'll be heard.

Fair enough?

Sure, I
know some of them

don't want to use
the bomb against Japan.

Same thing as Chicago.
It's worse in Chicago.

Now, listen, Robert...

I'm not a prejudiced man.

You know that.

I've put a lot of Jews

into positions of
authority on this project,

as you should know
better than anyone,

and the fact is that
a lot of the people

who are making noise about
not using the bomb against Japan

are Jews who came
to this country

to escape Hitler's persecution.

To them, Hitler is the one
real enemy of this war.

Well, now Hitler's dead.

Germany's destroyed.

As far as they're
concerned, their war is over.

Robert...

Our war is not over.

Ah, colonel Tibbets.

Have you met captain Parsons?

Paul Tibbets.

Deke Parsons,
head ordnance unit.

I've been told I'll be flying
the plane with the bomb.

I'll be going with you.

I'll be arming the bomb.

Good.

Then if anything goes
wrong, Captain, I can blame you.

Anything goes wrong, Colonel,

neither of us will be
around to be blamed.

All right, gentlemen,
let's get started.

We have got a lot to do.

You're here to help me select
the best target cities in Japan

for the mission.

Specifically I want to
look at Kyoto, Hiroshima,

Nagasaki, and Yokohama.

Matt Connelly was a
little suspicious at first,

because this appointment
came through Kansas City.

But when you had this
letter from Einstein...

All right.

The president wants to know
your concerns, gentlemen.

We do not know our
government's plans

for use of the atomic
bombs, Mr Byrnes.

And we wish to
discuss that with you.

Policy isn't the
scientists' business.

Well, in this
respect it is, sir.

We know the facts on which
this policy has to be based.

We know, for example,

that Russia might become
an atomic power and soon,

especially if we drop the bomb.

General Groves tells
me it'll be 20 years

before the Russians
have the bomb.

Yeah? We feel
three or four years.

Three or four?

Uh-huh.

Groves tells me there's
no uranium in Russia.

Sit down.

There's certainly there's
uranium in Czechoslovakia

to which the
Russians have access,

and Russia is a vast country.

I don't think anyone can
say in a responsible way

there is no uranium in Russia.

Well, what do you think
we ought to be doing?

I think it is a mistake

to disclose the
existence of the bomb

by testing it or using it

before the
government has decided

how to handle this
situation after the war.

I don't disagree with that.

Of course, you don't
show people it'll work.

We have spent $2 billion
developing this bomb.

Congress is going to want to know

what we got for all that money.

And there's another
pretty good reason

for finding out what the
bomb can do, isn't there?

You're both from
Hungary, aren't you?

Yeah, originally.

Aren't you concerned

about the Russians being
in your own country?

I sure am.

They have moved troops
into Hungary, Romania.

It's going to be very
hard to persuade them

to get their
troops out of there.

What I'm saying is, they
might be more manageable

if they know what America's got.

Manageable, huh?

Setting off an atomic bomb
might impress them a little.

I don't think it will make them
more manageable, Mr. Byrnes.

I think it will make them
build atomic bombs themselves.

See, I am less concerned
about Hungary right now

than I am about
starting an arms race

that might end with both
America and Russia destroyed.

Robert?

Robert!

What are you
doing in Washington?

A meeting. You?

I...

I came to see James Byrnes
about not dropping the bomb.

I might as well have
saved my breath.

The atomic bomb is shit.

What do you mean by that?

Well, it's a weapon that
has no military significance.

It will make a bang,
a very big bang,

but it's a weapon
that has no use in war.

What is its use, then...
Diplomatic, political?

Now, I know you're
concerned about the Russians,

but if we tell them
what we intend to do...

And then drop the bomb on Japan,

don't you think
they'll get the point?

Oh, yeah, I think they will
get the point very well.

Well, we'll see.
Nothing's decided yet.

So?

So...

He will play ball with them.

He will not oppose the bomb
he worked so hard to make.

He must prove to
them he is a patriot...

As good an American
as any of them.

Gentlemen, in our hands,
we expect soon to have

a weapon of wholly
unprecedented destructive power.

Now, before we begin,
let me say that it is my hope

that this project
not be considered

simply in terms of
military weapons,

but as a new relationship
of man to the universe.

It is this committee's
responsibility

to recommend action that may
turn the course of civilization.

General Marshall, would
you like to add something?

I would say that while
the advances in this project

have been fostered
by the needs of the war,

the implications go far beyond
the needs of the present war.

What we have learned
must be controlled

to make it an assurance
of future peace

rather than a
menace to civilization.

I couldn't agree more.

And that being said,

it is our high task
to bring this war

to a prompt and
successful conclusion.

Dr. Oppenheimer,
perhaps you'll tell us

the status of the bomb.

We are preparing the tests
for the plutonium bomb now.

If it works, you'll have
a bomb ready for use

immediately afterwards...
Say, by August 1st.

Uranium.

Oh, the uranium bomb will be
ready at about the same time.

Well, how powerful
will this bomb be?

We think between 2,000
and 20,000 tons of TNT.

What does your research
show for the future?

Edward Teller is
at Los Alamos now,

working on the super-bomb.

With hydrogen,
one bomb can equal

10 million to 100
million tons of TNT.

How much?

100 million tons
of TNT in one bomb?

How does that
compare to... anything?

All sides together in this war

will use approximately
the equivalent

of 3 million tons overall.

How long will the hydrogen
bomb take to develop?

A minimum of three years.

How long before
Russia gets the bomb?

Two to five years. I think six.

20.

Well, now, you can't conceal
secrets of nature, general.

The Russians are going to
know how no matter what we do.

That may not be the complete
negative it appears, gentlemen.

Russia's always been
very friendly to science.

Just for a thought,

maybe we could open up this
subject with them ourselves

in a tentative way, on
very general terms,

without giving them
any details, of course.

Ask if they'd maybe
cooperate with us

on some sort of
international controls,

before we use the bomb.

It's a beginning.

I don't think we should
prejudge Russia on this.

There have been a lot of
charges back and forth

about our relations
with the Russians.

From my own experience,

most of these charges
against Russia are unfounded.

They have been very cooperative
with us fighting the war.

When they seem not
to want to cooperate,

it comes from a need to
maintain their own security.

I think it might be a
good idea to invite, say,

two prominent Russian
scientists to witness the test.

I think that's an
extremely good idea.

No. We don't want to do that.

Stalin would want to get
into a partnership with us.

We don't want that.

We'll just push ahead
as fast as possible

with our own
production and research

to make certain we stay ahead,

and at the same time,
we'll make every effort

to better our political
relations with Russia.

That's what we'll do.

I'd like to know
from Dr. Oppenheimer

what he expects when the
bomb is dropped on Japan.

Well, a brilliant light
will rise 10,000 to 20,000 feet,

probably kill 20,000 people.

The radiation will be dangerous
to life for about 2/3 of a mile.

And what kind of target
would be most effective?

I think we should be talking
about a military target...

Say a large naval installation
with no civilians, if possible.

Could we precede
that with a warning?

I think we should.

The problem with a warning

is that you throw away
the element of surprise

and the shock value...

One of the biggest
parts of this thing.

Mr. Secretary,
would you oblige me

by taking a short break here?

Oh, yes, yes, of course.

The facilities are through
there for those who need them,

and we have some
coffee and doughnuts.

What about the
demonstration idea...

Showing the Japanese what
we have got before we drop it?

I've thought about it,
Ernest. It won't work.

Why not?

Just too many problems with it.

What if it's a dud?

We don't know the
bomb will go off.

As well as we know anything.

And if it doesn't, then
they have the thing.

I mean, how would you
set a demonstration up?

The Japanese would
probably think it's a trick...

Won't even come.

What do you do, blow up
some buildings or trees?

Talking about a demonstration?

Well, that's fine.

Certainly, that's something
we should all discuss,

but let's not forget

that there are boys
dying out there every day.

Tell me, Ernest...
Your friends there

at the university of
Chicago and Berkeley,

like Mr. Szilard and others,

do they have any relatives
fighting in the Pacific?

Or can they afford to be soft?

Those of you who have coffee,

I wonder if you'd bring it
back to the table, please?

Dr. Oppenheimer,
before we broke,

you expressed the
opinion that an atomic bomb

would kill 20,000 people.

Well, that's no worse

than a conventional
fire-bomb raid, is it?

Now, that would be a
bomb dropped on a city.

I take it that's the kind of
target we're talking about here?

Yes.

I'd be interested in
Dr. Oppenheimer's views

on a possible prior
demonstration of the bomb

as a warning to the Japanese,

an inducement to
them to surrender

before we actually use it.

Mr. Byrnes, we're scientists.

We possess no claim
to special competence

in solving political,
social, or military problems.

And we don't always
agree among ourselves.

But it is my belief the
demonstration has risks.

Could be a dud.

It would dissipate
the shock value,

and it would take
considerable time to set up.

I just don't favour that idea.

How about at least giving
the Japanese a warning?

I assume you're not flying
the aircraft, are you, sir?

No.

What concerns me is if the
Japanese know in advance,

they'll just move American
boys, prisoners of war,

into all their cities.

With respect, gentlemen,

the Japanese people,
military or civilian,

are not going to be warned.

They're not going to
be demonstrated to.

They're not going to be
negotiated into surrender

or anything like it.

Now, let's not
forget Saipan here.

The battle for Saipan was won,

and 22,000 Japanese
civilians killed themselves...

Civilians... throwing
themselves off of cliffs,

holding their
children in their arms

rather than surrendering.

The Japanese are going to
have to be shocked

into quitting this war.

They're going to have to be...

Crushed.

Well, with that in
mind, and bearing in mind

that we want to avoid
mounting an invasion of Japan

in which a half-million
to a million American lives

could be lost,

what kind of city,
what kind of target

do we want to recommend?

Where did you come up with
that million figure, Henry?

Is that a civilian estimate?

Yes.

Well, it sounded
awfully high to me.

Let me work on it, get
you a military estimate.

All right, very well.

I was impressed by
something Dr. Oppenheimer

and general Groves
said about shock value.

I think shock value
will end this war quickly.

I think we ought to use
the bomb on a vital war plan,

one that employs a
large number of workers

and is closely
surrounded by their houses.

Sounds right to me.

Anyone?

I think we should consider

attacking several
cities at once.

Why just one?

Then I take it we're all
in general agreement...

That we can't give
Japan any warning,

that we should not
concentrate on a civilian area,

and that we should seek

to make a profound
psychological impression

on as many of the
inhabitants as possible.

That's our report
to the president.

What do we say to Szilard?

Of course they can give
a warning if they want.

Of course they can
have a demonstration.

What? They can drop it
in the woods near a city.

They can warn the Japanese

to clear out the
city and then drop it.

What? They can blow up
mount Fuji if they want.

But that is not what they want!

They want to drop the bomb

to show everyone what they did,

to get their $2 billion worth,

to have something
to show for it.

Listen, listen!

We are not in the army.

We are the men who
conceived this bomb

and designed it and built it.

And before god and the world,

we have the duty to
see that it is used wisely.

We will be held responsible.

I-I have a petition to
president Truman...

Stating that we are sacrificing

everything good and
moral that we believe in

if we drop this bomb on people.

Who will sign this
petition with me?

I will.

Good.

Good.

Thank you.

I'm sending a copy to
Los Alamos, as well,

and ask them to sign.

Though I'm sure many of the
boys there will be confused

as to what kind of
thing a moral issue is.

I have to tell you, Edward,

I don't think a whole lot
of scientists like Szilard

who use their prestige for
political pronouncements.

Teller, don't bother me with
your conscientious scruples.

This is superb physics.

So, tell me, Oppie.
I need your advice.

You wouldn't sign?

I've just come back
from Washington.

I wish you'd been there with me.

You would have seen
the deep concern,

the thoroughness, the wisdom

these questions are being
handled with back there.

And, of course, they
have information we don't.

Without the bomb, they'd
have to invade Japan.

A million American casualties.

Our fate is in the
hands of the best

and most conscientious
men in this nation.

Before you leave, general,

is your report on the
target cities ready?

Yes, sir, I'll be showing
it to general Marshall

for his approval first
thing in the morning.

Yes, well, I'd like to see it.

Well, of course, sir.

Well, my immediate
superior is general Marshall,

and this is a military
operational report,

Mr. Secretary.

Yes, and I'm the
secretary of war.

Your report is
all finished, isn't it?

Well, I'd like to go
over it one more time

and make sure I've
got it just right.

Yeah, well, I'd
like to see it now.

I haven't got the report
with me, Mr. Secretary.

It's across the river.

It will take some
time to get it.

I have all day.

There's the telephone.

You can call them up

and tell them to
bring it right over.

This is a question
I'm settling myself.

What are the targets?

The primary is Kyoto.

I will not approve Kyoto.

Sir, Kyoto is perfect for us.

We haven't touched it yet.

We'll be able to measure
the effects of the bomb

much more accurately.

I've been to Kyoto.
It's a beautiful city.

Has deep religious
significance for the Japanese...

A very ancient culture.

Sir, when you read
the description

as to why Kyoto

is such a desirable
military target for us,

I'm sure you will
change your mind.

I most certainly will not.

I don't want Kyoto bombed.

Report's on its way over, sir.

Well, I've got a
lot of work to do.

You need me for anything else?

No. No, thank you.

If you'd like to discuss the
report with me, Mr. Secretary,

I'll be in my office.

Very well. Thank you.

The military are completely
dominated by civilians.

It's gotten to the point

where they're actually
designating targets!

Now, how do we end it?

Sir, if sea and air power
don't do it by November,

we think we'll have
to invade Japan.

Now, how expensive
would that be?

How many casualties?

Could be as many as a million.

There's no reason to
believe an invasion of Japan

should exceed our
invasion of the Philippines.

How many was that?

First month, 31,000
casualties, 7,000 dead.

What if it's another Okinawa?

That's what I'm afraid of,
sir, more than the Philippines.

Okinawa is a small island.

We lost 10,000 dead,
40,000 wounded.

That's what I think will
happen, on a much bigger scale,

if we have to invade Japan.

I want to end this war quickly.

I want to save American lives.

I don't want another Okinawa.

Anybody think there is
an alternative to invasion?

Well, I think
you have got an alternative.

I think we have to have
our heads examined

if we don't offer them
honourable surrender terms,

negotiate a peace.

Why do we have to invade them?

Well, now, that's what
I've been thinking about.

Well, yes, sir.

For god's sake, let's
not organise an army

to go into Japan,
kill a million people.

It's ridiculous.

Yes, they don't have
enough food in stock,

and their fuel reserves are
practically exhausted already.

If we mine all their harbours,

isolate them from
the rest of the world...

Blockading is a cowardly act.

It's not worthy
of the air force.

We don't want to do that.

Mr. President, I think
we can give them

surrender terms they'll accept

that will leave us safe
now and in the future

with no invasion.

Now, that interests me.

I'm very glad the
subject came up.

Don't you think that we
ought to tell the Japanese

that we have the atomic
bomb and that we plan to use it?

I sure don't. What
if it doesn't go off?

What happens to
American prestige?

I think the moral
position that we have

would transcend any
temporary disadvantage

that might follow a dud.

You do? Not me.

Can't we at least
issue them a warning...

Approach them
with terms of peace?

No, no, no. Everything I know
tells me the Jap won't quit.

He's going to have to be beaten.

They'll fight until
they eat stones.

Mr. President, why did we
build this bomb if not to use it?

Why did we spend 3
years and $2 billion?

Whether we invade or
not, 7,000 lives or a million,

let's end this thing
as soon as possible

with no more American deaths.

Why wait three
months or three days

or three minutes for
them to surrender?

Our responsibility is to
save American boys' lives.

That's the whole
reason right there.

But there's other ways.

Well, if you don't mention
the bomb to the Japanese,

at least in general terms
explain to them its capacity...

Something that in one
blow, could wipe out a city.

Surely, they'll understand that.

That's interesting, McCloy.

You give that further
thought, right?

Give what you come up with
to my secretary of state here.

Thank you, gentlemen.
Very informative.

Good luck at Potsdam,
Mr. President. Thank you, General.

Good luck, sir. Thank you, sir.

Good luck, sir.

I've been listening
for three weeks...

How it cost $2 billion,

it's going to terrify the Russians,

save all these American lives.

Do you think it would
make any difference

if they were white
instead of yellow?

What do you think, Jimmy?

I think Stalin means to
stay in Eastern Europe,

and at Yalta, he
promised Roosevelt

to come into the
war against Japan

three months after
Germany surrendered.

Only now, we don't want him in.

Once he gets into Japan,
how do we get him out?

It'll be just like Europe.

We want to send him a message.

I only hope this
bomb test comes off

before you and
Joe meet in Potsdam.

If it does, I certainly have
a hammer on those boys.

Come.

Mr. President, may I see
you for a moment, sir?

Why, certainly,
Bart. What is it?

Sir, the stakes
are so tremendous.

We just have to
give the Japanese

two or three days' warning.

We're a great humanitarian
nation, Mr. President.

Our people believe in fair play.

The Navy knows the
Japanese are licked.

The army just wants
to be in on the kill.

If we let the Japanese
know what we have got,

if we at least try.

All these questions...

They have all received
very careful study.

You have made up your minds, then.

Sir, I find myself

in such strong disagreement
about dropping the bomb,

especially without
giving any warning,

that I'm going to have to
resign from the committee.

I just don't want
to be part of it.

I'm also going to have to resign

as undersecretary of the Navy,

effective immediately,
Mr. President.

Listen, Sam, check that
hoist for me, will you?

I don't want any trouble
when the Geiger gets here.

Sure thing, Ken.

Get off.

Yes, Ken?

Yeah.

Yeah, yeah.

We'll get started.

We go if the weather holds.

Get going with the assembly.
I'll get the plutonium.

Will you call me
if it's a success?

Yes, yes, of course.

Robert...

What's this?

It's a four-leaf clover.
I found it in the backyard.

Uh, I'll have to use code.

I'll say...

"You can change the sheets."

Now, just before you...

I know I don't have
to remind any of you

what happens if you get
careless and fission starts here.

Oppie, why don't
you wait outside?

What do you mean?

Until the assembly's done.

Fine.

Fine.

Okay, easy does it, guys.

Take her slowly.

Easy does it.

Let's go.

Okay, let's go!

Let's put it in the tent.

We'll attempt the core there.

I don't want any sand
mucking up the works.

I don't like this wind.

No. Don't know how far
it'll blow the fallout.

They're going to
attempt an attempt now.

God, this weather, huh?

I hate it.

Hate it.

Get the hoist ready.

Easy, easy.

Slowly.

Slowly.

Slowly. Easy.

Careful.

Over the middle.

Keep coming, slowly.

Gently.

More, more, more, more.

More, please.

Gently. Oh.

Slow.

Slowly.

More, a little more.

God almighty, Oppie, you
ought to wait outside.

Please.

When does Groves get here?

Who cares?

It's stuck.

What do you mean, it's stuck.

Of course it's stuck,
you simple morons.

You only had 2 1/2
years to measure it.

Of course it's stuck.

The plutonium just expanded
a little when it heated up.

Once the assembly heats up,

it will expand, and
the core will fit.

Oppie, you have got to relax.

Come on.

I bet you a month's salary
against $10 it will work.

All right, I'll take that bet.

I'm sorry.

Ah, Mr. President.

We have just been through Berlin.

You seen it yet?

Yes, and not pretty, is it?

It's terrible. Terrible.

Old men, old women, little
children pulling carts

with their few things on
them to who knows where.

Just terrible.

Sir, I'm not sure you know
Allan Dulles of the O.S.S.

Mr. President.

Dulles, nice to see you.

Jimmy Byrnes. Mr. Byrnes.

Is Stalin here yet?

No, sir, not yet.

Some Japanese cables
that we have intercepted...

I think you'll
want to hear, sir.

And Dulles has just
returned from Switzerland

with information
along the same lines.

The Japanese have
asked the Russians

to mediate an end
to the war with us.

This is from foreign
minister Togo

to the Japanese
ambassador in Moscow.

"His majesty the emperor,
mindful of the fact

"that the war daily
brings evil and sacrifice

"upon the peoples of
all belligerent powers,

"desires from his heart that
it may be quickly terminated.

"His majesty is deeply reluctant
to have any further blood lost

"among the people on both sides,

"and Japan is defeated.

"We must face the fact
and act accordingly.

"And since the loss of one day

"may result in 1,000
years of regret,

it is requested that you
immediately have a talk"...

Henry, if they want to
surrender, let them surrender...

Unconditionally.

Yes, we believe that they will,

if you tell them that they
can keep their emperor.

Dulles has been approached
by the Japanese already

directly in Switzerland.

They want to surrender if
they can retain the emperor.

Who was this? Military people?

Yes, sir.

I don't think, after
Pearl Harbor,

Japanese have
any military honour.

Mr. President, they have a dozen
different factions over there

squabbling among themselves

and an army that doesn't
support surrender.

Let them come to some
agreement between themselves.

They know where to find us.

In the meantime, why
don't we just wait and see

what happens in
New Mexico first?

Oppenheimer!

What are you doing in that tower

with all this lightning around?

Checking the
electrical connections!

I'll meet you in
the weather shack!

I bet they call it off.

It'd be crazy to go
in this wind and rain.

You bet that? I invite bets.

Against, first, the
destruction of all human life,

and second, that of human
life just in new Mexico.

Atten-hut!

Carry on.

Gentlemen, would you
wait outside, please?

We'd like to discuss
the weather in here.

You want us to wait in the rain?

Yes.

Please.

All right, what is it
with this weather?

It's pretty bad, General.

Zero hour is only
seven hours away,

and we have got rain,
wind, and lightning.

Lieutenant, I can
see that it's bad.

What's your forecast?

I'm not really sure.
I think it may lift.

How about you, Jack?

Jack: I think it's
going to clear up.

You think? You think?

Captain, I want you to sit down,

I want you to write your
forecast out in longhand,

and then I want you to sign it.

And it better be accurate,
or I will hang you with it.

Do you understand? Yes, sir.

Do it.

What are the problems
testing in this weather?

Well, the wind or rain could
blow the radioactive fallout

and drop it on a town...

Or on ourselves.

There's no way for us to escape.
Our evacuation routes stink.

How are the electrical
connections holding up?

So far, all right,

but they'll start
to deteriorate soon.

Probably holding up a
lot better than you are.

Ah, I hate to postpone.

They're waiting
for us in Potsdam.

Yes, but if it doesn't
clear up, I think we have to.

Where are the guards?

We pulled them after
the bomb was assembled

in case lightning hit the tower.

Where's Kistiakowsky?

You chased him out.

Get him in here. Kistiakowsky!

You know how to use a
rifle or a machine gun?

A rifle, sir? Yes.

You and your men get
rifles and guard the tower.

Against what, sir?

Against what?

Sabotage... Jap paratroopers,

your own people... I don't know.

It's a perfect night
for them. Just do it.

I'm going to sack
out till about 1:00.

We're going to have
a look at it then.

You ought to do the same.

You need to relax.

Here comes general Patton.

Tell him the Japanese
paratroopers

just landed behind that hill.

You tell him.

Atten-hut!

You said it was going to clear.

I thought it was. We're
waiting here on the phone.

It still might, general.
It's hard to tell for sure.

Get out of here.
You're no use to anyone.

I'll forecast the
weather myself.

Yes, sir.

All right, let's look
at what we know.

We have got to go in the
dark, when people are asleep.

Otherwise, we got
too many questions.

One of the problems
if we go in the rain is

our observation
planes can't take off.

The men have been up
for two nights straight.

It will be hard to get
them up to pitch again

if we call it off.

I just want to make
sure that it's safe.

I want it to be safe, too.

They're counting
on us at Potsdam.

Oppenheimer.

It's clearing.

They say the rain and
wind will both stop

between 5:00 and 6:00 a.m.

How sure are you?

Thank you very much.

They say they're pretty sure.

General?

We'll go at 5:30.

Coming up on
"T" minus 2 minutes 30.

If you watch, look
through this smoked glass.

All right, everybody
do what I do!

Now, lay down but face
away from the tower.

And keep your eyes closed
tightly until after the flash.

Then, and only then,

use the smoked glass
to look at the fireball...

Assuming there is one.

Oppie, let's go.

"T" minus two minutes.

Minus one minute 50.

Minus one minute 40.

Here... suntan
lotion to protect you

from the ultraviolet emissions.

What's likely to happen, Oppie,

is that at minus 5 seconds,

I'll panic and say,
"gentlemen, this can't go on,"

then pull the switch.

Are you all right?

Yeah. Sorry.

"T" minus one minute.

Minus 40.

Minus 30.

I'm going outside.

I want to see this for myself.

Minus 20.

Minus 15.

10, 9...

8, 7...

6, 5...

4...

3, 2, 1.

My god.

It's brighter than a star!

It's brighter than two stars.

The war is over.

The war's over when we
drop two bombs on Japan.

Whoo-hoo!

We did it!

I won the bet! You owe me $10!

I don't have it.

Ahh.

I got to get back to
Los Alamos right away.

They have got to know about
this in Potsdam first thing.

You better get going, too.
You have got a date with a B-29.

Yes, sir.

Mr. Colt, they're going to
take this thing over

and fry hundreds of Japanese.

All right.

You know the Bhagavad-Gita?

"I am become death...

The shatterer of worlds."

Yeah.

Now we're all sons of bitches.

I haven't seen those figures.

It worked. It works.

As powerful as
20,000 tons of TNT.

Details are just coming in.

Listen to this.

"Flash seen 250 miles away,
heard 100 miles away.

"Steel tower evaporated.

"Soldier standing 10,000 feet
away was knocked off his feet.

"Window broken 125 miles away.

"Left a crater 1,200 feet wide

"in which everything
disappeared...

Disappeared completely."

Well...

Well, well, well, now.

I met with Stalin this morning.

He said he had some more
questions to present,

and I told him to fire
away, and he did, too.

It was dynamite.

But now I have
some dynamite, too.

This gives me a completely
new feeling of confidence.

Well, now...

This will keep the
Russians straight.

Henry, you leave
those reports with us,

bring the rest as they come in.

Yes. Yes, of course.

They saw the flash
in Albuquerque.

Good morning, general.

It was seen in El Paso, Texas!

A girl in a small
town 20 miles away

who'd been blinded
at birth saw the light.

Oh, my. Isn't it amazing?

All right, take a memo to
general Marshall in Potsdam.

"Probable date
of first bombing...

"One week, weather permitting.

"At least three days needed
for each successive bombing.

Approved targets... Hiroshima,
Nagasaki, Kokura, Niigata."

That's N-i-i-g-a-t-a. Get
that out right away.

Yes, sir.

Oh, it was something.

It was... it was...

It was really something.
You should have seen it.

We did it.

We really did it.

We developed a weapon
that could end this war.

We could save thousands and
thousands of American lives.

And isn't that something?

It is amazing, general.

It sure is. It sure
as shooting is.

All right, so, what happened
here while I was in new Mexico?

Well, we
got this petition

that Szilard handed around

asking president Truman
not to drop the bomb.

He got 68 of the other
scientists to sign it.

Want to send it to the
president in Potsdam?

Leo Szilard and his hobby horse.

Well, obviously, this has
to be classified secret.

And if I'm not mistaken,
the security act states

that all secret documents

can only be moved from
one place to another

under armed military guard.

But unfortunately, I can't
spare any soldiers right now

to protect this document.

So, in the meantime,

why don't I just
keep it in here...

For safekeeping?

Sir, do you think you
ought to ask the president

for a specific order
authorising dropping the bomb?

I'm not asking anyone
for a damn thing.

I've got all the
authorisation I need.

Besides, Truman's like
a kid on a toboggan.

What's bothering you, Ike?

It'll end the war.

Has it been finally
decided to use it?

I just find that very,
very depressing.

Tell me why.

Well, you know, Japan
is already defeated.

Dropping the atomic bomb
now is completely unnecessary.

We don't need to do it
to save American lives.

Japan is right now,
at this very moment,

trying to find a way to
surrender without losing face.

It's more than that.

I think America shouldn't do it.

I think we'll shock
world opinion.

Would you tell
the president that?

After all, as supreme
commander of the allied forces

that won the war,

he ought to know your feelings.

I'll tell him just
what I told you.

Almighty father,

who will hear the prayer
of them that love thee,

we pray thee to be with those

who brave the
heights of thy heaven

and carry the
battle to our enemies.

Guard and protect them as
they fly their appointed rounds.

May they, as well as we,
know thy strength and power,

and armed with thy might,

that they bring this
war to a rapid end.

May the men who fly this
night be kept safe in thy care.

May they be
returned safely to us.

We shall go forward
trusting in thee,

knowing that we are in
thy care now and forever.

In the name of
Jesus Christ, amen.

Distance to Iwo Jima, R.V. 622 miles.

This is the captain.

We are carrying the
world's first atomic bomb.

When the bomb is dropped,

lieutenant Beser will record
our reactions to what we see.

This recording is
being made for history.

Watch your language and
don't clutter up the intercom.

Cloud cover less
than 3/10 at all altitudes.

Advice, bomb primary.

Position north
tip Saipan, 4,700.

Hiroshima dead ahead.

10 minutes to A.P.

Bombs fully armed, Colonel.

Open bomb door.

We're about to
start the bomb run.

Put on your goggles.

On glasses.

Bomb away. Stand
by for the tone break.

And the turn.

Look at that son of a bitch go.

Hell.

Okay, okay, that was
the reflected shock wave.

It bounced back from the ground.

Won't be any more. Stay calm.

My god. What have we done?

Oh, thank you.
Excuse me, General.

Damned if this isn't the
greatest thing in history.

Gentlemen, we have just
dropped an atomic bomb on Japan.

Now, that's 2,000
times more powerful

than any bomb ever used
in the history of warfare.

We have won the gamble.

You're going home, boys!

I think in our statement,
we should guard

against too much
gratification over our success.

It undoubtedly
involves a great number

of Japanese casualties.

I wasn't thinking so much of
Japanese casualties, general,

as I was about Americans
on the Bataan death march.

Father, excuse me.

Would you say a special prayer

for the dead of
Hiroshima and Nagasaki,

and start a collection
for the survivors?

The reaction has begun.

What did they expect?

I made a great mistake

when I signed the letter
to president Roosevelt

recommending that
an atomic bomb be made.

The world is not
yet ready for it.

The question was whether
we wanted to save our people

and Japanese, as
well, and win the war.

Now, I'd say, you question any
young man who was over there

and ask him what
he thinks about it,

and he'll tell you off,

and he won't use
polite language, either.

All these youngsters
I'm talking about

would have been slaughtered.

The Japanese only surrendered
because the bombs were dropped.

In my opinion, the use of
this barbarous weapon

was of no material assistance
in our war against Japan.

The Japanese were already
defeated and ready to surrender

because of an
effective sea blockade

and a successful bombing
with conventional weapons.

My own feeling is that in
being the first to use it,

we adopted an ethical standard

common to the barbarians
of the dark ages.

I-I was not taught to
make war in that fashion.

Wars cannot be won by
destroying women and children.

Before the atom bomb was
used, I would have said, yes,

I was sure we could
keep the peace with Russia.

I don't know.

People are frightened
and disturbed all over.

Everyone feels insecure again.

It wasn't necessary to hit
them with that awful thing.

Nobody is more disturbed over
the use of the bomb than I am,

but I was greatly disturbed

over the unwarranted attack
by the Japanese on Pearl Harbor

and their murder of
our prisoners of war.

The only language they
seemed to understand

was the one we used
to bombard them.

When you deal with a beast,

you have to treat
them as a beast.

It is with appreciation
and gratitude

that I accept this
certificate of appreciation

for the Los Alamos laboratory,

for the men and women whose
work and whose hearts have made it.

It is our hope that
in years to come,

we may look at this certificate
and all that it signifies

with pride.

Today, that pride
must be tempered

with a profound concern.

If atomic bombs are to be added

to the arsenals of
nations preparing for war,

then a time will come when
mankind will curse the names

of Los Alamos and Hiroshima.

The peoples of this world
must unite, or they will perish.

This war that has ravaged
so much of the earth

has written these words.

The atomic bomb has spelled
them out for all men to understand.

Other men have spoken
these words in other times,

of other wars, of other weapons.

They have not prevailed.

And there are some misled by
a false sense of human history,

who will hold that we
will not prevail today.

It is not for us
to believe that.

By our works, we
are committed...

Committed to a world united
before this common peril

in law and in humanity.

Captioning made
possible by acorn media