BLAST! (2008 film)
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{{Infobox film
|name = BLAST!
|image = BLAST Film 2008 Poster.jpg
|caption = Poster by Dan Chapman
|director = Paul Devlin
|producer =
|writer =
|narrator =
|starring = Mark Devlin
|music =
|cinematography =
|editing =
|studio =
|distributor = Docurama
|released = {{Film date|2008}}
|runtime = 74 minutes
|country = United States
|language = English
}}
BLAST! is a 2008 American feature-length documentary by Paul Devlin. The film follows a team of astrophysicists who launch a telescope, upon a high-altitude balloon from northern Sweden and again from Antarctica.http://blogs.discovery.com/space_disco/2008/10/blast-yourself.html October 2010. Retrieved February 8, 2009.[https://archive.today/20110616183132/http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article5467701.ece The Times] The Times Retrieved February 8, 2009. The film follows the crew of scientists as they travel on a search to answer humankind's most basic question, how did we get here? An approach rarely seen in science programming, BLAST! de-emphasizes talking-head interviews and dispenses with anonymous narration in favor of capturing the action as it happens. Through dynamic storytelling, BLAST! reveals the human side of scientific pursuit, the personal sacrifices of scientists and the philosophical perspectives of discovering the origins of the universe.
History
BLAST! premiered at Hot Docs on Tuesday, April 22, 2008.http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/2008/films/blast_hotdocs2008 Retrieved February 8, 2009. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090112200137/http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/2008/films/blast_hotdocs2008 |date=January 12, 2009 }} It has been screened at various film festivals, such as Sheffield Doc/Fest 2008, Guangzhou International Documentary Film Festival, and Arctic Light Film Festival.{{cite web |url=http://www.blastthemovie.com/screenings.html |title= Blast the Movie Screenings|website=www.blastthemovie.com |access-date=February 13, 2009}}{{title missing|date=May 2022}}
BLAST! was co-produced by BBC 4's Storyville, Discovery Channel Canada, SVT Sweden, and YLE/FST Finland. The film was broadcast on Discovery Channel in February 2009, and later acquired by VPRO-Netherlands and DR2-Denmark.
The BLAST experiment
{{main|BLAST (telescope)}}
BLAST, the Ballon-borne-Large-Aperture Submillimeter Telescope, was a 2-metre telescope flown from a high-altitude balloon to observe submillimeter radiation emitted mostly by dust heated by young stars. It was created to address important extragalactic and Galactic questions regarding the formation and evolution of stars, galaxies and clusters.http://blastexperiment.info/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110603211103/http://blastexperiment.info/ |date=2011-06-03 }} Retrieved April 28, 2009.
International Year of Astronomy 2009
As an official special project of the International Year of Astronomy 2009,[http://astronomy2009.org/globalprojects/specialprojects/blast/ BLAST!] International Year of Astronomy. Retrieved February 13, 2009. BLAST!, screened in communities around the world throughout 2009. The International Year of Astronomy 2009 was a global effort initiated by the International Astronomical Union and UNESCO, or United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization, to help the citizens of the world rediscover their place in the Universe through the day- and night-time sky, and thereby aimed to engage a personal sense of wonder and discovery. The International Year of Astronomy 2009 was endorsed by United Nations and International Council for Science (ICSU).
Reception
Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson commented on the film by saying, "In a rare combination of content and storytelling, BLAST! treats the viewer not only to the fruits of cosmic discovery but to the fits and starts of dedicated scientists who navigate paths of research that enable it."{{cite web |url=http://www.blastthemovie.com/reviews.html |title= Blast the Movie Reviews|website=www.blastthemovie.com |access-date=February 13, 2009}}{{title missing|date=May 2022}}
Tim Teeman from Times Entertainment said of the film "For those of us with bad memories of physics and chemistry class, it was inspirational and aspirational."
Simon Horsford of The Telegraph wrote that the film is "A story that, in trying to answer age-old questions about how we got here, produces an intriguing dynamic between the two main scientists."{{cite news|author1=Simon Horsford|author2=Pete Naughton|author3=Gillian Reynolds|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/4142729/Wednesdays-television-and-radio-highlights.html|title=Wednesday's television and radio highlights|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=January 6, 2009|accessdate=February 13, 2009}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{official website|http://www.blastthemovie.com}}
- {{IMDb title|1190065}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blast! (2008 Film)}}
Category:2008 documentary films
Category:Documentary films about science
Category:American documentary films