Trinity and Beyond
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Trinity and Beyond: The Atomic Bomb Movie
| image = Trinity and Beyond.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Cover of the 2009 Blu-ray release, seated VIPs on shot Greenhouse Dog with Crossroads Baker in the background.
| director = Peter Kuran
| producer = Peter Kuran
| writer = Scott Narrie
Don Pugsley[https://www.filmaffinity.com/au/film849111.html FilmAffinity]
| narrator = William Shatner
| starring =
| music = William T. Stromberg
| cinematography =
| editing =
| studio = Visual Concept Entertainment[https://www.allmovie.com/movie/trinity-and-beyond-the-atomic-bomb-movie-v135701 AllMovie]
Documentary Film Works
| distributor =
| released = {{Film date|1995|09|29}}
| runtime = 93 minutes
| country = United States
| language = English
| budget =
| gross =
}}
Trinity and Beyond: The Atomic Bomb Movie is a 1995 American documentary film directed by Peter Kuran and narrated by William Shatner.[https://mubi.com/films/trinity-and-beyond-the-atomic-bomb-movie MUBI]
Using restored archive footage, the film traces the development of nuclear weapons and their testing, from America's Trinity test of 1945 (hence the title) to the first Chinese atomic bomb test in 1964. Kuran's commentary on the DVD version claims that the DVD replaces some of the original footage with better-quality versions. There are some short special effects sequences too. The film has also since been released on Blu-ray.[https://www.dvdtalk.com/dvdsavant/s3098trin.html DVD Savant Review Blu-ray Review]
Synopsis
Included is footage of nuclear tests starting with the May 1945 trial run to Trinity (the first atomic bomb), a 100-ton TNT blast used to scale and calibrate the Trinity device, and ending with the last U.S. atmospheric nuclear detonation (called Tightrope) of the Nike Hercules air defense missile in 1963. Also included are test series in the South Pacific, footage of the firing of the U.S. Army's atomic cannon at the Nevada Test Site in 1953, and color images of multi-megaton high altitude air bursts over Johnston Island just before the limited test ban treaty went into effect (banning all except underground detonations) in 1963.[https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Trinity-and-Beyond-The-Atomic-Bomb-Movie-Blu-ray/8889/#Review Blu-ray.com]
Production
The film's publicity claims that much of the American footage is newly declassified and previously unseen. Kuran's research brought him into contact with many of the cameramen who photographed the American tests, leading to the production of another documentary, Atomic Filmmakers which featured their reminiscences of working on the program.
A new patented image restoration process was used for the first time to improve considerably the image quality of old and fading film stock.[http://www.atomcentral.com/rci.html Film Preservation / Color Restoration - VCEinc], AtomCentral.com. Accessed December 30, 2009.
The film's music (composed by William T. Stromberg) was performed by the Moscow Symphony Orchestra, symbolizing the end of the Cold War.
Footage from a Soviet documentary about the Tsar Bomba is featured in Trinity and Beyond, where it is referred to as the Russian monster bomb."[http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/News/VCE.html Trinity and Beyond: The Atomic Bomb Movie]." Nuclear Weapon Archive, 15 August 1999.
See also
References
{{reflist}}
- {{cite web|last=Chuang|first=Angie|title=Here's a Project Started at Ground Zero|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-04-13-ca-48159-story.html|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=6 July 2012|date=13 April 1997}}
- {{cite web|last=Broad|first=William J.|title=The Bomb Chroniclers|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/14/science/14atom.html?pagewanted=all|work=The New York Times|accessdate=6 July 2012|date=13 September 2010}}
External links
- {{official website|http://www.atomcentral.com/}}
- {{Facebook page|id=Trinity-and-Beyond/92543867021}}
- {{IMDb title|id=0114728|title=Trinity and Beyond}}
- [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lZi0HfXj8BhSg0GLUyOqFOTYcZQ8anru0 Official soundtrack playlist on YouTube]
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQMnC7AM7jc Official trailer]
- [https://www.youtube.com/user/atomcentral/featured Official YouTube channel]
{{US nuclear tests}}
Category:American documentary films
Category:Documentary films about nuclear war and weapons
Category:American collage films
Category:Documentary films about the Cold War