''Atomic Power'' is an American short

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

produced by ''

The March of Time ''The March of Time'' is an American newsreel series sponsored by Time Inc. and shown in movie theaters from 1935 to 1951. It was based on a radio news series broadcast from 1931 to 1945. The "voice" of both series was Westbrook Van Voorhis. ...

'' and released to theaters August 9, 1946, one year after the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. It was nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for Best Documentary Short. Raymond Fielding, chronicler of ''The March of Time'', cites ''Atomic Power'' as the only one of the series' postwar films to emerge as a classic. "It tells of the making of the atomic bomb, and is a quite remarkable example of film making in the ''March of Time'' tradition," Fielding wrote. Nearly every person involved in the invention of the atomic bomb performs as an actor in the film, recreating the events and conversations that led up to the

Trinity test Trinity was the code name of the first detonation of a nuclear weapon. It was conducted by the United States Army at 5:29 a.m. on July 16, 1945, as part of the Manhattan Project. The test was conducted in the Jornada del Muerto desert abo ...

, which is also reenacted and intercut with government footage of the blast. Jack Glenn directed.Fielding, Raymond, ''The March of Time, 1935–1951''. New York: Oxford University Press 1978 hardcover

Reception

The

National Board of Review The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures is a non-profit organization of New York City area film enthusiasts. Its awards, which are announced in early December, are considered an early harbinger of the film awards season that culminat ...

called ''Atomic Power'' "a vivid short … a good condensation of masses of material into simple, clear exposition". ''Atomic Power'' was nominated for an

for Best Documentary Short.

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 1946 films 1946 documentary films 1946 short films Black-and-white documentary films American short documentary films American black-and-white films The March of Time films 20th Century Fox short films 1940s short documentary films Documentary films about nuclear war and weapons J. Robert Oppenheimer 1940s English-language films 1940s American films

Reception

See also

References

External links