Manhattan Project (film)
Encyclopedia
The Manhattan Project is an American
film, released in 1986. Named after the World War II-era program
, the plot revolves around a gifted high school student who decides to construct a nuclear bomb for a national science fair. The film's underlying theme involves the Cold War
of the 1980s when government secrecy and mutually assured destruction were key political and military issues. It was directed by Marshall Brickman
, based upon his screenplay co-written with Thomas Baum, and starred John Lithgow
, Christopher Collet
, John Mahoney
, Jill Eikenberry
and Cynthia Nixon
. This was the first production from the shortlived Gladden Entertainment Corporation.
) discovers a new process for refining plutonium
to purities greater than 99.997 percent. The United States government provides him a laboratory located near a suburban neighborhood in Ithaca, New York
masked as a medical company, Medatomics. Mathewson moves to Ithaca and meets real estate agent Elizabeth Stephens (Jill Eikenberry
) while searching for an apartment. He attempts to win the affections of the single mom by inviting her teenage son Paul (Christopher Collet
) to take a tour of Medatomics and see "one of the sexiest lasers in the free world."
Mathewson is confident in the lab's cover story but Paul, an unusually gifted student with a passion for science, becomes suspicious when he discovers a statistically impossible patch of five-leaf clover on the grounds. Paul and his aspiring journalist girlfriend, Jenny Anderman (Cynthia Nixon
), decide to expose the weapons factory in dramatic fashion. Paul breaks into Medatomics and steals a container of plutonium. To obtain maximum publicity, Paul decides to build a nuclear bomb and enter it into the New York Science Fair. After convincing his mother and his school that his project is about hamsters bred in darkness, he begins research and construction of the nuclear device.
Mathewson and Medatomics discover that a container of plutonium has been replaced by a bottle of Alberto VO5 shampoo mixed with glitter. A military investigation team, led by Lt. Colonel Conroy (John Mahoney
), immediately arrives on the scene. Their investigation reveals that Paul is responsible for stealing the plutonium. Suspecting him of terrorism, the investigators invade Paul's home and discover he and Jenny have left for the science fair.
The agents capture the couple in New York City and Mathewson, who feels personally responsible for the crisis, has a private talk with Paul. He tells Paul to just give the bomb to the agents or "they'll lock you in a room somewhere and throw away the room." Several of Paul's friends at the science fair help him and Jenny escape custody and they become fugitives from the government.
In an effort to expose the lab, Paul hatches a plan to return the bomb on his own terms. Ensuring Jenny is a safe distance away, he calls the agents from a pay phone and walks into Medatomics with the nuclear bomb, while being surrounded by snipers and agents. During the standoff, negotiations stall and Paul arms the nuclear bomb. Mathewson, convinced that Paul is not an actual terrorist, attempts to intercede on his behalf.
Due to radiation from the plutonium, the bomb's timer suddenly turns on by itself and begins to count down with increasing speed. All sides put down their weapons and frantically work as a team to dismantle the nuclear device. They manage to disarm the bomb right as the timer reads 7:16:45, a reference to the first nuclear test on July 16, 1945. After a brief moment of relief, Conroy decides to arrest Paul. Mathewson refuses to cooperate and opens the door to the lab, revealing a large crowd, including Jenny and the press. He says to the military, "We blew it." With the weapons factory exposed, Conroy and his agents leave the premises and the residents of Ithaca embrace Paul as a hero.
regarding the dangers of nuclear weapon capability, a common theme of films dating back to Stanley Kubrick
's Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
. The theme was especially prominent in the early 1980s with the debut of the television film The Day After
and the motion pictures Testament
and WarGames
. One can compare this film to WarGames, based on the similarity of a lone teenager almost causing an international nuclear crisis.
The plot may have been influenced by the case of John Aristotle Phillips
, a Princeton University undergraduate, who came to prominence in 1977 as the "A-Bomb Kid" for designing a nuclear weapon in a term paper using publicly-available books and articles.
. Locations included Suffern High School, King's Daughters Library in Haverstraw and the Orchards of Conklin in Pomona. The producers held an actual science fair at the New York Penta Hotel
in which participants received $75, and utilized the set for filming. The film's director and screenplay co-writer Marshall Brickman
had established his career as a co-writer on several Woody Allen
films. The Manhattan Project was his third film as director, following the comedies Simon (1980) and Lovesick
(1983). Brickman received the President's Award from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films for The Manhattan Project. Brickman would not direct again until the 2001 Showtime television movie Sister Mary Explains It All
. In the role of Jenny, Cynthia Nixon
was nominated for the Young Artist Award
in the category of Exceptional Performance by a Young Actress, Supporting Role.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
film, released in 1986. Named after the World War II-era program
Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was a research and development program, led by the United States with participation from the United Kingdom and Canada, that produced the first atomic bomb during World War II. From 1942 to 1946, the project was under the direction of Major General Leslie Groves of the US Army...
, the plot revolves around a gifted high school student who decides to construct a nuclear bomb for a national science fair. The film's underlying theme involves the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
of the 1980s when government secrecy and mutually assured destruction were key political and military issues. It was directed by Marshall Brickman
Marshall Brickman
Marshall Brickman is a screenwriter, best known for his collaborations with Woody Allen. He is also known for playing the banjo with Eric Weissberg in the 1960s, and for a series of comical parodies published in The New Yorker.-Biography:After attending the University of Wisconsin–Madison, he...
, based upon his screenplay co-written with Thomas Baum, and starred John Lithgow
John Lithgow
John Arthur Lithgow is an American actor, musician, and author. Presently, he is involved with a wide range of media projects, including stage, television, film, and radio...
, Christopher Collet
Christopher Collet
Christopher Collet is an American actor who is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Jake Livingston in the 1984 movie Firstborn, and for his lead role in the 1986 film The Manhattan Project....
, John Mahoney
John Mahoney
John Mahoney is a British born American actor, known for playing Martin "Marty" Crane, the retired police officer, father of Kelsey Grammer's Dr...
, Jill Eikenberry
Jill Eikenberry
Jill Eikenberry is an American film, stage, and television actress. She is best known for her role as lawyer Ann Kelsey in L.A. Law...
and Cynthia Nixon
Cynthia Nixon
Cynthia Ellen Nixon is an American actress, known for her portrayal of Miranda Hobbes in the HBO series Sex and the City . She has received two Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, and a Grammy Award....
. This was the first production from the shortlived Gladden Entertainment Corporation.
The plot
Dr. John Mathewson (John LithgowJohn Lithgow
John Arthur Lithgow is an American actor, musician, and author. Presently, he is involved with a wide range of media projects, including stage, television, film, and radio...
) discovers a new process for refining plutonium
Plutonium
Plutonium is a transuranic radioactive chemical element with the chemical symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, forming a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibits six allotropes and four oxidation...
to purities greater than 99.997 percent. The United States government provides him a laboratory located near a suburban neighborhood in Ithaca, New York
Ithaca, New York
The city of Ithaca, is a city in upstate New York and the county seat of Tompkins County, as well as the largest community in the Ithaca-Tompkins County metropolitan area...
masked as a medical company, Medatomics. Mathewson moves to Ithaca and meets real estate agent Elizabeth Stephens (Jill Eikenberry
Jill Eikenberry
Jill Eikenberry is an American film, stage, and television actress. She is best known for her role as lawyer Ann Kelsey in L.A. Law...
) while searching for an apartment. He attempts to win the affections of the single mom by inviting her teenage son Paul (Christopher Collet
Christopher Collet
Christopher Collet is an American actor who is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Jake Livingston in the 1984 movie Firstborn, and for his lead role in the 1986 film The Manhattan Project....
) to take a tour of Medatomics and see "one of the sexiest lasers in the free world."
Mathewson is confident in the lab's cover story but Paul, an unusually gifted student with a passion for science, becomes suspicious when he discovers a statistically impossible patch of five-leaf clover on the grounds. Paul and his aspiring journalist girlfriend, Jenny Anderman (Cynthia Nixon
Cynthia Nixon
Cynthia Ellen Nixon is an American actress, known for her portrayal of Miranda Hobbes in the HBO series Sex and the City . She has received two Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, and a Grammy Award....
), decide to expose the weapons factory in dramatic fashion. Paul breaks into Medatomics and steals a container of plutonium. To obtain maximum publicity, Paul decides to build a nuclear bomb and enter it into the New York Science Fair. After convincing his mother and his school that his project is about hamsters bred in darkness, he begins research and construction of the nuclear device.
Mathewson and Medatomics discover that a container of plutonium has been replaced by a bottle of Alberto VO5 shampoo mixed with glitter. A military investigation team, led by Lt. Colonel Conroy (John Mahoney
John Mahoney
John Mahoney is a British born American actor, known for playing Martin "Marty" Crane, the retired police officer, father of Kelsey Grammer's Dr...
), immediately arrives on the scene. Their investigation reveals that Paul is responsible for stealing the plutonium. Suspecting him of terrorism, the investigators invade Paul's home and discover he and Jenny have left for the science fair.
The agents capture the couple in New York City and Mathewson, who feels personally responsible for the crisis, has a private talk with Paul. He tells Paul to just give the bomb to the agents or "they'll lock you in a room somewhere and throw away the room." Several of Paul's friends at the science fair help him and Jenny escape custody and they become fugitives from the government.
In an effort to expose the lab, Paul hatches a plan to return the bomb on his own terms. Ensuring Jenny is a safe distance away, he calls the agents from a pay phone and walks into Medatomics with the nuclear bomb, while being surrounded by snipers and agents. During the standoff, negotiations stall and Paul arms the nuclear bomb. Mathewson, convinced that Paul is not an actual terrorist, attempts to intercede on his behalf.
Due to radiation from the plutonium, the bomb's timer suddenly turns on by itself and begins to count down with increasing speed. All sides put down their weapons and frantically work as a team to dismantle the nuclear device. They manage to disarm the bomb right as the timer reads 7:16:45, a reference to the first nuclear test on July 16, 1945. After a brief moment of relief, Conroy decides to arrest Paul. Mathewson refuses to cooperate and opens the door to the lab, revealing a large crowd, including Jenny and the press. He says to the military, "We blew it." With the weapons factory exposed, Conroy and his agents leave the premises and the residents of Ithaca embrace Paul as a hero.
Analysis
This movie is a cautionary taleCautionary tale
A cautionary tale is a tale told in folklore, to warn its hearer of a danger. There are three essential parts to a cautionary tale, though they can be introduced in a large variety of ways. First, a taboo or prohibition is stated: some act, location, or thing is said to be dangerous. Then, the...
regarding the dangers of nuclear weapon capability, a common theme of films dating back to Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career...
's Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, commonly known as Dr. Strangelove, is a 1964 black comedy film which satirizes the nuclear scare. It was directed, produced, and co-written by Stanley Kubrick, starring Peter Sellers and George C. Scott, and featuring Sterling...
. The theme was especially prominent in the early 1980s with the debut of the television film The Day After
The Day After
The Day After is a 1983 American television movie which aired on November 20, 1983, on the ABC television network. It was seen by more than 100 million people during its initial broadcast....
and the motion pictures Testament
Testament (film)
Testament is a drama film directed by Lynne Littman and starring Jane Alexander.The film tells the story of how one small suburban town near the San Francisco Bay Area slowly falls apart after a nuclear war destroys outside civilization....
and WarGames
WarGames
WarGames is a 1983 American Cold War suspense/science-fiction film written by Lawrence Lasker and Walter F. Parkes and directed by John Badham. The film stars Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy....
. One can compare this film to WarGames, based on the similarity of a lone teenager almost causing an international nuclear crisis.
The plot may have been influenced by the case of John Aristotle Phillips
John Aristotle Phillips
-"A-Bomb Kid":Phillips was born in August 1955 to Greek immigrant parents and raised in North Haven, Connecticut In 1976, while attending Princeton University as a junior undergraduate, he designed a nuclear weapon using publicly-available books and papers...
, a Princeton University undergraduate, who came to prominence in 1977 as the "A-Bomb Kid" for designing a nuclear weapon in a term paper using publicly-available books and articles.
Production
The Manhattan Project was filmed in and around Rockland County, New YorkRockland County, New York
Rockland County is a suburban county 15 miles to the northwest of Manhattan and part of the New York City Metropolitan Area, in the U.S. state of New York. It is the southernmost county in New York west of the Hudson River, and the smallest county in New York outside of New York City. The...
. Locations included Suffern High School, King's Daughters Library in Haverstraw and the Orchards of Conklin in Pomona. The producers held an actual science fair at the New York Penta Hotel
Hotel Pennsylvania
The Hotel Pennsylvania is a hotel located at 401 7th Avenue in Manhattan, across the street from Pennsylvania Station and Madison Square Garden in New York City.- History :...
in which participants received $75, and utilized the set for filming. The film's director and screenplay co-writer Marshall Brickman
Marshall Brickman
Marshall Brickman is a screenwriter, best known for his collaborations with Woody Allen. He is also known for playing the banjo with Eric Weissberg in the 1960s, and for a series of comical parodies published in The New Yorker.-Biography:After attending the University of Wisconsin–Madison, he...
had established his career as a co-writer on several Woody Allen
Woody Allen
Woody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
films. The Manhattan Project was his third film as director, following the comedies Simon (1980) and Lovesick
Lovesick
Lovesick is a 1983 romantic comedy film. It was written and directed by Marshall Brickman. It stars Dudley Moore and Elizabeth McGovern and features Alec Guinness as the ghost of Sigmund Freud.-Plot:...
(1983). Brickman received the President's Award from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films for The Manhattan Project. Brickman would not direct again until the 2001 Showtime television movie Sister Mary Explains It All
Sister Mary Explains It All
Sister Mary Explains It All is a 2001 satirical dark comedy film written by Christopher Durang and directed by Marshall Brickman. The film, based upon Durang's 1979 play Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You, and starring Diane Keaton in the title role, premiered on the Showtime network.-...
. In the role of Jenny, Cynthia Nixon
Cynthia Nixon
Cynthia Ellen Nixon is an American actress, known for her portrayal of Miranda Hobbes in the HBO series Sex and the City . She has received two Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, and a Grammy Award....
was nominated for the Young Artist Award
Young Artist Award
The Young Artist Award is an accolade bestowed by the Young Artist Foundation, a non-profit organization founded in 1978 to recognize and award excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young artists who may be physically and/or financially challenged.The Young Artist...
in the category of Exceptional Performance by a Young Actress, Supporting Role.