Longitude

Product Description

Academy Award winner Jeremy Irons (Reversal of Fortune, The French Lieutenant s Woman) stars in this sweeping adaptation of Dava Sobel s sweeping adaptation of Dava Sobel s best-selling book which tells a time spanning parallel story of high seas adventure and political intrigue in the race to discover the life-or-death secret of...LONGITUDE.Determined to stop shipping losses on the oceans of the 18th century, Britain s Parliament offers an unprecedented cash award to anyone who can devise a way to determine longitude at sea. Convinced he can solve the problem that has defeated England s best minds, rural clock maker John Harrison (Michael Gambon) begins an obsessive, 40-year struggle to claim the Longitude prize with his ingenious marine clock. Meanwhile, 200 years in the future, naval officer Rupert Gould (Jeremy Irons) stumbles across harrison s forgotten chronometers. A veteran of the Great War, Gould sets out to bring some measure of order to his own shell-shocked life by devoting himself to restoring Harrison s long-neglected mechanical masterpieces.Interwoven in an epic tale spaning two centuries, LONGITUDE is a lavishly produced voyage into the farthest reaches of human passion, perseverance, and discovery.

Format: DVD MOVIE

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Gracefully adapted from Dava Sobel's extraordinary bestseller, the four-part TV production of Longitude combines drama, history, and science into a stimulating, painstakingly authentic account of personal triumph and joyous discovery. Equally impressive is the way writer-director Charles Sturridge has crafted parallel stories that complement each other with enriching perspective. The first story involves the successful 40-year effort of 18th-century clockmaker John Harrison (Michael Gambon) to solve the elusive problem of measuring longitude at sea. In 1714 the British Parliament had offered a generous reward to anyone who solved the problem, and Harrison devoted his life to that solution. The second story, some 200 years later, involves the effort of shell-shocked British Navy veteran Rupert Gould (Jeremy Irons) to restore the glorious clocks that Harrison had built. Like Harrison, Gould is the most admirable type of obsessive, but, also like Harrison, he risks his marriage to accomplish his difficult task.

Thousands of sailors perished at sea before Harrison's triumph changed history, but Longitude demonstrates that Harrison's glory was slow to arrive--and his prize money even slower. A fascinating study of 18th-century British politics and clashing egos in the arena of science, the film is both epic and intimate in consequence, and Sturridge's magnificent script inspires Gambon and Irons to do some of the best work of their outstanding careers. The ever-reliable Ian Hart appears in Part 3 as Harrison's now-adult son and apprentice, and Longitude approaches its dramatic climax with the exhilarating tension of a first-rate thriller. Rallying after sickness to prove the integrity of their marvelous seafaring chronometers, the Harrisons still had to fight for official recognition, and Gould's restoration of the Harrison clockworks provides a fitting coda to this exceptional story about the thrill of discovery and the tenacity of remarkable men. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

Should be better known.......2007-08-31

This is a well done movie that is about a real historical event - the navigation problem of fixing longitude and the lives saved by finally finding a solution. The acting is good, and the plot can be folllowed fairly easily.

The movement (cutting back & forth) between circa 1700 effort of John Harrison to develop his maritime clocks and the WWI-era efforts of Rupert Gould to rebuild Harrison's old clock that he finds stored away and in disrepair, is a bit disconcerting sometimes. You have to remember what the other was up to when it cuts back.

The movie is a bit sad at times as Harrison grows older and fights to get the prize money he deserves (over 20 yrs delay); and also Gould's problems as his marriage dissolves and he deals with his reputation as being "shell shocked". But assuming these events did occur, it makes the movie properly accurate and adds personal drama.

One drawback is the length of the film. Its rather long.I still recommend it though, especially as historical fiction.

A Sailor's Necessity .......2007-08-01

As a retired naval officer, I recommend the following: "Longitude" should be seen periodically by every seafarer - if for no other reason than to remind him/her of days when straying away from the sightable coast could be a death warrant. Without an accurate timepiece, accurate navigation on an east-west axis is iffy at best.

Of course, nowadays we have GPS and other exotic navigation aids, but when the computer goes down, a sextant and a chronometer provide the needed information at sea.

"Longitude" tells us how a man, hardly fitted to the task, gave navies (and tradesmen as well as pleasure sailors) the key to going from any Point A to any Point N at sea by observation of the sun and by time's arithmetic.

The same math that unlocked longitude's secrets will guide us to the planets and stars.

Buy this DVD or VHS

and... Well done, Mr. Harrison!

Steve Myers in PA

The man who made his bicycle fly to France.......2006-09-29

"Longitude," in my view, is docco-drama at its best and could have been utterly boring, in lesser hands than Michael Gambon and Jeremy Irons.
Longitude is actually two stories set about 200 years apart;
the first is set in the 18th. Century, about the carpenter, John Harrison (Michael Gambon), who believe that a clock impervious to extremes of temperature and the motion of a ship at sea will solve the problem of determining longitude.
The second, set in the early 20th century, tells of the trials and tribulations of Cdr.Rupert Gould (Jeremy Irons),"on leave" from the Royal Navy, in finding and restoring Harrisons' 4 clocks.

It was common knowledge, even in the 18th. Century, that the Earth turns through 1º every 3 minutes 56 seconds. If every 3'56" unit of time = 1º of Longitude then all mariners need is some arbitrary Prime Meridian to compare with ship's time at noon! i.e. Greenwich. Through the Act of Queen Anne, Parliament offered a prize of £20,000, to anyone who could find a practical way to find longitude at sea.

To Harrison that meant a clock that could keep time at sea and so he presented the ad hoc Board of Longitude with the world's first chronometer. He was opposed by the "lunatics" on the board, personified by the obese Dr. Bliss (Ian McNeice) and rodent like Rev. Nevil Maskelyne (Samuel West,)astromomers who insisted that "lunar observations, properly charted, would solve the problem of navigation at sea" even though the moon could not be seen for 12 days in every month.

Gould was a British Officer in "disgrace for conduct un-becoming;" a nervous breakdown no less ~ whilst on active duty at sea in World War I. In the early 20th. Century it seems, Post-traumatic Stress disorder was no excuse for a British Officer and Gentleman to "fail in setting an example to the British Other Ranks." Gould had further "blotted his copy-book" by seperation from his wife Muriel (Anna Chancellor) who found the strain from his "obsession" with restoring Harrison's clocks unbearable.

After a roller-coaster ride of triumph and setbacks, the stories come together at the Greenwich Obseratory where Harrison's four clocks, restored by Gould and his journals on their restoration, are on joint display.
Harrison was given his £20,000 at the age of 80 by special act of Parliament and had 2 years to enjoy his wealth before his death on March 24, 1776. Gould was given a gold medal in 1946 and often appeared on the "The Brain's Trust" until his death 5 October 1948.

This two disc version of "Longitude" includes a useful docco that clarifies the Board's resistance to Harrison's "machanical" solution to finding longitude at sea: the board members, university educated astronomers, were deeply incensed by the prospect of handing over the £20,000 prize to a country tool-maker and not a man of science!

For me the great irony of "Longitude" lay in the clockmaker George Graham's(Peter Vaughan) warning to Harrison, that "the Board wants a practical solution - they won't reward a theory," because in their grim determination to ignore Harrison, in favor of luna observations the likes of Bliss and Maskelyne spent 40 years trying to do JUST THAT!

A quotation from elsewhere:

"In the excellent film "Longitude" Rupert Gould is seen on the TV version of "The Brains Trust," but the show was not televised until 4 September 1955; seven years after his death. The radio version of "The Brains' Trust" had it's first transmission on 1 January 1941."

Still both Harrison and Gould stuck to their guns and won out in the end and that makes it more than just a docco to me.

Unsung Brilliance.......2006-09-25

The book, the movie and Harrison himself never quite got their full due. I can't add much to all the gushing reviews. It's an engineer's revenge fantasy, to solve the greatest problem of his or her era and overcome the stogey stonewalling of high-minded academics. From the book: Sir Isaac Newton himself couldn't accept a mechanical solution to what he thought should be a celestial solution. Move over genius, a humble watch-maker did it!

Well told story.......2006-03-21

This could easily have been a pretty boring story about how the ability to measure longitude at sea came about, but instead it was made heartfelt and interesting. The characters came alive thanks to great acting.

Charlie Rose with Thomas Friedman & Paul Krugman (September 15, 2003)

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Charlie Rose with Thomas Friedman & Paul Krugman (September 15, 2003)

Manufacturer: Charlie Rose, Inc.
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Description

Interviews with columnists Thomas Friedman and Paul Krugman, both of The New York Times. Friedman discusses military action in Iraq and combating terrorism, and Krugman sheds light on Bush's economic policy.

Celestial Navigation - Sextant Use & the Sun Noon Shot

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Celestial Navigation - Sextant Use & the Sun Noon Shot

Manufacturer: CustomFlix
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Magic Lamp skipper Gene Grossman conducts the first lecture in this 2 hour program, and thoroughly covers the basic theory of Celestial Navigation, and how a sextant measures the sun?s altitude at local apparent noon, to provide both latitude and longitude of the vessel. Gene covers all the basic vocabulary involved, and shows how valuable the Nautical Almanac is as a locator of the Sun for every second of the year. He then goes on to explain how certain corrections must be made when using a sextant, and the basics of the celestial sphere. The second lecture is done by Paul Miller, CEO of the California Sailing School, and a former instructor at the United States Naval Academy. Paul demonstrates how to hold, use, adjust, and read a sextant. He then goes on to take the viewer through a step by step Sun shot at apparent noon, filling in each blank on the worksheet until the latitude and longitude is determined. Chapters in this program include: * Latitude & Longitude * Declination & GHA (Greenwich Hour Angle) * Using the Nautical Almanac * Geographical Position (Ground Point, or GP) * Reading the Sextant * Sextant Corrections for Dip, Limb and Index error * The Sun Noon Shot Once the viewer has completed this program, he or she is ready to advance to the next stage of Celestial Navigation, using the Moon, Stars, and Planets. This next program is also two hours, and shows how to use the Sight Reduction Tables to navigate and night. More details about this program, Magic Lamp item number 203, can be seen at boatingdvd.com where many other nautical programs are shown on Navigation, Coastal Piloting, Sailing, Cruising, Power Boating, and just about every other nautical topic imaginable.

Charlie Rose with Jon Lee Anderson; David Martin; Thomas Friedman (March 25, 2003)

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Charlie Rose with Jon Lee Anderson; David Martin; Thomas Friedman (March 25, 2003)

Manufacturer: Charlie Rose, Inc.
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

General | Educational | Genres | DVD | Video

Description

A conversation with Jon Lee Anderson of The New Yorker about the expected military conflict in Baghdad. Then, a dialogue with David Martin of CBS News, about potential military strategies in the event of such a battle. Also, Thomas Friedman of The New York Times talks about rebuilding Iraq once the war is over and a new documentary about the origins of the September 11th terrorist attacks, Searching for the Roots of 9/11.

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Should be better known
A Sailor's Necessity
The man who made his bicycle fly to France
Unsung Brilliance
Well told story

Longitude [Region 2]
Starring: Jonathan Coy , Christopher Hodsol , Jeremy Irons , Peter Cartwright , and John Nettleton
Director: Charles Sturridge
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

( L ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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ASIN: B00005B1MG

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Customer Reviews:

Should be better known.......2007-08-31

A Sailor's Necessity .......2007-08-01

The man who made his bicycle fly to France.......2006-09-29

Unsung Brilliance.......2006-09-25

Well told story.......2006-03-21

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