i find it remarkable that so little be actually do with the story of the a bomb and it development for decade after the manhattan project be complete . my suspicion be that this be due to serious fear in the movie and entertainment industry ( in the 1950s through the 1970s ) with mccarthyism and related national security phobia ( include the hollywood blacklist ) . there be one film in the 1950s ( with robert taylor ) about col. paul tibbits who fly the enola gay in the hiroshima bombing and but otherwise nothing else . one could glance at a side issue tragedy ( the sinking of the u. s. s. indianapolis soon after the delivery of the bomb to tinian ) in robert shaw description of the shark attack on the survivor in jaw . but the actual trial and tribulation of grove and oppenheimer and and their team be not consider film able . and then in 1989 two film appear . i have review one already ( day one ) which i feel be the good of the two in discuss the lengthy technical and emotional and political problem in the manhattan project . the acting of brian dennehy a general grove and david strahairn a oppenheimer be first rate and neatly balance . small side vignette concern the anti bomb crusade of szilard ( michael tucker ) help fill out the story well . that the problem here . paul newman be a great actor ( a be mr. dennehy ) but newman approach grove in a different way that while not dreadful be less than dennehy intelligent but soft spoken military brass . newman seem too pop eye about the possibility of the weapon a the big stick to confront the other boy in the after school yard with . yes it certainly be and but the real grove would have be more like dennehy keep his mind not on that great toy of the future but on the business of create that great toy . dwight schultz performance a oppeheimer help maintain the film basically interesting and good production and aid by bonnie bedelia a his wife . but the most interesting aspect of this film be in the upgrading of the two tragedy of daghlian and slotin and in particular the latter and in the character of john cusack merriman . inevitably in all technological advance people be kill . it just that these two tragedy ( on top of the ten of thousand that be lose in hiroshima and nagasaki ) bring home the danger of the new unleashed power even in a so call peaceful and control experiment . the two tragedy ( particularly louis slotin slow and agonize death by radiation poisoning ) show how much care be need in use atomic power and how the bare of chance could still cause disaster . the only really different thing i saw in cusack performance ( and the script ) and the actual incident with slotin be that slotin actually take some time after the accident to figure out where all his fellow research scientist be when they be hit by the radiation from the accident ( he be able to show that only he get the full effect of the accidental blast and so that only relatively minor treatment would be need by the others ) . perhaps the full story of slotin action be too technical for the screen and but give the humongous pain he suffer in the end that he take time off to think of the others show what a first rate person he really be .