Comment: New Category: Movies & Television

I've also add two New Sections under the Movies & Television Category:

- Longitude (John Harrison, carpenter, clockmaker, inventor of the marine chronometer)
- James J. Hill: Empire Builder (James J. Hill - Railroads)

(So far, I have only been able to fine 21 YouTube videos for the "Longitued" TV series. If I can find an online version in four parts -- or at least less broken up -- I'll add it.)

Longitude - (2000)
"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 (Amazon.com Editorial Review)

• Longitude (2000) - (Box set: DVDs)(Amazon.com)
• Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time - Book by Dave Sobel (Amazon.com)(1996)
• Biography of John Harrison on Wikipedia

Trailer

Full Movie (YouTube):
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9
Part 10
Part 11
Part 12
Part 13
Part 14
Part 15
Part 16
Part 17
Part 18
Part 19
Part 20
Part 21

- - -
I've also added a new section for a short documentary on James J. Hill.

James J. Hill: Empire Builder - (2005)
Note: See also book section for James J. Hill.
"A brief history of the life and times of James J. Hill co-produced with the Minnesota Historical Society." (2005)(Twin Cities Public Television)

Full Movie