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It was the defining moment of the 20th century - the scientific,
technological, military and political gamble of the world's
first atomic attack. On the 5th and 6th August 1945, an American
mission killed 200,000 people and ended a war. This is the
dramatic story which marks the 60th anniversary...
Set
in the three weeks from the first test explosion in New Mexico
to the eventual dropping of the bomb, the action takes viewers
in to the room where the crucial political decision is made;
on board the Enola Gay on her fateful voyage; inside
the bomb as it explodes; and on the streets of Hiroshima when
disaster strikes.
This
is the story of the scientists who designed the bomb; the
politicians who took the decision to drop it; the aircrew
who flew it through the night to the mainland of Japan; and,
finally, the people of Hiroshima, soldiers and civilians,
whose lives were devastated by it.
At
the heart of this film is the unflinching depiction of the
effects of a nuclear explosion - a forensic examination of
the experiences of real people who found themselves caught
up in the smoke, flames and darkness, people who struggled
for survival and tried to make sense of the unimaginable chaos.
But it also puts the explosion in historical and political
context, examining the evidence and records to build a detailed
account of the reasons for the final decision to drop the
world's first atomic bomb over a densely populated area.
By
far the most shocking account, for me, was the story of a
woman who lost her husband and two children in the blast.
The worse aspect was having to listen to her daughter's screams
as she was burned alive under the rubble.
What's
really interesting is the difference between the two sides
in the interviews. Those that performed the bombing raid still
seem to be full of pride for committing mass genocide. Not
once did any of them show remorse for the thousands of innocent
civilians that were killed. Even now, 60 years on, they all
still seem a little too proud of what they did.
One
survivor of Hiroshima sums up why he believes the bomb was
really dropped - that it was an opportunity too good for America
to pass up; the chance to test the bomb to see what it would
do to human casualties. While the American's claim that it
was the most humane way to end the war, the loss of innocent
life in such a barbaric attack is pretty hard to justify under
any circumstances.
Extras
include a 4 minute interview with producer Paul Wilmhurst;
a 9 minute selection of archive footage of interviews with
the crew of the Enola Gay; and a very disturbing 12
minute US Public information film. I say "disturbing"
because it's difficult not to feel concerned when the US government
of the time talk about this massacre as a "fairyland
project" or when they proudly announce that Hiroshima
was "the first city in history to be atom-bombed into
oblivion".
At
the end of this extremely well produced documentary you kind
of get the feeling that nothing was learned from this tragic
event, and that given half a chance the crew of the Enola
Gay would do it all again. If they'd shown some remorse,
even a slither, then they wouldn't have come over as back
slapping, self-important idiots. Sadly, they still encapsulate
everything that the entire world hates about Americans. Innocents
died! Is that not reason enough to feel ashamed of these events?
 
Nick
Smithson
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