Longitude
Paese d'origine: UK
Genere: Drama
Plot: In the 18th century, the only way to navigate accurately at sea was to follow a coastline all the way, which would not get you from Europe to the West Indies or the Americas. Observing the sun or stars would give you the latitude, but not the longitude unless done in conjunction with a clock that would keep time accurately at sea, and no such clock existed. After one too many maritime disasters due to navigational errors, the British Parliament set up a substantial prize for a way to find the longitude at sea. The film's main story is that of craftsman John Harrison: he built a clock that would do the job, what we would now call a marine chronometer. But the Board of Longitude was biased against this approach and claiming the prize was no simple matter. Told in parallel is the 20th century story of Rupert Gould, for whom the restoration of Harrison's clocks to working order became first a hobby, then an obsession that threatened to wreck his life. When the British Parliament creates an award of £20,000 to whomever can come up with a solution for discovering longitude at sea, a carpenter turned clockmaker, John Harrison, begins his experiments to build an accurate timepiece unaffected by sea travel. His main obstacles are lack of money, a judgement Board convinced that the answer lies in astronomy not clocks, and the mechanics of the clock itself. Rupert Gould, a retired naval officer who suffered a nervous breakdown in WWI, has been researching Harrison's history and makes efforts to locate and restore Harrison's clocks. Harrison's and Gould's struggles are linked by the clocks which the two men will, across 200 years, make tick perfectly enough to measure longitude. Longitude follows John Harrison's quest to find the key to determining longitude. In the 18th century, the problem of measuring longitude confounded scientists, sailors and politicians. In 1707, unable to determine their exact location through a thick fog, 2,000 men of the British fleet perished by accidentally running into the rocks off the Scilly Islands. As a result of this tragedy, in 1714, the British Parliament passed the Act of Longitude to offer an enormous cash prize to the person who could solve the problem of longitude. A carpenter by trade, Harrison believed that the solution lies in finding a way to accurately measure time, going against many of the scientists of the day who felt that the mystery would be solved through celestial navigation. Harrison designs and creates four timekeepers, each more refined than the previous. This work takes him through 30-years of struggle and determination (not only his but his family's, friends, and allies as well) to solve what was referred to as the "greatest scientific problem of the time." Along the way, he faces the animosity and interference of many of the celestial navigation proponents.
Date di uscita internazionali:
| UK:2 January 2000 |
| UK:250 | (two parts) |
produzione cinematografica:
arts & entertainment network (a&e)
granada film productions
produttore cinematografico: cross pippa roberts selwyn root anthony fine delia slava kris
attore: coy jonathan irons jeremy hodsol christopher cartwright peter (i) jones gemma nettleton john gambon michael davenport nigel jennings liam finlay frank chancellor anna hutchings geoffrey scott andrew (i) standing john (i) wood john (i) wood david (i) tandy mark fry stephen west samuel mcneice ian demeger robert nighy bill millett sophie vaughan peter cox brian badel sarah francis clive mccowen alec simms stephen mcinnerny tim akhurst lucy parisi cliff baker rupert gray charles (i) cooper trevor scott-masson william thomas william (i) burfield ian quentin john (i) burke alfred cochrane michael hart ian leeson john reding nick penry-jones peter edwards charles (vi) waldhorn gary warder frederick hails sasha normington john torrens pip treves frederick clay rebecca janes richard kent faith rowe nicholas makatsch heike quayle john bradshaw james mckenna t.p. menzies tobias morphew steve o'malley daragh jones ben (ii) lloyd-pack roger mccormack colin simon hugh alvey steven dix phil daly peter-hugo mccarron clare leigh-hunt barbara lippincott kristen moody clare kay emma keegan rose williams joe (iv)
direttore della fotografia: hannan peter (i)
scenografia: diss eileen lowe chris (ii)
montaggio: coulson peter
compositori: burgon geoffrey
sceneggiatori e soggettisti: sobel dava sturridge charles
costumi: russell shirley
effetti speciali ottici: framestore ltd.
troupe varia: lamb peter morphew steve tanner nathalie beazley tessa betts jonathan briggs matthew collins eddie (ii) darby bill davies r.h. edger john ferguson john (iv) green adam (i) hart philippa hughes kathy hymns gary king andrew (ii) lis rosemary maclean andrew martin brian (i) miller jon (iv) miller tony (v) pinnock chris rimmell mark pointing richard savage sean shephard bill williamson pat wilson micky
varie ecomond press: square sail shipyard, ltd. the philharmonia orchestra turk phoenix ltd.
produttore cinematografico: cross pippa roberts selwyn root anthony fine delia slava kris
attore: coy jonathan irons jeremy hodsol christopher cartwright peter (i) jones gemma nettleton john gambon michael davenport nigel jennings liam finlay frank chancellor anna hutchings geoffrey scott andrew (i) standing john (i) wood john (i) wood david (i) tandy mark fry stephen west samuel mcneice ian demeger robert nighy bill millett sophie vaughan peter cox brian badel sarah francis clive mccowen alec simms stephen mcinnerny tim akhurst lucy parisi cliff baker rupert gray charles (i) cooper trevor scott-masson william thomas william (i) burfield ian quentin john (i) burke alfred cochrane michael hart ian leeson john reding nick penry-jones peter edwards charles (vi) waldhorn gary warder frederick hails sasha normington john torrens pip treves frederick clay rebecca janes richard kent faith rowe nicholas makatsch heike quayle john bradshaw james mckenna t.p. menzies tobias morphew steve o'malley daragh jones ben (ii) lloyd-pack roger mccormack colin simon hugh alvey steven dix phil daly peter-hugo mccarron clare leigh-hunt barbara lippincott kristen moody clare kay emma keegan rose williams joe (iv)
direttore della fotografia: hannan peter (i)
scenografia: diss eileen lowe chris (ii)
montaggio: coulson peter
compositori: burgon geoffrey
sceneggiatori e soggettisti: sobel dava sturridge charles
costumi: russell shirley
effetti speciali ottici: framestore ltd.
troupe varia: lamb peter morphew steve tanner nathalie beazley tessa betts jonathan briggs matthew collins eddie (ii) darby bill davies r.h. edger john ferguson john (iv) green adam (i) hart philippa hughes kathy hymns gary king andrew (ii) lis rosemary maclean andrew martin brian (i) miller jon (iv) miller tony (v) pinnock chris rimmell mark pointing richard savage sean shephard bill williamson pat wilson micky
varie ecomond press: square sail shipyard, ltd. the philharmonia orchestra turk phoenix ltd.