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Longitude (2000) (TV)
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Overview
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Director:
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Release Date:
2 January 2000 (UK)
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Plot:
Parallel stories: 18th century Harrison builds the marine chronometer for safe navigation at sea; 20th century Gould is obsessed with restoring it. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
7 wins
&
5 nominations
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User Comments:
Remarkably Good
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Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Jonathan Coy | ... | Adm. Sir Cloudsley Shovell | |
| Christopher Hodsol | ... | Capt. Ainsley | |
| Jeremy Irons | ... | Rupert Gould | |
| Peter Cartwright | ... | Army Doctor | |
| Gemma Jones | ... | Elizabeth Harrison | |
| John Nettleton | ... | Minister for the Navy | |
| Michael Gambon | ... | John Harrison | |
| Nigel Davenport | ... | Sir Charles Pelham | |
| Liam Jennings | ... | Young William Harrison | |
| Anna Chancellor | ... | Muriel Gould | |
| Frank Finlay | ... | Adm. Wagner | |
| Geoffrey Hutchings | ... | Estate Manager | |
| Andrew Scott | ... | John Campbell | |
| John Standing | ... | Capt. Proctor | |
| John Wood | ... | Sir Edmund Halley |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
250 min (2 parts) | USA:200 min
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Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
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Fun Stuff
Goofs:
Anachronisms: In the very beginning of the series the Admiral refers repeatedly to "His Majesty's Navy" and "His Majesty's Officers". The incident takes place in 1707 when Queen Anne was on the throne.
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Quotes:
George Graham:
Mr. Harrison! Summer and winter... how is it done? How is it done, the compensation?
John Harrison: I use a pendulum of different metals that work against each other.
George Graham: Impossible. Doesn't work. I've tried it.
John Harrison: It is possible. It does work. I've built it.
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John Harrison: I use a pendulum of different metals that work against each other.
George Graham: Impossible. Doesn't work. I've tried it.
John Harrison: It is possible. It does work. I've built it.
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Movie Connections:
References "The Brains Trust" (1955)
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FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (27 total)
Message Boards
Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Longitude (2000) (TV)| Recent Posts (updated daily) | User |
|---|---|
| i had to watch this in class......... | flareon64 |
| Was there a real Nurse Ingram | therainbow-star |
| I really like this film but... | jordan-202 |
Recommendations
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Who would of thought that a movie about Longitude could be so engaging? Great acting and a compelling story telling turn an historical footnote into a great drama.
The story flip flops back and forth between the life of a shell shocked (literally) 20th century academic and the tale of an 18th century clockmaker, John Harrison, obsessed with winning the Prize of Queen Anne for calculating longitude.
The surprising part is that the two loosely related plot lines work so well together, despite frequent and rapid cuts back and forth. This is a tribute to the great acting skills of the cast, including Jeremy Irons as the 20th century academic. At times, you have to wonder what the heck Iron's struggles with sanity have to do with the 18th century story, but it all seems to quietly tie together in the end.
Harrison knows that if he can develop an accurate watch, solving longitude was a breeze. This may seem academic, but the lives of British seamen were literally at stake. Developing an accurate timepiece was a far more difficult task than we can today imagine, and Harrison faced a skeptical board of theoreticians who preferred more complex scientific solutions than they thought could be provided by a humble clockmaker. The board utterly fails to grasp that the simple solution is the product of a profoundly complex and innovative device.
We think so highly of the great technological achievements of our times, and they are great. We need to be reminded from time to time, as this film does so well, that the breakthroughs of other generations were in there time quite profound. Moreover, we would not be where we are today without them. As the great Sir Issac Newton once said, "If I have seen further, it is because I have stood on the backs of giants".