Synopsis: Hungarian physicist Leo Szilard leaves Europe during WWII, eventually arriving in the United States. With the help of Einstein, he persuades the government to build an atomic bomb. The project is given to no-nonsense Gen. Leslie Groves who selects brilliant physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer to head the Los Alamos Laboratory in New Mexico, where the bomb is built. As World War II draws to a close, Szilard has second thoughts about atomic weapons, and policy makers debate how and when to use the bomb.

Cast:
Brian Dennehy .... Gen. Leslie Groves
David Strathairn .... J. Robert Oppenheimer
Michael Tucker .... Leo Szilard
Hume Cronyn .... James F. Byrnes
Richard A. Dysart .... President Harry S. Truman
Hal Holbrook .... Gen. George Marshall
Barnard Hughes .... Secretary Stimpson
John McMartin .... Dr. Arthur Compton
David Ogden Stiers ... President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Anne Twomey ... Kitty Oppenheimer

Favorite Quotes:
• Oppenheimer: "You know the Bhagavad-Gita? 'I am become Death, the shatterer of worlds.'"
Kenneth Bainbridge: "Yeah. Now we're all sons of bitches."

• Oppenheimer: "The reaction has begun..."
Kitty Oppenheimer: "...What did they expect?"

Notes:
• In a scene from the film Eight Men Out, David's character (Eddie Cicotte) walks by a Chicago storefront with the name Oppenheimer's in the window. The following year he appeared as Oppenheimer in this made-for-TV picture.
• David and co-star Hal Holbrook both later appeared in The Firm.
• When asked by Variety in April, 2005 what he thought about working on Day One, David Strathairn said that he had "sleepless nights after playing that role..."
• Day One is based off of the actual people and events during the 1930s-1940s that led to the creation of the atomic bomb.

The Real J. Robert Oppenheimer:

Copyright unknown.

Critical Praise & Commentary:
• "As Oppenheimer, David Strathairn comes close to matching his Edward R. Murrow in Good Night, and Good Luck as a career performance..." -Mike Clark, USA Today

• "Part of what makes Day One a stand-out are the performances of David Strathairn and Brian Dennehy... The sole exception is chief science officer J. Robert Oppenheimer, played by Strathairn. Strathairn acknowledges Oppenheimer's complexity with darting eyes and jerking head movements, indicating the opposing forces in the moral equation the man always tries to balance when deciding a course of action. Viewers might not agree with his decisions, but they will understand how and why he reached them. (In this take, self-preservation has a lot to do with it.)" -Michael Kleinschrodt, The Times-Picayune

• "Pick any subject, anything at all, and make a film about it featuring David Strathairn and it should be pretty good. Day One is no exception... He plays Oppenheimer with his usual understated excellence, ranging from eager participant at the onset to a more reserved and reflective character by the film's end. The enormity of what the Project accomplished was evident in Strathairn's portrayal." -Jeff Ritter, The Trades

Related Links:
A Science Odyssey - People & Discoveries: J. Robert Oppenheimer (off site)
Bio - J. Robert Oppenheimer (off site)