Oppenheimer - New Christopher Nolan movie (1 Viewer)

[Ilov80s]

Watched this last night.

What was the verdict? Oppy innocent or guilty?

You mean like what do we think about him or what happened in the movie?

 

[JohnnyU]

Never understood the foot stomping to add suspense.

 

[Klimtology]

Was he a Communist traitor or not?

 

[3C's]

I'm going with not

 

[Ilov80s]

Was he a Communist traitor or not?

I don't think he was, no.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

No.

 

[JohnnyU]

Was he a Communist traitor or not?

No

 

[FarFromHome]

Just finished it this evening. It's a slow grind and my wife literally took two naps during it. I really enjoyed it. I'm the guy who has watched every WWII doc multiple times. I soak up information on the rise and fall of the Roman empire and can speak to the tributary practices of the Mongols. I thought Christopher Nolan did a wonderful job of telling a story of one of the most impactful periods in all of human history. It's a story of human greatness and human sadness. Well done.

 

[FarFromHome]

Was he a Communist traitor or not?

I vote no.

 

[northern exposure]

Good movie. The political shenanigans were a little confusing at first with the back and forth to multiple points in time but made sense in the end. I thought Robert Downey Jr was really good. Did Oppy really try to kill his teacher?

I read that was fiction

Part about trying to poison his teacher was in the book, but a bit uncertain. Had nothing to do with Neils Bohr or Oppenheimer correcting his mistake. Tutor just did not eat the apple, per the story. From the book:

Late that autumn of 1925, Robert did something so stupid that it seemed calculated to prove that his emotional distress was overwhelming him. Consumed by feelings of inadequacy and intense jealousy, he “poisoned” an apple with chemicals from the laboratory and left it on Blackett’s desk. Jeffries Wyman later said, “Whether or not this was an imaginary apple, or a real apple, whatever it was, it was an act of jealousy.” Fortunately, Blackett did not eat the apple; but university officials somehow were informed of the incident. As Robert himself confessed to Fergusson two months later, “He had kind of poisoned the head steward. It seemed incredible, but that was what he said. And he had actually used cyanide or something somewhere. And fortunately the tutor discovered it. Of course there was hell to pay with Cambridge.” If the alleged “poison” was potentially lethal, what Robert had done amounted to attempted murder. But this seems improbable, given what happened next. More likely, Robert had laced the apple with something that merely would have made Blackett sick; but this was still a serious matter—and grounds for expulsion. As Robert’s parents were still visiting Cambridge, the university authorities immediately informed them of what had happened. Julius Oppenheimer frantically—and successfully—lobbied the university not to press criminal charges. After protracted negotiations, it was agreed that Robert would be put on probation and have regular sessions with a prominent Harley Street psychiatrist in London. As Robert’s old Ethical Culture School mentor, Herbert Smith, put it, “He was retained at Cambridge for a while only on condition that he had periodic interviews with a psychiatrist.”

Book or no, that didn’t happen.

You have first hand knowledge of the incident?