Stars: Michael Gambon, Jeremy Irons, Ian Hart, Alec McCowen, Peter Vaughan, Samuel West

Director: Charles Sturridge

Summary: A tale of courage and adventure which tells the true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time.

In LONGITUDE, an 18th-century clock maker named Jon Harrison (Michael Gambon) begins what is to become a 40-year task to invent a system for determining longitude at sea with a nautical timepiece. Meanwhile, 200 years in the future, naval officer Rupert Gould (Jeremy Irons) discovers Harrison's neglected chronometers and sets out to restore them. LONGITUDE is a high seas saga of passion, determination, and discovery.

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Gracefully adapted from Dava Sobel's extraordinary bestseller, the four-part TV production of Longitudecombines drama, history and science into a stimulating, painstakingly authentic account of personal triumph and joyous discovery. Equally impressive is the way writer-director Charles Sturridge has crafted parallel stories that complement each other with enriching perspective. The first story involves the successful 40-year effort of 18th-century clockmaker John Harrison (Michael Gambon) to solve the elusive problem of measuring longitude at sea. In 1714 the British Parliament had offered a generous reward to anyone who solved the problem, and Harrison devoted his life to that solution. The second story, some 200 years later, involves the effort of shell-shocked British Navy veteran Rupert Gould (Jeremy Irons) to restore the glorious clocks that Harrison had built. Like Harrison, Gould is the most admirable type of obsessive, but, also like Harrison, he risks his marriage to accomplish his difficult task. Thousands of sailors perished at sea before Harrison's triumph changed history, but Longitudedemonstrates that Harrison's glory was slow to arrive--and his prize money even slower. A fascinating study of 18th-century British politics and clashing egos in the arena of science, the film is both epic and intimate in consequence , and Sturridge's magnificent script inspires Gambon and Irons to do some of the best work of their outstanding careers . The ever-reliable Ian Hart appears in Part 3 as Harrison's now-adult son and apprentice, and Longitudeapproaches its dramatic climax with the exhilarating tension of a first-rate thriller. Rallying after sickness to prove the integrity of their marvellous seafaring chronometers, the Harrisons still had to fight for official recognition, and Gould's restoration of the Harrison clockworks provides a fitting coda to this exceptional story about the thrill of discovery and the tenacity of remarkable men. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

Aspect Ratio:	16:9 Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Year:	1999
Release Date:	July 15, 2002
Runtime:	198 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	C C D 9059
Label:	Granada Media
Keywords:	General, Wide, Screen, Drama, Historical, Longitude
Genre:	Drama