Country of origin United Kingdom Narrator John Hurt | Directed by Paul Wilmshurst Initial release 5 August 2005 First episode date 5 August 2005 | |
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Genre DocumentaryHistoryMilitary Cast John Hurt, George Elsey, Noboru Akima, Frederick Ashworth, George Anton Similar Hiroshima, Brotherhood of the Rose, Monsters, Perpetual Motion, The Drama of Dresden | ||
Hiroshima is a BBC docudrama that premiered as a television special on 5 August 2005, marking the eve of the 60th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. The program was aired on the Discovery Channel and BBC America in the United States. The documentary features historical reenactments using firsthand eyewitness accounts and computer-generated imagery of the explosion. The film won an Emmy and three BAFTA awards in 2006.
Contents
Summary
The documentary recounts the world's first nuclear attack and examines the repercussions. Covering a three-week period from the Trinity test to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, the program chronicles America's political gamble and the planning for the momentous event. Archival film, dramatizations, and special effects depict what occurred aboard the Enola Gay and inside the nuclear blast.
Eyewitness interviews
Five Japanese survivors are interviewed: Kinuko Laskey (a nurse in a communications hospital), Morio Ozaki (an army cadet), Toruko Fujii (16-year-old tram driver), Thomas Takashi Tanemori (an eight-year-old schoolboy), Dr. Shuntaro Hida (a doctor at a military hospital), and Akiko Takakura (a 17-year-old city bank clerk).
From the United States the interviewees are Paul Tibbets (the commanding officer and pilot of the Enola Gay), Theodore Van Kirk (the navigator of the aircraft), Morris R. Jeppson (the weapon test officer), and Russell Gackenbach (the navigator of the accompanying photographic aircraft Necessary Evil). White House Map Room Duty Officer George Elsey is interviewed as an eyewitness to the Potsdam Conference.