From: ahsiung@bbn.com (Anita Hsiung)
Newsgroups: sci.physics
Subject: Review of the premiere of "A Brief History of Time"
Date: 17 Aug 92 23:32:01 GMT
Reply-To: ahsiung@labs-n.bbn.com (Anita Hsiung)
Organization: Bolt Beranek and Newman Inc., Cambridge MA
NNTP-Posting-Host: bbn.com

On Saturday evening, Cal Tech and The Planetary Society presented the
world premiere of the film version of Stephen Hawking's book "A Brief
History of Time".  Beckman Auditorium was filled to capacity and
overflowing when Hawking arrived a few minutes late, but that's what
happens when "theoretical physicists talk about time", according to
Louis Friedman, chairman of the Society.

As Hawking made his way up the aisle, there was a reverential silence
in the auditorium.  The silence continued as he rode up the stage and
turned around, at which point the place erupted in applause.  It took
several minutes before Hawking's first sentence.  He uses a
synthesized voice that speaks in a Continental accent.  Hawking was
very funny, talking about how he had wanted his book to be amenable to
the general public, to "sell at airport book stands".  He said his
publishers suspect that while people may have bought the 6 million
books sold worldwide, they may not have read them!  He may well be the
most successful unread author ever.  (This brought on a big laugh.)

He praised the movie, directed by Errol Morris, whose last big project
was "The Thin Blue Line".  Hawking finished by saying that he thinks
his mother is the actual star of the film.

The film itself was very good.  The beginning scenes are wonderful,
you have to see it to know what I mean.  Morris did a good job of not
sensationalizing Hawking's physical deterioration, just a factual,
honest presentation.  Different people from Hawking's life are
interviewed, with lots of scenes given to his mother, sister, friends
from Oxford, fellow physicists.  He narrates the rest himself.  Camera
work in Hawking's office was fantastic, bringing out the world in
which Hawking lives.  Music was by Philip Glass, with wonderful, deep,
chords and very appropriate.

There was a too much of Hawking's life in the movie, though.  I would
have liked to see more of the book, such as going into more detail
about _why_ the arrows of time are pointed the way they are (they are
merely stated briefly), what are the implications of the unbounded
universe, etc.  He states these facts, but doesn't explain too much.

One very nice thing is that we can hear other physicists describe how
they came to their discoveries.  Especially interesting is one of
Hawking's graduate students whom Hawking kept telling to go back and
recalculate a particular equation.  When Hawking finally admitted "I
was wrong", everyone laughed.  The interaction between other
physicists (sorry, I can't remember their names) was very nicely
presented, funny, but you understand the tension they feel when they
try to shoot each others' theories down.

Overall, the movie is a good introduction to the book for to those who
have not read it.  If you have, you may find the movie more
interesting as a background on Stephen Hawking.  I can't wait for it
to be released generally.  I don't know how they will do it, maybe
PBS.  Definitely watch the end credits, they are very creatively done.

	-- Anita --

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| Anita Hsiung       | "See how easy life can be?" -- Johnathan Raven     |
| ahsiung@bbn.com    |                                                    |
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