For a long time, the entertainment industry has played an important role in bringing people closer to Science, mainly through science fiction films and television programs. However, in addition to science fiction themes, many films based on real events by scientists, engineers or other renowned personalities have emerged that have left a great impact on the public. These creations not only impart knowledge but also inspire us on how we can overcome challenges and continue working towards our goals with full conviction.
Here, we have compiled a list of those films that will give you an insightful picture of science and technology while imparting valuable life lessons. Let's take a quick look at the movie compilation that every technology enthusiast should watch .
1. The fastest Indian in the world
The fastest official Indian trailer in the world
IMDb Rating: 7.9/10
Release date: December 2005
Director: Roger Donaldson
Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Aaron James Murphy, Diane Ladd, Annie Whittle, Christopher Lawford
Plot:
The World's Fastest Indian is a biographical sports drama based on the life of a cyclist named Burt Munro. It has set several land speed records in bicycle racing with the help of its highly modified engine. Indian motorcycle scout . The story revolves around an old man living in New Zealand who has the fastest motorcycle and is also featured in Popular Mechanics magazine. His long-time dream is to travel to the USA and participate in the Bonneville Speedway, but to achieve it he needs to overcome many obstacles.
He faces bureaucracy, skepticism and other difficulties in his path. Finally, he arrives at Bonneville Salt Flats only to find that officials have locked him out for not registering his motorcycle in advance and for it not having the required safety equipment. The film shows how he fights all his problems and manages to set a new land speed record by reaching 201.851 mph. It illustrates a perfect example that you don't necessarily have to be young or rich to follow your dreams.
Historical facts
Munro owned a 1920 model Indian Scout with an original speed of 55 mph, but modified it to set his speed records. He didn't have enough money and had to work at night. Furthermore, he often manufactured the parts and tools himself, without any professional help. He managed to set the following records:
· An 883 cc class record of 288 km/h (1962)
· A record in the 1000 cc class of 270.476 km/h (1966)
· A record in the sub-1000 cc class of 295.453 km/h (1967)
· A one-way run of 305.89 km/h, the fastest speed ever officially recorded by an Indian.
2. October sky
Official October Sky Trailer
IMDb Rating: 7.8/10
Release date: February 1999
Director: Joe Johnston
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Chris Cooper, Laura Dern, Chris Owen, Chad Lindberg
Plot:
October Sky is an American biographical film that depicts the story of a coal miner's son who is inspired by the launch of Sputnik 1 and decides to pursue a career in rocketry against his father's wishes to eventually become a NASA engineer. It is a true story of Homer Hickman Junior and portrays the challenging life he led to achieve his goals. The film derived most of its parts from Homer's book called “Rocket Boys”.
After the launch of Sputnik 1 by Soviet Russia, Homer begins studying rockets. Later, with the help of their friends and the support of the teacher, everyone builds and launches small rockets. Between the constant struggles imposed by the failure of his initial experiments and his father's disagreement with his dreams, he wins prizes at the national science fair and is offered several college scholarships.
Historical facts:
was born in Coalwood and graduated from Big Creek High School. He, along with his group of friends, used to make rockets and called themselves “The Big Creek Missile Agency” (BCMA). They also participated in the 1960 National Science Fair and won gold and silver medals in the area of propulsion. After high school, he graduated from Virginia Tech with a bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering. There he made a cannon that used to be fired at games and cadet corps functions held at the school.
Hickman's contributions were;
· Served in the US Army as a First Lieutenant
· Dismissed upon reaching the rank of Captain.
· Worked as an engineer at the US Army Aviation and Missile Command and the 7th Army Training Command in Germany.
· Employed by NASA as an aerospace engineer.
· Wrote books such as Torpedo Junction, Rocket Boys, Back to the moon, etc.
3. Einstein and Eddington
Official trailer for Einstein and Eddington
IMDb Rating: 7.4/10
Release date: November 2008
Director: Filipe Martins
Cast: Andy Serkis, David Tennant, Lucy Cohu, Jim Broadbent, Rebecca Hall
Plot:
This film is a British docudrama that covers the story of Einstein, his general theory of relativity and his relationship with Eddington. Both protagonists lead different lives, but face a common tension and political dilemma. Einstein's theory is not supported because it opposes the universe created by Isaac Newton. Aside from personal issues, wars and political conspiracies, the bond between the two remains unchanged. Eddington strives to prove Einstein's theory of relativity and has to face many consequences. On the other hand, Einstein also has a difficult time preventing his work from being used for wars and mass murders.
Historical facts:
Eddington played a significant role in popularizing the theory of relativity. Despite being English, he showed great interest in Einstein's theory (who was a German physicist). He also observed the solar eclipse to analyze the theory of relativity and later published his observations, thus confirming that it was conclusive proof of the Newtonian model.
4. Apollo 13
Official Apollo 13 Trailer
IMDb Rating: 7.6/10
Release date: June 1995
Director : Ron Howard
Cast: Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton, Gary Sinise, Ed Harris, Kathleen Quinlan
Plot:
Apollo 13 is a space adventure docudrama that dramatizes the aborted 1970 lunar mission. It is an adaptation of the book “Lost Mon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13”. In the film, three astronauts – Lovell, Jack Swigert and Fred Haise who are on America's third moon landing mission. However, on the way to space, an onboard explosion deprives the spacecraft of oxygen and electrical power. This causes NASA to abort the mission and they scramble to get them back to Earth safely. To bring technical relevance to the film, the director sought out NASA for assistance in training the cast's astronauts and flight controllers and even filmed some scenes in a reduced gravity aircraft, to portray the weightlessness experienced by astronauts in space.
Historical facts:
Apollo 13 was the seventh manned mission of the American Apollo space program and the third lunar landing mission. The mission's lunar landing had to be aborted shortly after launch when an oxygen tank exploded after two days. Despite experiencing numerous difficulties such as loss of cabin heat, limited power, a shortage of drinking water and the repairs required by the carbon dioxide removal system, the crew managed to return safely to land. The flight passed the other side of the Moon, at an altitude of 254 km above the lunar surface, which is 400,171 km away from Earth. This record made it the furthest humans have traveled from Earth.
5. 21
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsK1c9ZBpuw
21 Official Movie Trailer
IMDb rating: 6.8/10
Release date: March 2008
Director: Roberto Luketic
Cast: Kevin Spacey, Brett Ratner, Dana Brunetti, Michael DeLuca
Plot:
21 is a dramatic film covering the true story of the MIT Blackjack Team, which was previously described in a book called “Bringing Down the House” by Ben Mezrich. The film's central character is Ben Campbell, who majored in mathematics at MIT and needs a scholarship to enter Harvard Medical School.
At MIT, when professor Micky Rosa challenges Ben with a complex problem in his nonlinear equations class, he solves it without much difficulty. Rosa is impressed with Ben and asks him to join the Blackjack team, which Ben agrees to, but only until he can pay for medical school. The story takes an interesting turn as Ben's life changes as he becomes distracted by casino games, which affects his projects.
Historical facts:
The MIT Blackjack Team is a group of students from MIT, Harvard Business School, Harvard University and other top schools. Students use more sophisticated card counting techniques and strategies to beat the casinos at the game of blackjack. Ben Mezrich’s best-selling book “Bringing Down the House” featured stories from some players on the MIT Blackjack team. Although the book was popularized as nonfiction, Mezrich later admitted that certain stories were structured based on what he heard from players.
6. The social network
The official trailer for the social network
IMDb Rating: 7.7/10
Release date : October 2010
Director: David Fincher
Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake, Armie Hammer, Max Minghella
Plot :
This film is based on the life of Mark Zuckerberg, the man behind Facebook. The story revolves around a 19-year-old Harvard student named Mark who builds a website called Facemash by hacking into the college's database and placing random photos of students where visitors would rate those photos. The site receives so much traffic that it crashes Harvard's computer network. Consequently, Mark receives 6 months probation.
However, two Harvard seniors – Cameron and Tyler, along with their business partner Divya Narendra, are impressed by the idea and offer to create a website for Harvard students. Later, when Mark presents his plans to design TheFacebook, the trio feel he stole the idea and file a complaint. Amidst all the enmity, lawsuits and friendship, Mark fights and fights against all odds to become the youngest billionaire in the world.
Historical facts:
Mark Zuckerberg launched Facebook in his Harvard dorm room in 2004, after being inspired by a prep school's “The Photo Address Book.” It was basically a photo directory where students could list class years, friends, and phone numbers. The Facebook site was initially used by Harvard students, but later spread to other college campuses and gradually, in 2012, gained a billion users.
Mark was a brilliant student from the early stages of his academic journey. He was mentored by David Newman while in high school. He built software called “ZuckNet” to connect all the computers between his home and his father's dental office. Later in college, he wrote a program called “CourseMatch” where students could make decisions about class selection and form study groups.
7. The imitation game
Imitation Game Official Trailer
IMDb rating: 8.1/10
Release date : November 2014
Director: Morten Tyldum
Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Rory Kinnear, Charles Dance, Mark Strong, Alexandre Desplat.
Plot:
The Imitation Game is loosely based on the real life of British cryptanalyst Alan Turing, who decrypted German intelligence codes for the British government during World War II. The film features Benedict who plays the role of Alan Turing as the main character. When Britain declares war on Germany, he is hired to decipher the Enigma codes that the Germans use in their communications.
Turing, along with his team, builds a machine and calls it “Christopher”, but they only have one month to decrypt the German message and win the war. An interesting twist shows how the team moves towards success. However, despite his great contributions, Turing's homosexuality leads him to an unhappy end.
Historical facts:
Alan Turing was a genius and one of the few people who could crack the Enigma codes. He developed a series of techniques for breaking German ciphers. His major contributions include deciphering intercepted coded messages that allowed the Allies to defeat the Nazis in many crucial battles. It is believed that his work helped shorten the war in Europe by more than 2 years, thus saving more than 14 million lives.
8. The Pirate Bay: away from the keyboard
The Pirate Bay: Far from the Keyboard Official Trailer
IMDb Rating: 7.6/10
Release date: February 2013
Director: Simon Klose
Cast: Gottfrid Svartholm, Fredrik Neij, Peter Sunde
This film is a documentary about three computer addicts who founded the file sharing network called “The Pirate Bay”. It is a BitTorrent download site that has played a pivotal role in redefining the world of media distribution. The website is immensely popular among netizens as it offers them a platform to search, download and share magnet links as well as torrent files.
However, the founders – Gottfrid Svartholm, Fredrik Neij and Peter Sunde are found guilty of copyright infringement, prosecuted by Swedish state prosecutors together with some Hollywood MPA, the music industry's IFPI and the Swedish Anti-Piracy Office. Consequently, the founders of Pirate Bay are sentenced to prison and have to pay compensation worth 6.6 million dollars.
Facts:
On the one hand, Hollywood claimed that the industry is suffering huge losses because of the free file-sharing network, while on the other hand, supporters of The Pirate Bay argued that Hollywood stands to gain much more than they could have lost. Furthermore, it was argued that the easy availability of films on the website indirectly helped in popularizing them rather than leading to a monetary loss.
9. The theory of everything
The Theory of Everything Official Trailer
IMDb Rating: 7.7/10
Release date: January 2015
Cast: Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones, Charlie Cox, Emily Watson, Simon McBurney, David Thewlis
Director: James Marsh
Plot:
Theory of Everything is an adaptation of “Traveling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen”, by Jane Wilde Hawking. She is the ex-wife of famous physicist Prof Stephen Hawking. It's a story about the lives of Stephen and Jane through all the difficult and happy times they spent together. It also highlights how Prof Hawking is successful in the field of Physics even when he is diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease.
Historical facts:
Stephen Hawking is a renowned scientist who has won numerous awards and accolades for his contributions to the field of Science. His famous works include gravitational singularity theorems within general relativity and the prediction that black holes emit radiation. He also won the Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to science. Due to the illness he suffers from, his body has been paralyzed for decades and he now uses a single cheek muscle connected to a speech recognition device.
10. The right thing
Official trailer for the film The Right Stuff
IMDb Rating: 7.9/10
Director : Philip Kaufman
Release date: February 1984
Cast: Scott Glen, Ed Harris, Lance Henriksen, Scott Paulin, Dennis Quaid, Sam Shepard, Fred Ward.
Plot:
This historical drama tells the story of America's first manned spaceflight, Project Mercury, and the astronauts selected for the mission. When Russia launches the Sputnik satellite, America wants to defeat the Russians in the space race for which they are preparing the Mercury mission. Soon Russia sends Yuri Gagarin into space through the launch of Vostok 1 in 1961, after which the US prepares for the Mercury Program.
Historical facts:
Project Mercury was the first US manned space mission aiming to put a man in Earth's orbit, before the Soviet Union. NASA has conducted twenty unmanned development flights and 6 successful crewed flights. Shortly after the Soviet Union sent Yuri Gagarin into a unique orbit, the US launched its first astronaut, Alan Shepard, on a suborbital flight. This was followed by Soviet Gherman Titov traveling with a one-day orbital flight in August, while later the US achieved its orbital objective when John Glenn made three orbits around the Earth. By 1963, both the US and the Soviet Union had sent 6 people into space, but the latter took the lead in terms of total time spent in space.
You can read our Blog and Article section for more topics on electronic engineering, industry and technology.