In 1905, Albert Einstein published four papers—including one on his special theory of relativity—while working at a Swiss patent office in Bern. Although Einstein had tried (unsuccessfully) to land a teaching position at various universities, the twinkly-eyed genius found his non-taxing bureaucratic job to be nicely conducive to daydreaming (i.e., his famous “thought experiments”) about various questions of physics concerning light and gravity, which would in turn lead to some of the most profound scientific insights of the 20th century, as Newton's cut-and-dry clockwork universe was gradually replaced by a model in which space and time were no longer “fixed” dimensions. Although the History Channel's Einstein recapitulates material covered elsewhere (notably in Einstein Revealed [VL Online-11/04]), it also boasts excellent CGI animated sequences used to illustrate Einstein's theories, which would pave the way for quantum mechanics (an unintended result of his work that disturbed Einstein greatly, leading to his famous disclaimer that “God does not play dice”). Narrated by Ted Marcoux, Einstein combines biography with science to trace the highlights of Einstein's life (including his marriage to childhood sweetheart Mileva Maric, which ended in divorce, after which Einstein wed his cousin Elsa) and work (including an extended treatment of the suspenseful quest to prove Einstein's general theory of relativity using photographs taken during a total solar eclipse). Interspersed throughout are comments from some of Einstein's biographers (including Thomas Levenson and Walter Isaacson) as well as noted physicists (such as Michio Kaku and Neil deGrasse Tyson). Sure to appeal to both biography and science buffs, this is highly recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (R. Pitman)
Einstein
(2008) 90 min. DVD: $24.95. The History Channel (avail. from most distributors). PPR. Closed captioned. ISBN: 1-4229-2102-6. Volume 24, Issue 3
Einstein
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
Order From Your Favorite Distributor Today: