Parallel stories: 18th century Harrison builds the marine chronometer for safe navigation at sea; 20th century Gould is obsessed with restoring it.
Michael Gambon
John Harrison
Jeremy Irons
Rupert Gould
Ian Hart
William Harrison (Adult)
Andrew Scott
John Campbell
Bill Nighy
Lord Sandwich
Gemma Jones
Elizabeth Harrison
John Wood
Sir Edmund Halley
Anna Chancellor
Muriel Gould
Brian Cox
Lord Morton
Samuel West
Nevil Maskelyne
Ian McNeice
Dr. Bliss
Jonathan Coy
Adm. Sir Cloudsley Shovell
Christopher Hodsol
Capt. Ainsley
Liam Jennings
William Harrison (Young)
Peter Vaughan
George Graham
Nigel Davenport
Sir Charles Pelham
Tim McInnerny
Christopher Irwin
John Standing
Capt. Proctor
Peter Cartwright
Army Doctor
Stephen Fry
Sir Kenelm Digby
Daragh O'Malley
Capt. Bourke
Cliff Parisi
Lt. Draper
Michael Cochrane
Waddington, Gould's solicitor
Tobias Menzies
Halley's Secretary
Charles Edwards
Lt. Seward
Pip Torrens
Capt. Lindsay
T. P. McKenna
Edmund Burke
Barbara Leigh-Hunt
Dodo Gould
Peter-Hugo Daly
John Jefferies
John Normington
Mr. Greene
Nicholas Rowe
King George
Roger Lloyd Pack
Capt. Man
Trevor Cooper
Roger Wills
Lucy Akhurst
Grace Ingram
Peter Penry-Jones
Surgeon
Mark Tandy
Whiston
Heike Makatsch
Queen Charlotte
William Thomas
Arthur Mason
Director, Writer
Charles Sturridge
Novel
Dava Sobel
April 2, 2020
7
I had known about this 3-hour long, two part made-for-tv movie for a long time, but it took me a while to get around to watching it. It is very well done, so that even though the dual plots move slowly and with a lot of detail, it kept my interest throughout. It is hard to believe what John Harrison went through all those years working on his clock to be used by sailors to help them know where they are even on the open sea. If Harrison had worked for decades in the hard sciences during a later era, I dare say he would have received a Nobel prize, for it seemed the monetary prize he was seeking from the hopelessly bureaucratic award committee gave him a rougher time than the Nobel committee and fellow scientists ever would have.
In the other story thread that took place many years later, the Jeremy Irons character was on a similar Quixotic epic quest, and his marriage suffers even more. I found his plot slightly less interesting, if only because it seemed like the damage to his personal life was more self-inflicted, like perhaps he wouldn't have been a great husband in the best of times. One minor critique I have is that the stories could have paid more attention to the wives. We more or less lose sight of them after we are deep into the story, though they both make guest appearances here and there. I can't say I will be tempted to watch Longitude again in the future, but the writing and acting is strong enough for me to recommend it.
Status:
Released
Original Language:
English
Budget:
$0.00
Revenue:
$0.00