BBC - The Nuclear Saga (1995)

The most significant event of the 20th century! Two BBC documentaries written, produced and directed by acclaimed film-maker, Peter Batty, detailing the history of nuclear weapons. The weapons that changed the world! A definitive history of the creation of the nuclear age, with gripping archive footage of the most powerful explosions ever witnessed and fascinating testimonies. Former BBC producer Peter Batty's classic documentaries have won awards throughout the world. Here two of Peter Batty's acclaimed films piece together the complete and extraordinary story of the quest for an ultimate weapon - how scientists and politicians in Germany, Britain, the US and the Soviet Union battled to unleash a terrifying power they did not understand. The men who created the Nuclear age were the "Father of the Bomb" Robert Oppenheimer, Manhattan Project boss General Groves, and the "makers" of the H-Bomb Edward Teller and Stanislaw Ulam, all are profiled here.
From the ashes of the Second World War and in a Cold War climate of suspicion and fear, the quest for the ultimate weapon began. These two thrilling and highly acclaimed accounts of this extraordinary story include previously classified military film and extensive interviews with the men involved in the unleashing of a terrifying power with horrific implications: The Atomic Bomb, Los Alamos Laboratory and Manhattan Project, Project Trinity, Fat Man & Little Boy. Then the Hydrogen Bomb and Operation Mike & Operation Castle. A stunning achievement by award-winning former BBC producer Peter Batty. A must to anyone with an interest in the global events that have shaped the present day.

Directed, produced & written by Peter Batty; Peter Batty Productions Ltd.

Part 1: Birth of the Bomb (1970)
The birth of the A-Bomb, the incredible top secret story that can now be told. This excellent documentary special chronicles one of the most fascinating stories of all time – the making and testing of the first atomic bomb. From the secrets of atomic fission, and the discovery of the strategic importance of uranium and plutonium to Fat Man and Little Boy and the mission in Hiroshima. Containing rare, previously classified color archive footage obtained from the US military, BIRTH OF THE BOMB was hailed as "the best record of the worst weapon" by the London Sunday Times.
BIRTH OF THE BOMB traces the A-bomb from the secret nuclear experiments in Nazi Germany just prior to World War II to the eventual establishment of the multi-million dollar "Manhattan Project" in the United States. As the pieces of the story come together, an abandoned racquet court in Chicago, pipes leading up a Norwegian hillside, a sandy waste site on the banks of the Columbia River and a ranch school on an isolated New Mexico plateau set the scene for the development of the most devastating weapon ever conceived. The intensity of the sights and sounds in this program must be seen to be believed. They are the essence of an awesome true story, as told by the people who were there… at the birth of the Atomic Bomb.

Part 2: Search for the Super (1975)
The hydrogen bomb, the ultimate weapon of destruction! This historical documentary presents the background story of the making and testing of the first H-bomb, containing color archive film rarely seen and contributions from many of the principal participants. In September 1949, Russia exploded its first atomic bomb, Joe 1, and the world was shaken. Scientist Edward Teller warned, "If we don't develop the bomb, within five years we will be in Russian concentration camps." The United States responds to the challenge.
The story starts with the dropping of the first atomic bomb on Japan in 1945, through the Russian nuclear blast of September 1949 to the eventual successful detonation of a so-called thermo-nuclear device in the Pacific in November 1952 and the first full-scale H-bomb test in Bikini, in 1954. Includes interviews with Edward Teller and others who worked on the hydrogen bomb. Included are the renown Los Alamos laboratory and Operation Mike, the first test of an American H-bomb, 700 times more powerful than the atomic bomb explosion on Hiroshima! Also Operation Castle, the first full H-Bomb test.