Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
The documentary recounts the world's first nuclear attack and examines the alarming repercussions. Covering a three-week period from the Trinity test to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, the program chronicles America's political gamble and the planning for the momentous event. Archival film, dramatizations, and special effects feature what occurred aboard the Enola Gay (the aircraft that dropped the bomb) and inside the exploding bomb.
This BBC/History Channel docudrama covers well-trodden ground on the Hiroshima bombing, blending archival footage with dramatized reconstructions. The narrative is competently structured across the three-week countdown period, giving reasonable weight to both American decision-makers and Japanese victims. However, the dramatized sequences feature serviceable but unremarkable acting, and the approach—archival footage plus reenactments—is a familiar documentary format that offers little distinctiveness compared to other WWII nuclear documentaries. The cinematography is adequate for a TV production without being visually distinctive. The ending appropriately conveys the magnitude of the bombing's aftermath without offering particular insight beyond established historical accounts.