The Challenger Disaster

TV-14

2013

1 hr. 30 min.

Drama

List

92%

13 Reviews

Tomatometer

83%

100+ Ratings

Audience Score

Physicist Richard Feynman (William Hurt) investigates the cause of the 1986 space shuttle Challenger disaster.

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Bill F

Excellent film with a convincing performance from William Hurt.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/03/24

Full Review

Audience Member

Good, but very cursory. You get something of a feel for the politics and conflicting self-interests, but little of the maths, engineering and science that so desperately need to be better appreciated by a wider audience. Feynman does come over as an impressively clever chap though.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/20/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A movie about the committee and people in charge of finding the cause of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster doesn't sound like an enthralling movie...but it is! Very well written and acted, it manages to make an engaging movie about government bureaucracy, and really brings this true story to life!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/24/23

Full Review

Audience Member

William Hurt is really amazing in this film. I have not seen him play such a impactful role in a long time and I didn't want this movie to end. From the start to the finish this is a movie that will engage you and keep you involved. Loved it!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/10/23

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Audience Member

Tämä oli aika hyvä. Tavallaan dramatisoitu dokumentti.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/12/23

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Audience Member

No surprise at the lengths these powerful organisations will go to cover things up. Absolutely disgusting and fortunately there are people out there who don't give up fighting for the truth to come out.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/25/23

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James Hawes

Director

William Hurt

Richard Feynman

Bruce Greenwood

General Kutyna

Joanne Whalley

Gweneth Feynman

Brian Dennehy

Rogers

Kevin R. McNally

Mulloy

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Neil Genzlinger

New York Times

That it succeeds as well as it does can be credited largely to William Hurt, who manages to make the physicist Richard P. Feynman interesting all over again.

Nov 19, 2013

Full Review

Tim Goodman

Hollywood Reporter

Credit the Science Channel with figuring out that this story had the kind of smarts and scientific elements at its core to be a great fit and perfect fodder for its foray into scripted material.

Nov 18, 2013

Full Review

Hank Stuever

Washington Post

The film is an appropriately somber and smoothly told account of the Washington politics and cross-agency obfuscation that nearly derailed the commission's investigation into the disaster.

Nov 18, 2013

Full Review

Brad Oswald

Winnipeg Free Press

Most of the credit for The Challenger's success belongs to Hurt, who has made a career of bringing slightly damaged, awkwardly distant but morally grounded characters to life. His portrayal of Feynman hits all the right notes.

Nov 25, 2013

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Mark Dawidziak

Cleveland Plain Dealer

You don't need to in any way qualify the positive assessment of this film. It's impressive work by any standards.

Nov 18, 2013

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Austin O'Connor

AARP Movies for Grownups

The solemn inquiry into the cause of a tragic accident is turned into a nifty, shifty whodunit. Or, more precisely, a whatdunit.

Nov 18, 2013

Full Review

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Synopsis

Physicist Richard Feynman (William Hurt) investigates the cause of the 1986 space shuttle Challenger disaster.

Director: James Hawes
Screenwriter: Kate Gartside
Production Co: BBC Films
Rating: TV-14
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 8, 2015
Sound Mix: Stereo

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