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The Challenger Disaster

Play trailer Poster for The Challenger Disaster TV-14 2013 1h 30m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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92% Tomatometer 13 Reviews 82% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
Physicist Richard Feynman (William Hurt) investigates the cause of the 1986 space shuttle Challenger disaster.

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The Challenger Disaster

Critics Reviews

View All (13) Critics Reviews
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 The 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 Full Review 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 Full Review 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 Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (23) audience reviews
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 Full Review Audience Member Tämä oli aika hyvä. Tavallaan dramatisoitu dokumentti. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/12/23 Full Review 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 Full Review Read all reviews
The Challenger Disaster

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Cast & Crew

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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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The Challenger Disaster

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Movie Info

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
Runtime
1h 30m
Sound Mix
Stereo
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