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Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Instant Favorite.

Good movie but grossly overrated

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

I agree with most of the comments: story, acting, directing, cinematography - everything is extraordinary in this wonderful movie. One thing that I should add is that it is not often that an adaptation turns out richer, deeper and simply more exciting than the book it is based on. With Longitude it is exactly the case. I first read Dava Sobel's Longitude for my History of Science class many years ago. Albeit little dull at times, overall I liked it, it was a nice piece and time well spent. It was a story of the life-time work and struggle of John Harrison, the inventor of the first precise marine chronometer which allowed to solve the problem of finding longitude at sea. The movie however is much more complex and profound. What makes the it richer than the book is that there is not one but two parallel story lines. There is that of Harrison and there is also the story of Rupert Gould, the man who restored Harrison's machines in the first half of the 20th century, almost 200 hundred years after their creation. In the book, Gould is mentioned only accidentally in one of the last chapters. In the movie however, Gould is one of the two protagonists. As we learn from the Behind the Scenes, this was the idea of the director Charles Sturridge. A most brilliant idea, I should say.

Touching upon a subject that sounds about as dull as ditchwater, 'Longitude' brought into focus one of the standards of measurement that we nowadays take sublimely for granted. How easy it is to forget, in our simple, mundane lives, the single-minded search of scientists and engineers who laid down the fabric of modern knowledge and the means to express it. Whole lives often became dedicated to resolving an individual problem or attaining some obscure goal.The programme added further interest by interplaying a story of instrument restoration with its original creation and perfection, shifting from one period of history and another.This mini-series (available edited on DVD) had me completely enthralled in a way that I'm rather ashamed to say a documentary might not. The splendid drama helped to drive home the personal intensity of research and painstaking craft in its execution, as well as their implications for family. There was also great insight into the politics of the day. Irons and Gambon set a masterclass in their respective roles. Though, as with all of the best British drama, everyone played their parts to a nicety. Sets, styles, costumes and even period manners were very well observed.Because so much has been discovered by so many, especially since the enlightenment, 'history' tends to concentrate unfairly upon the 'sexy' and dramatic issues like wars, nation-building and so forth. Even when science is touched upon, it is usually preoccupied with the power to amaze. Yet so much in our acquisition of knowledge was down to dogged determination over years rather than 'eureka moments'. This programme wasn't just an excellent way of revealing the issues of longitude - which it did in a most interesting way - it also served as a microcosm of scientific steadfastness as a whole. We all know the big names, but in their shadows stand many many more without whom even those big names would likely have been unsung. As Isaac Newton himself once observed 'If I see further than other men it's because I stand on the shoulders of giants'.Very highly recommended, both as a drama and source of education.

All great stories deal with conflict and overcoming difficulties. The vast majority of films that are produced thesedays feature heros who triumph based on who is a bigger bad ass or has got the biggest guns or bombs. Here is a film that has virtually no 'action' other than a few cannons fired and a lashing or two during the parts at sea, but is filled with the sort of tension and drama that keeps the viewer constantly involved.If you enjoy intelligent movies, then you should definitely seek this film out. It sounds dreadfully boring if you read the plot summary, but it isn't. It is wonderfully written and produced and contains much light humor as well, making it truly entertaining.One film that it reminded me of is "Master and Commander" because of the similar scenes of the British navy and the theme of the struggle of science and progress in the face of war and politics with intelligence and perseverance winning out in the end.The interwoven story of Rupert Gould is just as interesting and provides an artistic counterpoint to the main story. Again, we have the story of a man who continues with his work in spite of numerous obstacles of the most serious magnitude because he knows that the world will be a better place as a result of that work.The film is long and you should wait until you have enough time to sit down and watch it through to the end because once you begin you will have difficulty turning it off.

Longitude is an absolutle classic of its type. Every aspect of the production is supurb whilst what could have been a boring story if told in an interesting and moving manner. After you have seen this film, I doubt that you will every forget the contribution that John Harrision made to sailors throughout the world.