# Ever been a movie on the life of Einstein? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 22, 2011, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-a-movie-on-the-life-of-einstein/593695 "2011-08-22T20:02:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-a-movie-on-the-life-of-einstein/593695/21 "2011-08-23T01:26:23Z")
Why hasn’t anyone mentioned that staggering work of cinematic genius, _Young Einstein_ with Yahoo Serious? Come on, people! Holodeck simulations of Einstein appeared on ST:TNG twice: [Albert Einstein | Memory Alpha | Fandom](http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein) ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-a-movie-on-the-life-of-einstein/593695/22 "2011-08-23T13:51:40Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > Did you read [Issacsson’s biography](http://www.amazon.com/Einstein-Life-Universe-Walter-Isaacson/dp/0743264746/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1314058156&sr=8-1)? His life was a lot more complicated and dramatic than we’ve been taught. I’m listed as a source in that. And, though I may be biased, but I think the story of [Einstein and my grandfather](http://www.sff.net/people/rothman/einstein.htm) could be an interesting movie. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-a-movie-on-the-life-of-einstein/593695/23 "2011-08-23T15:55:57Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > I’m listed as a source in that. And, though I may be biased, but I think the story of [Einstein and my grandfather](http://www.sff.net/people/rothman/einstein.htm) could be an interesting movie. Very sweet family story. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-a-movie-on-the-life-of-einstein/593695/24 "2011-08-23T17:37:57Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > Very sweet family story. Very cool. My parents lived in Princeton in the mid-Fifties and my mom would see Einstein riding his bike around town now and then. I asked her if she ever spoke to him, and she said, “No, I didn’t want to bother him.” ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-a-movie-on-the-life-of-einstein/593695/25 "2011-08-23T18:24:37Z")
TV mini-series > **[Einstein (TV Mini Series 1984– ) ⭐ 7.6 | Biography, Drama](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1136750/)** > > 3h 25m Movie in development > **[Einstein | Biography, Drama](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1571248/)** > > IMDb is the world's most popular and authoritative source for movie, TV and celebrity content. Find ratings and reviews for the newest movie and TV shows. Get personalized recommendations, and learn where to watch across hundreds of streaming... ---
**Author:** ![Invisible\_Chimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f05b48/32.png) [@Invisible\_Chimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invisible_Chimp)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2011, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-a-movie-on-the-life-of-einstein/593695/26 "2011-08-24T02:24:10Z")
If they make one soon, they should cast Gene Wilder. I think he would be perfect for the role. ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2011, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-a-movie-on-the-life-of-einstein/593695/27 "2011-08-24T05:44:15Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > I’m not sure a realistic biopic would make all that interesting a film. There are no tense escapes from Nazis or post-war accusations of communism (at least not from anybody who wouldn’t look cartoonish to a modern audience). Possibly a fictionalized version of his “miracle year” (1905) might be worthwhile, as might a docudrama with F. Murray Abraham narrating, as he did for a _Nova_ episode about Newton. More significantly, there’s no opportunity to put sex, violence, profanity, or toilet humor into the Einstein movie, hence it won’t ever be made, at least not by a major American studio. ---
**Author:** ![nivlac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3bc359/32.png) [@nivlac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nivlac)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2011, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-a-movie-on-the-life-of-einstein/593695/28 "2011-08-24T06:49:20Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > Did you read [Issacsson’s biography](http://www.amazon.com/Einstein-Life-Universe-Walter-Isaacson/dp/0743264746/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1314058156&sr=8-1)? His life was a lot more complicated and dramatic than we’ve been taught. Yes, forget about a film. Read Walter Isaacson’s biography of Einstein. It’s not a boring life at all. The book covers a lot more than was ever put on film about Einstein. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2011, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-a-movie-on-the-life-of-einstein/593695/29 "2011-08-24T07:30:09Z")
> [@ITR\_champion](#): > > More significantly, there’s no opportunity to put sex, violence, profanity, or toilet humor into the Einstein movie, hence it won’t ever be made, at least not by a major American studio. If only American studios would make movies like The Help, Jumping the Broom, Soul Surfer, Monte Carlo, Larry Crowne, Beastly, The Adjustment Bureau, Mr. Popper’s Penguins, The Art of Getting By, The Chaperone, Super 8, Another Year, Blue Crush 2, Love, Wedding, Marriage, The Tree of Life, and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. ---
**Author:** ![JacobSwan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@JacobSwan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JacobSwan)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2011, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-a-movie-on-the-life-of-einstein/593695/30 "2011-08-24T13:31:24Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > He showed up on _Doctor Who_ in a cameo once. The Sixth Doctor and Peri, but I forget which episode. The John Nathan-Turner years are only a sad blur for me now. To keep the theme going, David Tennant appeared in the BBC production, ‘Einstein and Eddington’ a couple of years ago. That’s worth digging out if you haven’t seen it. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2011, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-a-movie-on-the-life-of-einstein/593695/31 "2011-08-24T14:10:59Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Oh there’s room for an interesting film, most notably about his living in Berlin as the Nazis come to power. That, and the Einstein–Szilárd letter. I think you could really get some great scenes out of the moral struggle over whether or not to urge the President to create a weapon of heretofore unimaginable power. The guy would be cool as a character, too. I predict a serious Oscar-bait movie in the next ten years, maybe starring Gary Oldman or Johnny Depp. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2011, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-a-movie-on-the-life-of-einstein/593695/32 "2011-08-24T15:35:57Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Why hasn’t anyone mentioned that staggering work of cinematic genius, _Young Einstein_ with Yahoo Serious? I recognize those words, but they make no sense the way you put them together. ---
**Author:** ![Invisible\_Chimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f05b48/32.png) [@Invisible\_Chimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invisible_Chimp)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2011, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-a-movie-on-the-life-of-einstein/593695/33 "2011-08-24T18:16:27Z")
[This](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f6/GeneWilder2May07.jpg) is the photo I saw that made me suggest Gene Wilder for the role. All you have to do is put a mustache on him. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2011, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-a-movie-on-the-life-of-einstein/593695/34 "2011-08-24T20:31:57Z")
[Einstein and Eddington](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0995036/), a really wonderful TV movie from the UK starring Andy Serkis as Einstein & David Tennant as Arthur Eddington, a British scientist who proved Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2011, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-a-movie-on-the-life-of-einstein/593695/35 "2011-08-24T23:36:14Z")
[QUOTE=Alessan] Incidentally, the film [Insignificance](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089343/) features a character who is obviously meant to be Einstein. It’s about a strange night in the mod-50’s where his life intersects with three people who are standing in for Joe DiMaggio, Joe MacCarthy and Marilyn Monroe. [/QUOTE] I saw that long ago and while it’s not one of my favorites it had it’s moments. It includes the professor’s flashbacks to anti Semitism in pre-Nazi Germany. (The characters based on but not called) Einstein and Monroe are the best at seeming like their counterparts; Gary Busey’s ballplayer is too redneck to be at all believable as Dimaggio and a 1970s Dom Deluise would have looked and sounded more like McCarthy. There was a novel about Einstein’s (real life) long lost daughter that had movie buzz a couple of years ago but nothing on imdb. (Einstein and his first wife/co-researcher Mileva Maric had a daughter out of wedlock before they married and her fate is uncertain; it’s generally believed she was privately adopted by members of their family and died young but this is not for certain, and IIRC her brothers didn’t even learn of her existence until after their parents died.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-a-movie-on-the-life-of-einstein/593695.md?page=1)