NOVA: Einstein Revealed

Amazon.com

Albert Einstein is probably the most famous scientist in history, but how much do we really know about him besides the hair, the bomb, and relativity? In Einstein Revealed, NOVA guides us through his life as reflected in his private papers, showing a man of turbulent emotions and strong obsessions, yet kind and gentle as a mother hen. Using dramatized interviews, historical photography, and computer animation to enlighten us about his personal life and his lifelong quest to understand nature, Einstein Revealed succeeds in showing both the man and his work as never before. --Rob Lightner

Description

What was the secret of Einstein's scientific creativity? NOVA's two-hour special traces his extraordinary rise from a student who flunked his engineering exams to the world's most renowned physicist. This penetrating profile of a scientist who changed our vision of physical reality includes dramatic recreations and easy-to-understand animations of Einstein's landmark Theory of Relativity.

Through Einstein's own words, learn how--after using his wife, Mileva, as a sounding board for his early theories--the young patent clerk abandons "the unpredictability of human relations." Then, follow his ferocious quest to "glimpse the order that lies hidden in nature" -- a search that catapults him to the forefront of modern physics, but at great personal cost.

Special DVD features include: materials and activities for educators; a link to the NOVA Web site; scene selections; and closed captions.

On one DVD5 disc. Region coding: All regions. Audio: Dolby stereo. Screen format: 4 x 3 full screen.

Customer Reviews:

Inoffensive but lightweight.......2005-09-25

Unlike the offensive Biography DVD, this product makes some small effort to come to grips with relativity, but could have done much more. The few animated examples (train and lightning, man in falling elevator) could have been better executed and better explained. The actor portraying Einstein did a reasonable job, but why the German accent?

Good.....but nothing new.......2002-01-17

This is a nicely-done video, but I was still disppointed. I had just read a short biography of Einstein and was anxious to learn more. Being in 8th grade, I haven't had any exposure to this stuff. It had barely anything that I didn't know. Anyway, it was basically a biography of him being read but with Andrew Sachs (of the hilarious old British TV Show "Fawlty Towers" - also starring John Cleese) playing Einstein (it doesn't have a plot - he is just in a room and tells about his life) and a few videos of the real Einstein. But, it did have easy-to-understand animations of he basics of his theories. I would do the same thing (watch it) if I could go back in time and choose again - it wasn't at all bad. But, if you've read any biographies of him and understand the basics of his theories, I wouldn't really suggest buying it - you could just get it from the library like I did.

The human side of one considered an icon.......2001-06-28

While the names of many scientists are known by being assigned to units of measurement, Albert Einstein is the only one whose name is applied as a description. His last name is now used as a metaphor for genius, and he is the most famous scientist who ever lived. That reputation is well-deserved, in that his ideas concerning general relativity were so revolutionary that some of the experimental verification did not occur for decades. Furthermore, most anecdotal reports are that when it was published, there were only three people in the world, including Einstein himself, who could even understand it. His public persona was that of an eccentric genius, with wild, uncombed hair and a lack of socks. However, his private life has rarely if ever been investigated, and that is the main point of this video.
It turns out that he was privately very arrogant. So much so that his physicist friend Niels Bohr once told him in exasperation to stop telling God what to do. When he was getting a divorce from his first wife, he boldly offered her the proceeds from his Nobel prize, which was not awarded until years later. As a husband and a father, he turned out to be wanting, although in his first marriage, it is easy to be sympathetic to both parties. He met his first wife, Milena while both were students and at that time, they spoke of an intellectual partnership. When his first child was born before they were married, they kept it quiet although he spoke lovingly about mother and daughter in his letters. However, his position as a Swiss civil servant would have made a marriage after the birth awkward, so for reasons that are still unexplained, the daughter suddenly disappears from the records and they then get married. Milena was also a physics student who failed her final exams twice. Then, once the miracle year of 1905 arrived and Einstein began to be heralded as the greatest physicist since Newton, his stature rose rapidly. His meteoric rise to fame was probably farther and faster than anyone else in history. Quite frankly, you could have probably counted on your fingers the number of people alive then who possessed the intellect to be an intellectual partner for Einstein. Therefore, it is not surprising that the tension in their marriage grew to such an extent that they parted and then divorced.
His relationship with his second wife was an unusual one. She tended his house, but they kept separate beds and she was not allowed to disturb him when he was in his study.... This was the first time I had ever heard anything about Einstein as a randy old man, which I take to prove that fame in any form attracts young women. His relationship with his two sons from his first marriage was never close, as Einstein became more and more withdrawn from human contact. One was diagnosed as a schizophrenic and was institutionalized until his death. The other became a professor but very rarely saw his father.
Generally, I find personal revelations about celebrities to be very dull and uninteresting. However, in this case it is a major exception. Like many others, Einstein is a hero to me and details about his life beyond the physics reveal elements of his character that make him even more remarkable in my eyes. All of the material that I have encountered to date has reinforced the solitary genius, but now you see him as a headstrong young man who grew up to be a similar adult. Learning that he was a bit of a scamp makes him more refreshingly human in my eyes. This is an excellent video for science classes, in that it shows the human side of the most famous scientist of history. If even Einstein could have a life outside physics, then science will be a more attractive career to students.

Fascinating!.......1999-09-22

Loved this look at the 20th centuries greatest genuis! One flaw - I don't like the "reenactment" footage of the fake Albert.

Great--A good look at Einstein's inner self!.......1999-06-23

Wonderful look at Einstein's motivations and skill as scientist.

Product Description

Journey into the mind of a genius and visualize the thought experiments Albert Einstein could only imagine: mind-boggling meditations on light, time, and space that would forever change the way we view the universe. What was the secret of Einstein's scientific creativity? NOVA's two-hour special traces his extraordinary rise from a student who flunked his engineering exams to the world's most renowned physicist. This penetrating profile of a scientist who changed our vision of physical reality includes dramatic recreations and easy-to-understand animations of Einstein's landmark Theory of Relativity. Through Einstein's own words, learn how--after using his wife, Mileva, as a sounding board for his early theories--the young patent clerk abandons "the unpredictability of human relations." Then, follow his ferocious quest to "glimpse the order that lies hidden in nature" -- a search that catapults him to the forefront of modern physics, but at great personal cost. Special DVD features include: materials and activities for educators; a link to the NOVA Web site; scene selections; and closed captions.

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