Inspiration to become a Scientist
by dan_dassow | created - 12 Nov 2014 | updated - 14 Nov 2014 | PublicThe release of The Theory of Everything (2014) has inspired an interest in the study of science. Which of these other films would best inspire an interest in a career in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)?
Discuss poll here.
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1. The Imitation Game (2014)
PG-13 | 114 min | Biography, Drama, Thriller
During World War II, the English mathematical genius Alan Turing tries to crack the German Enigma code with help from fellow mathematicians while attempting to come to terms with his troubled private life.
Director: Morten Tyldum | Stars: Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Allen Leech
Votes: 825,511 | Gross: $91.13M
Alan Turing (1912-1954, father of theoretical computer science and artificial intelligence)
2. Interstellar (2014)
PG-13 | 169 min | Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
When Earth becomes uninhabitable in the future, a farmer and ex-NASA pilot, Joseph Cooper, is tasked to pilot a spacecraft, along with a team of researchers, to find a new planet for humans.
Director: Christopher Nolan | Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Mackenzie Foy
Votes: 2,102,906 | Gross: $188.02M
Science adviser: Kip Thorne (1940-, theoretical physicist)
3. Creation (I) (2009)
PG-13 | 108 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
Torn between faith and science, and suffering hallucinations, English naturalist Charles Darwin struggles to complete 'On the Origin of Species' and maintain his relationship with his wife.
Director: Jon Amiel | Stars: Paul Bettany, Jennifer Connelly, Ian Kelly, Guy Henry
Votes: 15,134 | Gross: $0.34M
Charles Darwin (1809-1882, naturalist and geologist, best known for his contributions to evolutionary theory), Joseph Dalton Hooker (1817-1911, botanist), and Thomas Huxley (1825-1895, biologist)
4. The Aviator (2004)
PG-13 | 170 min | Biography, Drama
A biopic depicting the early years of legendary director and aviator Howard Hughes' career from the late 1920s to the mid 1940s.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett, Kate Beckinsale, John C. Reilly
Votes: 384,250 | Gross: $102.61M
Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. (1905-1976, aviator, aerospace engineer, inventor and filmmaker)
5. A Beautiful Mind (2001)
PG-13 | 135 min | Biography, Drama, Mystery
A mathematical genius, John Nash made an astonishing discovery early in his career and stood on the brink of international acclaim. But the handsome and arrogant Nash soon found himself on a harrowing journey of self-discovery.
Director: Ron Howard | Stars: Russell Crowe, Ed Harris, Jennifer Connelly, Christopher Plummer
Votes: 987,625 | Gross: $170.74M
John Forbes Nash, Jr. (1928-, mathematician, known for work in game theory, differential geometry and partial differential equations)
6. Contact (1997)
PG | 150 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Dr. Ellie Arroway, after years of searching, finds conclusive radio proof of extraterrestrial intelligence, sending plans for a mysterious machine.
Director: Robert Zemeckis | Stars: Jodie Foster, Matthew McConaughey, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt
Votes: 293,256 | Gross: $100.92M
Story by Carl Sagan (1934-1996, astronomer, cosmologist, astrophysicist, astrobiologist)
7. The Wright Brothers (1997)
105 min | Biography, Drama
Director: Gregg Lachow | Stars: Megan Murphy, E.B. Molloy, Kara McMahon, Mark C. Murphy
Votes: 24
Orville Wright (1871-1948) and Wilbur Wright (1867-1912), inventors and aviation pioneers
8. Infinity (1996)
PG | 119 min | Biography, Drama
Story of the early life of genius and Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman.
Director: Matthew Broderick | Stars: Matthew Broderick, Patricia Arquette, Jeffrey Force, Peter Riegert
Votes: 1,999 | Gross: $0.20M
Richard Feynman (1918-1988, physicist)
9.
L'encyclopédie audio-visuelle (1992– )
Episode:
Darwin
(1992)
53 min | Documentary
A revisionist biopic on Charles Darwin, illustrated via 18 tableaux covering details from Darwin's birth, his defining voyage on the HMS Beagle, the publication of his seminal Theory of ... See full summary »
Director: Peter Greenaway | Stars: Bert Sevenhuijsen, Jacques Bonnaffé, Barbara M. Messner, Germain Pengel
Votes: 155
Charles Darwin (1809-1882, naturalist and geologist, best known for his contributions to evolutionary theory)
10. Fat Man and Little Boy (1989)
PG-13 | 127 min | Biography, Drama, History
This film reenacts the Manhattan Project, the secret WWII project, and the first atomic bombs designed, built, and tested in Los Alamos.
Director: Roland Joffé | Stars: Paul Newman, Dwight Schultz, Bonnie Bedelia, John Cusack
Votes: 9,135 | Gross: $3.56M
J. Robert Oppenheimer (1904-1967, theoretical physicist)
11. Gorillas in the Mist (1988)
PG-13 | 129 min | Biography, Drama
The story of Dian Fossey, a scientist who came to Africa to study the vanishing mountain gorillas, and later fought to protect them.
Director: Michael Apted | Stars: Sigourney Weaver, Bryan Brown, Julie Harris, John Omirah Miluwi
Votes: 29,204 | Gross: $24.72M
Dian Fossey (1932-1985, zoologist, primatologist and anthropologist)
12. Galileo (1975)
PG | 145 min | Biography, Drama
This biopic is about Galileo Galilei, the seventeenth century Italian who laid the foundations of modern science. Galileo made himself one of the world's first telescopes and discovered the... See full summary »
Director: Joseph Losey | Stars: Topol, Edward Fox, Colin Blakely, Georgia Brown
Votes: 668
Galileo Galilei (1564-1642, physicist, mathematician, engineer, astronomer and philosopher)
13. Johannes Kepler (1974)
93 min | Drama
Biography of the astronomer and mathematician Johannes Kepler (1571-1630)
Director: Frank Vogel | Stars: Reimar J. Baur, Trude Bechmann, Kurt Böwe, Karin Gregorek
Johannes Kepler (1571-1630, mathematician and astronomer)
14. Kopernik (1973)
128 min | Biography, Drama, History
Directors: Ewa Petelska, Czeslaw Petelski | Stars: Andrzej Kopiczynski, Barbara Wrzesinska, Czeslaw Wollejko, Andrzej Antkowiak
Votes: 58
Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543, mathematician and astronomer)
15. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
G | 149 min | Adventure, Sci-Fi
After uncovering a mysterious artifact buried beneath the Lunar surface, a spacecraft is sent to Jupiter to find its origins: a spacecraft manned by two men and the supercomputer HAL 9000.
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester, Daniel Richter
Votes: 720,093 | Gross: $56.95M
Written by Arthur C. Clarke (1917-2008, science fiction writer, science writer, futurist and inventor)
16. I Aim at the Stars (1960)
Approved | 107 min | Biography, Drama
The story of rocket scientist Dr. Werner von Braun's career, from the 1920s until the late 1950s.
Director: J. Lee Thompson | Stars: Curd Jürgens, Victoria Shaw, Herbert Lom, Gia Scala
Votes: 251
Wernher von Braun (1912-1977, aerospace engineer and space architect)
17. The Peanut Man (1947)
Approved | 45 min | Biography, Drama
At the offices of Consolidated Producers Corporation, producer Tony Paton is determined to make a film about the great African American chemist, George Washington Carver. His backer, Murphy... See full synopsis »
Director: Tony Paton | Stars: Clarence Muse, Ernest Anderson, Maidie Norman, Shelby Bacon
George Washington Carver (1864-1943, scientist, botanist, educator and inventor)
18. Sister Kenny (1946)
Approved | 116 min | Biography, Drama
An Australian nurse discovers an effective new treatment for infantile paralysis, but experiences great difficulty in convincing doctors of the validity of her claims.
Director: Dudley Nichols | Stars: Rosalind Russell, Alexander Knox, Dean Jagger, Philip Merivale
Votes: 1,263
Elizabeth Kenny (1880-1952, developed treatment of poliomyelitis, established principles of muscle rehabilitation which became the foundation of physical therapy, or physiotherapy)
19. Madame Curie (1943)
Passed | 124 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
Despite himself, accomplished physicist and avowed bachelor Pierre Curie falls for brilliant student Marie, and together they embark on the discovery of radium.
Directors: Mervyn LeRoy, Albert Lewin | Stars: Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, Henry Travers, Albert Bassermann
Votes: 3,193
Marie Curie (1867-1934, physicist and chemist) and Pierre Curie (1859-1906, physicist)
20. Edison, the Man (1940)
Passed | 107 min | Biography, Drama
82 year old inventor and entrepreneur Thomas Alva Edison is honored in 1929 and he reflects back on his sixty year career of scientific achievement.
Director: Clarence Brown | Stars: Spencer Tracy, Rita Johnson, Lynne Overman, Charles Coburn
Votes: 1,777
Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931, inventor)
21. Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet (1940)
Approved | 103 min | Biography, Drama
True story of the doctor who considered it was not immoral to search for a drug that would cure syphillis.
Director: William Dieterle | Stars: Edward G. Robinson, Ruth Gordon, Otto Kruger, Donald Crisp
Votes: 1,831
Paul Ehrlich (1854-1915, physician and scientist who worked in the fields of hematology, immunology and chemotherapy)
22. The Story of Louis Pasteur (1936)
Passed | 86 min | Biography, Drama, History
The biography of the pioneering French microbiologist who helped revolutionize agriculture and medicine.
Director: William Dieterle | Stars: Paul Muni, Josephine Hutchinson, Anita Louise, Donald Woods
Votes: 3,156
Louis Pasteur (1822-1895, chemist and microbiologist)
23. October Sky (1999)
PG | 108 min | Biography, Drama, Family
The true story of Homer Hickam, a coal miner's son who was inspired by the first Sputnik launch to take up rocketry against his father's wishes.
Director: Joe Johnston | Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Chris Cooper, Laura Dern, Chris Owen
Votes: 98,097 | Gross: $32.48M
Homer Hickam (1943-, former NASA engineer)
24. Apollo 13 (I) (1995)
PG | 140 min | Adventure, Drama, History
NASA must devise a strategy to return Apollo 13 to Earth safely after the spacecraft undergoes massive internal damage putting the lives of the three astronauts on board in jeopardy.
Director: Ron Howard | Stars: Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon, Gary Sinise
Votes: 315,818 | Gross: $173.84M
James A. Lovell (1928-, Commander), John L. "Jack" Swigert (1931-1982, Command Module Pilot), Fred W. Haise (1933- , Lunar Module Pilot), Gene Kranz (1933-, Lead Flight Director White Team), Glynn Lunney (1936-, Flight Director Black Team), Milt Windler (Flight Director Maroon Team), Gerry Griffin (1934-, Flight Director Gold Team), and thousands of support personnel.
25. The Story of Alexander Graham Bell (1939)
Approved | 98 min | Biography, Drama, History
The story of how Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone.
Director: Irving Cummings | Stars: Don Ameche, Loretta Young, Henry Fonda, Charles Coburn
Votes: 1,194
Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922, scientist, inventor, engineer and innovator)
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