Atomic Power! is an American short documentary film produced by The March of Time and released to theaters August 9, 1946, one year after the end of World War II. It is a recreation of the making of the atomic bomb leading up to the Trinity test. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short.
Production
Recreated Trinity footage with unsettling stagecraft.
Direction
Glenn's March of Time house style: newsreel as drama.
Writing
Narration treats atomic fire like a sports highlight reel.
Director
Jack Glenn
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The March of Time was TIME Magazine's film arm, essentially inventing the dramatized documentary format that influenced everything from propaganda to reality TV.
This lost the Oscar to a film about seed distribution, because Academy voters in 1946 apparently preferred agricultural content to nuclear anxiety.
US
