jimjamjonny39 In 1920 Rupert Gould gained permission to restore John Harrison's chronometers. A self-educated English carpenter and clock maker who helped solve the longitude sea voyages safely and accurately. Something which is almost taken for granted now, nearly 300 years later. East and West points were necessary before the time of his designed watch, (which is why the Longitude prize was offered) as there were many errors calculating the previous to the current position, sometimes causing shipwrecks, with many lives lost, especially on longer voyages. This is two stories in one and flicks back and forth over the course of the storytelling. Captain James Cook navigated the South Pacific using a copy of Harrison's' 4th chronometer, praised it and made charts so accurate that copies of them were still in use in the mid-20th century.

Wezqu I bought this movie on DVD and it ended up costing me just few euros. Didn't except much but was intrigued by its historical settings and actors presented on the cover of the DVD. When I started to watch it I noticed that I was glued to my seat for the rest of the movie. When it was over I realized I could not find any flaw in this movie and its now considered to be one of my favorite movies.The story or should I say stories are both great. Transitioning between the original creator of the clocks in 1800's and the veteran of the first world war, who takes its his personal quest to find the clocks and fix them to working condition, is handled marvelously. In the end this is a story of unappreciated persons in two points of history who both are connected by the obsession to the most precise time there can be.I recommend this movie to anyone interested in history or people that enjoy great movies. From me it gets full ten points.

Imnozy Longitude is an example of the very best in television drama. Based on a true story, meticulously acted and directed, this is the type of movie that the British do better than anyone else in the world.The performances of the two principals, Michael Gambon and Jeremy Irons were awe inspiring, the excellent supporting cast did not let them down.What on the surface sounds like a dry story - the search for a means of accurately determining longitude at sea - and the obsession many years later of a returned WW1 soldier with locating and restoring the devices invented for that purpose - was turned into a genuine cliffhanger by the producers. Initially I found the switching from one story to another somewhat disconcerting, but it was done so well that it soon felt quite comfortable.This is the story of one man's lifelong trial and error search to perfect his devices and to win the prize offered for the solution to the longitude problem. Against all odds and at great damage to his health he and his son eventually succeeded. Interspersed with this is the story of another man centuries later who was determined to locate & restore the devices and to ensure their preservation for future generations.I can really recommend this show to anyone with an enquiring mind, who enjoys a fascinating story, excellently told.

TxMike Dec2004 update: I did eventually buy the DVD set, and it is very nice."Longitude" is a towering achievement as a movie. Shown in 4 hours on A&E network, I taped it to skip the commercials and was able to watch it in just over 3 hours. I only give ratings of "10" to truly remarkable movies, and this is one. It helps to be a scientist, and to have had a life-long fascination with navigation and timepieces.The story is historical - the British government passed an act in the early 1700s for a prize of 20,000 Pounds for the first to provide an accurate and practical means of establishing longitude at sea. A Board of Longitude,comprising self-important scientists, would judge when the challenge was met.John Harrison, a carpenter who understood the sun's apparent movement with the Earth's rotation, figured you could do it with a very accurate clock. He, with help from his son William, did it over a period of about 50 years, and met all conditions with his 4th clock, but the board kept throwing up roadblocks to avoid giving the award to someone who was not a scientist but a mere "carpenter." Finally, when Harrison was 80, ironically in the year 1776, was given the prize by Parliament. He died only two years later.The ancient story was interwoven with a WWII-era story of a man, played by Jeremy Irons, who undertook to restore all of Harrison's old clocks, and finally succeeded against similar resistance that Harrison had faced.If you either are not a scientist, or do not appreciate the magnitude of Harrison's effort, and its contribution to modern navigation, then it is possible that you would find this movie somewhat boring. Do yourself a favor - don't waste your time. For me, it remains one of the absolute best movies I have ever seen, both in significance of the story and the mastery of the acting and direction.