Movies About Inventors

From Morten Tyldum, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Allen Leech
Rated PG-13

The Imitation Game is a 2014 historical drama film directed by Morten Tyldum and written by Graham Moore. It stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Alan Turing, a British mathematician and logician who cracked the German Enigma code during World War II and helped the Allies win the war. The film also stars Keira Knightley, Mark Strong, Matthew Goode, and Charles Dance. The story follows Turing as he works with a team of cryptanalysts at the British code-breaking center at Bletchley Park, as they attempt to crack the Enigma code and decipher coded German messages. After they achieve success, Turing must then deal with the prejudice of the time and conceal his homosexuality, which was illegal. The film is a gripping, moving, and ultimately triumphant tale of a genius who helped to change the course of history.

From Kevin Macdonald, starring Simon Yates, Joe Simpson, Brendan Mackey, Nicholas Aaron
Rated R

"Touching the Void" is a 2003 British documentary film directed by Kevin Macdonald. It tells the story of two climbers, Joe Simpson and Simon Yates, and their disastrous and near-fatal attempt to climb the 6,344-meter (20,813 ft) Siula Grande in the Cordillera Huayhuash in the Peruvian Andes in 1985. After summiting, Simpson falls and breaks his leg, leading to a harrowing journey back down the mountain. Yates is forced to make a difficult decision between his own survival and his loyalty to Simpson, ultimately deciding to abandon him. Despite being separated and facing immense physical and mental challenges, both men miraculously survive the ordeal. The film features interviews with Simpson and Yates, intercut with dramatized re-enactments of their climb and subsequent descent.

From David Fincher, starring Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake, Rooney Mara
Rated PG-13

The Social Network is a 2010 biographical drama film directed by David Fincher and written by Aaron Sorkin. It tells the story of Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg), the founder of the social networking website Facebook, and how he rose to success. The film explores themes of ambition, betrayal, and wealth as Zuckerberg's relationships with his friends and colleagues are tested. Along the way, he tries to manage legal issues that arise from his creation of the website, and eventually becomes one of the wealthiest and most influential people in the world. The film received critical acclaim and earned eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director.

From Penny Marshall, starring Robert De Niro, Robin Williams, Julie Kavner, Ruth Nelson
Rated PG-13

Awakenings is a 1990 American drama film directed by Penny Marshall, based on Oliver Sacks’ 1973 nonfiction book of the same name. It stars Robin Williams and Robert De Niro, and tells the true story of Dr. Malcolm Sayer (Williams), a neurologist who discovers that an experimental drug called L-Dopa enables the catatonic patients in an asylum where he works to come out of their frozen states. Although initially hesitant, Dr. Sayer eventually decides to try the medicine out on the patients, including Leonard Lowe (De Niro), a man whose body has been completely rigid for the past thirty years. Through the course of the film, Dr. Sayer and Leonard experience a heartbreaking, yet ultimately life-affirming journey with each other and the other patients.

From Theodore Melfi, starring Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monáe, Kevin Costner
Rated PG

Hidden Figures is a 2016 American biographical drama film directed by Theodore Melfi and written by Melfi and Allison Schroeder. The film stars Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monáe as three African-American women working at NASA who serve as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in history: the launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit, a stunning achievement that restored the nation’s confidence, turned around the Space Race, and galvanized the world. Based on the book of the same name, the film follows Katherine G. Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson as they face racism and sexism while working at NASA in the early 1960s, at a time when the U.S. was competing with the Soviet Union to put a man in space. Despite the odds, their brilliance, courage and tenacity help launch America into space.

From Ron Howard, starring Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon, Gary Sinise
Rated PG

Apollo 13 is a 1995 American space docudrama directed by Ron Howard and starring Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton, Gary Sinise, and Ed Harris. It chronicles the aborted 1970 Apollo 13 lunar mission and the struggles of the three astronauts on board, Jim Lovell (Hanks), Jack Swigert (Bacon), and Fred Haise (Paxton). After an explosion on board their spacecraft, they must work together to find a way to make it back to Earth safely. Meanwhile, their families, NASA ground personnel, and other astronauts face the uncertainty of the mission’s outcome. The film features a stirring soundtrack by James Horner and is based on the true story of the Apollo 13 mission.

From James Marsh, starring Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones, Tom Prior, Sophie Perry
Rated PG-13

The Theory of Everything is a biographical romantic drama film directed by James Marsh. The movie tells the story of the life of Stephen Hawking, the renowned theoretical physicist and his struggle with motor neuron disease. It covers Hawking's early days as a student at Cambridge University up until his world-renowned success in the scientific community. Along the way, it explores his relationship with his first wife, Jane Wilde, and the challenges that come from balancing his personal life and professional ambitions. Through a combination of archival footage, interviews, and dramatization, the film presents a vivid portrait of a brilliant man whose life story was marked by resilience and determination.

From Martin Scorsese, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett, Kate Beckinsale, John C. Reilly
Rated PG-13

The Aviator is a biopic directed by Martin Scorsese that follows the life of aviation pioneer and film producer Howard Hughes. It stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Hughes and details his life from the late 1920s to the 1940s. Hughes was an eccentric genius whose business empire spanned the world, and whose personal life was plagued by his mental illness. His dedication to aviation and film-making ensured his place in history, and the film follows his struggles with his own demons and the criticism he faced from the public and the government. It culminates in Hughes finally achieving closure to the legacy he had worked so hard to build.

From Peter Weir, starring Jim Sturgess, Ed Harris, Colin Farrell, Dragos Bucur
Rated PG-13

From Damien Chazelle, starring Ryan Gosling, Claire Foy, Jason Clarke, Kyle Chandler
Rated PG-13

From Directors: Joachim Rønning, Espen Sandberg, starring Pål Sverre Hagen, Anders Baasmo, Gustaf Skarsgård, Odd-Magnus Williamson
Rated PG-13

From Matt Brown, starring Dev Patel, Jeremy Irons, Malcolm Sinclair, Raghuvir Joshi
Rated PG-13

From Morgan Matthews, starring Asa Butterfield, Rafe Spall, Sally Hawkins, Eddie Marsan
Rated PG-13

From Jon Amiel, starring Paul Bettany, Jennifer Connelly, Ian Kelly, Guy Henry
Rated PG-13

From Roland Joffé, starring Paul Newman, Dwight Schultz, Bonnie Bedelia, John Cusack
Rated PG-13

From Marjane Satrapi, starring Rosamund Pike, Yvette Feuer, Mirjam Novak, Ralph Berkin
Rated PG-13

From Joshua Michael Stern, starring Ashton Kutcher, Dermot Mulroney, Josh Gad, Lukas Haas
Rated PG-13

From Werner Herzog, starring Nicole Kidman, James Franco, Robert Pattinson, Damian Lewis
Rated PG-13