Cubussoli Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Griff Lees Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

Loui Blair It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

Deanna There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

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.

Philby-3 WARNING - may contain spoiler for the historically challengedDava Sobel, one-time science writer at the New York Times, wrote a little book published in 1995 on the 18th century search for a reliable method for determining longitude at sea. Since longitude is time, essentially, it seemed that the solution might lie in accurate time-pieces, and John Harrison, a carpenter from the North of England who had already built some superb wooden church clocks, decided to have a crack at the 20,000 pound prize put up for a solution. But he had rivals, not fellow clock makers but astronomers who thought that their understanding of the celestial clockwork, the motions of the heavens, would give them a solution. The astronomers, being generally an upper-class lot, and having representatives on the Board of Longitude which supervised the contest, had the edge, but in the end after over thirty years of clock-building, and trials at sea and in the committee-room, Harrison won, more or less, as his clock was far easier to use that the cumbersome lunar observation method worked out by the astronomers (`the lunatics' as Harrison dubbed them).The producers here have turned this relatively simple tale into an epic spanning 70 years or so of maritime history. There are over 80 speaking parts, numerous voyages, a naval action or two, and endless committee meetings. Despite early success with his larger carriage style clocks, Harrison, wonderfully played by Michael Gambon, strikes continuing obstacles thrown up by the Board (he has not the guile to go round them), but plods on, latterly with the aid of his son William, until at last the Board is shamed into paying him for the invention, though the actual prize is never awarded. You can beat City Hall, at least if you get the mayor onside. A youthful and then fairly sane George III, a keen `natural philosopher' (scientist) eventually took an interest in Harrison's case and put pressure on the Board.There's not a lot to say about this British production (made with A & E money), which is fine. The parallel story of war-damaged Rupert Gould (Jeremy Irons) who dedicated himself to restoring Harrison's clocks in the 1920s, destroying his marriage and social standing in the process, is artfully intercut with the main tale and works as a kind of a coda to Harrison's story, though it comes perilously close to interfering with it sometimes. We spend a lot of time at sea, visit Jamaica and Barbados, and get a fairly good picture of the beastliness of the 18th century sailor's lot. Without a doubt things were better at the end than at the beginning of the century in the Navy, partly due to Captain Cook and sauerkraut, but Harrison's work made an enormous difference to life at sea, once his designs were produced in quantity. The British can legitimately be proud of Harrison, if not the upper-class twits who tried to thwart him, and here they have paid him appropriate tribute.

dmnkeen Being a big fan of Dava Sobel's bestselling book, I wondered how this intricate and, on the face of it, not particularly exciting story would translate to the screen.For the most part, director Sturridge has succeeded and with a sterling cast headed by Michael Gambon, Ian Hart, et al, really brought the race to resolve the longitude problem to brilliant life.Unfortunately, for me, the overall effect was disastrously marred by the framework narrative involving Jeremy Irons, which did not really add to the central drama. Every time Irons with his haughty-taughty constipated look appeared, I found myself counting the minutes until we were back in the thick of the real action and the real story involving Gambon.Nevertheless, this was a really accomplished production. Maybe when they repeat it or release it on video they could whittle it down to the bare necessities of the story and leave Irons on the cutting room floor.7/10

afuller *Possible spoilers follow*I had the pleasure of viewing Longitude on A & E last night after finding my self intrigued by the ads they had run during the day. Prior to seeing it, I must confess that I had been ignorant of the struggles of John Harrison or Dava Sobel's chronicle of them. Even though I was initially dismayed that the film appeared to be a British costume drama I decided to give it a chance. I am thankful I did, because I was absolutely engrossed after no more than thirty minutes. The overall premise is man's quest to determine an accurate method of determining his longitude to navigate the seas more safely. This hook is presented right at the beginning of the film and the title of the film is explained. As we will see later in the film, this problem is not easily solved. In this day and age of satellite GPS we find it amazing that such a great effort was undertaken to obtain information we take for granted on a daily basis. What makes the film work is that we experience this epic quest from two extremely intense personal struggles. Michael Gambon does not become John Harrison...Gambon IS Harrison! In this life, I will be privileged to view another performance as convincing as Gambon's. The net effect of this is to communicate Harrison's passion for solving the longitude problem and create great empathy within the viewer. However, what truly elevates "Longitude" as a film is the segues to and from the struggles of Rupert Gould, a brilliant man who became obsessed with the restoration and preservation of the Harrison chronometers in the first half of this century. Jeremy Irons' portrayal of Gould is nearly a match of Gambon's. Gould is presented as a kindred spirit to Harrison, and the interweave of both men's tales is deftly handled. Their triumphs and failures are layered upon one another, and this only serves to heighten the emotion evoked by the film. Believe me, emotion is evoked in spades as we see Harrison and Gould question their capabilities as engineers and scientists, whether or not the pursuit of their dreams is worth the opposition of the establishment, and if those same dreams are worth the sacrifice of their interpersonal relationships. There are several moving moments between Harrison and his faithful son William who is also magnificently played by Ian Hart. These personal struggles and triumphs are what drive the film and make the story of the solution to the longitude problem so compelling. "Longitude" is an utterly magnificent achievement of filmed entertainment that enlightens and moves the viewer with its epic yet intimate portrayal of a man attempting to solve a problem we find simple today but was considered the greatest scientific quandary of its time.