A great A&E film: Longitude

[Xavier_Onassis]

I rented this from Netflix.

It is a two-part series about the work of John Harrison, a Yorkshire carpenter, in the mid-1700's to devise a precise clock that would work at sea to determine longitude, by comparing solar time and the known precise time at the point of departure. There is also a parallel story about a naval officer subject to nervous breakdowns named Rupert who restored Harrison's clocks in the 1930's. It is fascinating and quite well done. Surely something Plane would enjoy.

[Amianthus]

Yeah, that's a good movie.

[Plane]

  I ought to look for it to see if you are right.

[Xavier_Onassis]

Netflix has it. It was a collaboration between A&E and the British Granada television. But it is more like a movie with regard to production values than a typical documentary. It tells the story of John Harrison and his son in the 1700's and Rupert Gould, the man who restored Harrison's timepieces in the 1900's.