Einstein Tonight 2004
Distributed by Chip Taylor Communications, 2 East View Drive, Derry, NH 03038-4812; 800-876-CHIP (2447)
Producer n/a
Director n/a
VHS, color, 52 min.
Jr. High - Adult
Biography, Drama, Science
Date Entered: 10/10/2005
Reviewed by Gerald Notaro, University Librarian, Nelson Poynter Memorial Library, University of South Florida, St. PetersburgEinstein Tonight has the feel of a film festival short and not the biographical drama on which it is based. In fact, it is a strange choice to be included in Chip Taylor's Biographies Series.
It is a fantasy/satire where Albert Einstein comes to Winnipeg by bus to appear on the Art Simon television show. When he arrives and checks into the local small hotel he befriends Sarah, a young Native American girl. He plays the violin for her, explains the stars, and brings her to a video arcade. Talk show host Art Simon treats his appearance as one similar to Hal Holbrook in Mark Twain Tonight, surely the inspiration for the video's title. Albert uses the venue to explain his Theory of Relativity, the only time the video rises above mediocrity. Perhaps better the title Relativity Tonight. Sarah appears in the studio to sit on the set. The lights dim and Albert describes his experiences in Germany before fleeing to the United States. He answers Art's question about his theories on energy leading to the construction of the atom bomb. He leaves the studio, he leaves the hotel, and leaves town on a bus. Though the stage production of Einstein may have been interesting, the resulting film is not.