I agree with most of the comments: story, acting, directing, cinematography - everything is extraordinary in this wonderful movie. One thing that I should add is that it is not often that an adaptation turns out richer, deeper and simply more exciting than the book it is based on. With Longitude it is exactly the case. I first read Dava Sobel's Longitude for my History of Science class many years ago. Albeit little dull at times, overall I liked it, it was a nice piece and time well spent. It was a story of the life-time work and struggle of John Harrison, the inventor of the first precise marine chronometer which allowed to solve the problem of finding longitude at sea. The movie however is much more complex and profound. What makes the it richer than the book is that there is not one but two parallel story lines. There is that of Harrison and there is also the story of Rupert Gould, the man who restored Harrison's machines in the first half of the 20th century, almost 200 hundred years after their creation. In the book, Gould is mentioned only accidentally in one of the last chapters. In the movie however, Gould is one of the two protagonists. As we learn from the Behind the Scenes, this was the idea of the director Charles Sturridge. A most brilliant idea, I should say.

Touching upon a subject that sounds about as dull as ditchwater, 'Longitude' brought into focus one of the standards of measurement that we nowadays take sublimely for granted. How easy it is to forget, in our simple, mundane lives, the single-minded search of scientists and engineers who laid down the fabric of modern knowledge and the means to express it. Whole lives often became dedicated to resolving an individual problem or attaining some obscure goal.The programme added further interest by interplaying a story of instrument restoration with its original creation and perfection, shifting from one period of history and another.This mini-series (available edited on DVD) had me completely enthralled in a way that I'm rather ashamed to say a documentary might not. The splendid drama helped to drive home the personal intensity of research and painstaking craft in its execution, as well as their implications for family. There was also great insight into the politics of the day. Irons and Gambon set a masterclass in their respective roles. Though, as with all of the best British drama, everyone played their parts to a nicety. Sets, styles, costumes and even period manners were very well observed.Because so much has been discovered by so many, especially since the enlightenment, 'history' tends to concentrate unfairly upon the 'sexy' and dramatic issues like wars, nation-building and so forth. Even when science is touched upon, it is usually preoccupied with the power to amaze. Yet so much in our acquisition of knowledge was down to dogged determination over years rather than 'eureka moments'. This programme wasn't just an excellent way of revealing the issues of longitude - which it did in a most interesting way - it also served as a microcosm of scientific steadfastness as a whole. We all know the big names, but in their shadows stand many many more without whom even those big names would likely have been unsung. As Isaac Newton himself once observed 'If I see further than other men it's because I stand on the shoulders of giants'.Very highly recommended, both as a drama and source of education.

I thought this film was over-long, in particular the Gould/Irons story was boring and irrelevant, and the piece would have benefited by cutting this bit out altogether.Being a firm believer that truth is stranger and more interesting than fiction I was also disappointed by the sensationalising of events. This sort of dumbing-down of history is a real insult to viewers. The plot took the easy option at every point - the "Board" are villains from start to finish, Harrison not only proves his clock works but saves the bacon of the of ship or fleet at every turn, the proponents of the rival astronomical systems are all bungling fools. All nice cosy escapism I suppose. However, the acting was fine and the production values superb.

A&E's "Longitude" is perhaps the most emotionally compelling, made for TV dramas yet. I was so impressed when I first saw Longitude on A&E that I had to buy it on DVD the minute it came out. A highly realistic, fully drawn out, historical drama of how one man's dream tamed time and space, "Longitude" strikes home with its all-star cast (including Jeremy Irons and Micheal Gambon) and two-part storyline. The first story is that of a carpenter, John Harrison, who struggled for almost 50 years to perfect a "practical and useful" marine chronometer. The second story revolves around Commander Rupert Gould, a man who discovers Harrison's forgotten prototypes and fights to not only restore the timepieces but to also restore the honor of Harrison."Longitude" is filled with tons of edge-of-your-seat, gritty scenes, and every second of the 200-minute film glows with a profound message. The ending scene is especially powerful, in which Rupert Gould remarks, "What makes a man great? A man may be great in his aims, or in his achievements, or in both...but I think that man is truly great who makes the world his debtor..who does something for the world which the world needs, and which nobody before him has done or known how to do."Definitely a great educational film to watch, and an excellent film to own. "Longitude" is an unforgettable experience and a demonstration of just how good a movie can be.