This clip chosen to be PG
Clip description
Two US weathermen were exposed to dangerous levels of radiation when the US exploded a test hydrogen bomb in the Marshall Islands in 1954. Lamont Noley believes their exposure was the result of insufficient knowledge and care. Don Baker believes it was deliberate, part of a strategy to study the long-term effects of radiation exposure on humans.
Curator’s notes
As well as hundreds of Marshallese who were exposed to dangerous levels of radiation, a small number of US officials were also exposed. Their boat was one of many set up to monitor the weather conditions surrounding the blast and was stationed at Rongerik Atoll, on the edge of the nuclear fallout zone. These interviews are from two of the survivors, each of whom has a differing opinion as to what went wrong. O’Rourke’s technique of filming interviews in the subject’s homes, with normal family life going on around them, gives a real sense of immediacy and intimacy, making the content even more shocking. It is one of O’Rourke’s skills as an observational filmmaker. He gives his subjects the opportunity to speak for themselves and rarely uses narrative voice-over.
Thanks to the generosity of the rights holders, we are able to offer An ill wind from the documentary Half Life: A Parable for the Nuclear Age as a high quality video download.
To play the downloadable video, you need QuickTime 7.0, VLC, or similar.
You must read and agree to the following terms and conditions before downloading the clip:
australianscreen is produced by the National Film and Sound Archive. By using the website you agree to comply with the terms and conditions described elsewhere on this site. The NFSA may amend the 'Conditions of Use’ from time to time without notice.
All materials on the site, including but not limited to text, video clips, audio clips, designs, logos, illustrations and still images, are protected by the Copyright Laws of Australia and international conventions.
When you access australianscreen you agree that:
- You may retrieve materials for information only.
- You may download materials for your personal use or for non-commercial educational purposes, but you must not publish them elsewhere or redistribute clips in any way.
- You may embed the clip for non-commercial educational purposes including for use on a school intranet site or a school resource catalogue.
- The National Film and Sound Archive’s permission must be sought to amend any information in the materials, unless otherwise stated in notices throughout the Site.
All other rights reserved.
ANY UNAUTHORISED USE OF MATERIAL ON THIS SITE MAY RESULT IN CIVIL AND CRIMINAL LIABILITY.
This clip is available in the following configurations:
| File name | Size | Quality | Suitability |
|
halflife2_pr.mp4
|
Large: 14.9MB |
High |
Optimised for full-screen display on a fast computer. |
|
halflife2_bb.mp4
|
Medium: 7.0MB |
Medium |
Can be displayed full screen. Also suitable for video iPods. |
Right-click on the links above to download video files to your computer.
Thanks to the generosity of the rights holders, we are able to offer this clip in an embeddable format for personal or non-commercial educational use in full form on your own website or your own blog.
You must read and agree to the following terms and conditions before embedding the clip:
australianscreen is produced by the National Film and Sound Archive. By using the website you agree to comply with the terms and conditions described elsewhere on this site. The NFSA may amend the 'Conditions of Use’ from time to time without notice.
All materials on the site, including but not limited to text, video clips, audio clips, designs, logos, illustrations and still images, are protected by the Copyright Laws of Australia and international conventions.
When you access australianscreen you agree that:
- You may retrieve materials for information only.
- You may download materials for your personal use or for non-commercial educational purposes, but you must not publish them elsewhere or redistribute clips in any way.
- You may embed the clip for non-commercial educational purposes including for use on a school intranet site or a school resource catalogue.
- The National Film and Sound Archive’s permission must be sought to amend any information in the materials, unless otherwise stated in notices throughout the Site.
All other rights reserved.
ANY UNAUTHORISED USE OF MATERIAL ON THIS SITE MAY RESULT IN CIVIL AND CRIMINAL LIABILITY.
Copy and paste the following code into your own web page to embed this clip:
Share
