This movie was shown in the US under the title "Race for the Double Helix." I taped it many years ago and have watched it several times since. I like the history of science, and this movie does a good job of presenting the story accurately. I have read James Watson's book recounting the story. The movie was based on the book and follows it quite closely. My wife is a molecular biologist, and she tells me the science is well presented. A friend of ours got his doctoral degree in molecular biology under Watson and then did a post-doc under Crick. He told us that Watson said the film was well done and accurate, with one exception - Watson did not chew gum! Of course there are the routine Hollywood-type liberties to add drama and so on, but they are minor compared to the main thread of the story.
The discovery of the double helix was, in my opinion, one of the most consequential scientific discoveries of all time. For good or ill, it opened the door to genetic manipulation, modified crops, test tube babies, and so on. For that reason alone, it is an interesting story. There also was much rivalry involved in the quest, as the American title of the film suggests. Watson's book was quite forthright in explaining the rivalries. Several scientists connected with the story were somewhat miffed at the time Watson's book came out because they did not like science's dirty linen being put out in plain view for all to see. The kind of rivalry depicted in the book was contrary to the ideal presented to the public, of a grand brotherhood of researchers all sharing their discoveries and cheering each other on. That's not how it is at all. The rivalries are intense, jealousies are rampant, and there is even outright theft of ideas. The movie does a good job of presenting all that, even being quite explicit in a bit of dialog between J. T. Randall and Rosalind Franklin about the terrestrial and territorial nature of scientific research.
I fault the movie on some minor slips, mostly occasional trick photography that seems pointless and occasionally excessively dramatic dialog. I also was annoyed by the excessive abrasiveness of all the American characters in the movie, typical of BBC productions for quite some time. In terms of substance, there is one quibble I have. Rosalind Franklin is presented as completely admirable, typical of movies of the time that seemed to think it necessary to put important women on pedestals instead of treating them equally with men. In fact, Franklin's stubborn insistence on not following Maurice Wilkins's guess that DNA would be a helix prevented her from discovering the structure on her own before anyone else. She stayed stuck in a blind alley for quite some time ("the A form") before she turned her attention to the fruitful path (the helical structure of "the B form"), even though Wilkins's ideas suggested the helical structure.
Overall, the movie is excellent. For those who like the history of science, this movie is both exciting and informative.
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