A Brief History of Time (film)

A Brief History of Time
VHS cover
Directed by	Errol Morris
Produced by	David Hickman Executive: Gordon Freedman Colin Ewing Uncredited Steven Spielberg Kathleen Kennedy
Written by	Stephen Hawking
Based on	A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking
Starring	Stephen Hawking
Music by	Philip Glass
Cinematography	John Bailey Stefan Czapsky
Edited by	Brad Fuller
Production company	Amblin Entertainment Anglia Television Channel Four Films Cineplex Odeon Films Elstree Studios Tokyo Broadcasting System
Distributed by	Triton Pictures
Release dates	October 1991 (1991-10) (Los Angeles) January 1992 (1992-01) (Sundance) August 21, 1992 (1992-08-21)
Running time	80 minutes
Country	United States United Kingdom Japan
Language	English
Box office	$2.3 million

A Brief History of Time is a 1991 biographical documentary film about the physicist Stephen Hawking, directed by Errol Morris. The title derives from Hawking's bestselling book A Brief History of Time, but whereas the book is an explanation of cosmology, the film is a biography of Hawking's life, featuring interviews with family members, colleagues, and even his childhood nanny. The music is by frequent Morris collaborator, Philip Glass.

The film project originated with executive producer Gordon Freedman who brought the project to Anglia Television as a co-producer. After acquiring the property, Freedman met with director Steven Spielberg for advice on how to make the project into an important documentary film. Spielberg suggested Errol Morris as director. Freedman's production company partnered with Anglia Television and Tokyo Broadcasting. David Hickman, of Anglia, become the film's producer.

Reception

A Brief History of Time received largely positive reviews. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film currently holds a 93% rating based on 15 reviews. On Metacritic, the film has a 78/100 rating based on 12 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Availability

The film was released on VHS in the early 1990s, but remained unreleased via DVD and Blu-ray Disc until 2014, when The Criterion Collection issued a release on April 15, 2014.

External links

• A Brief History of Time at IMDb
• A Brief History of Time at Box Office Mojo
• A Brief History of Time at Rotten Tomatoes
• A Brief History of Time at Metacritic
• A Brief History of Time from ErrolMorris.com

Awards
Preceded by American Dream	Sundance Grand Jury Prize: Documentary 1992	Succeeded by Children of Fate