If you made your way to the movie theater and watched Oppenheimer recently (or sat through the epic double feature event of Barbenheimer) but still wanted to know more about J. Robert Oppenheimer, then you're in luck. There are a number of documentaries about the famed physicist and "father of the atomic bomb."
The only downside is that as of August 1, one of the most well regarded documentaries is no longer available to stream for free.
The Criterion Channel, the streaming platform for The Criterion Collection movie company, had let anyone watch The Day After Trinity at no cost in the last few days of July, but as the calendar has flipped to August, you must now be a Criterion Channel subscriber in order to watch; it is the only place in the US currently streaming the documentary.
The Day After Trinity is one of the most acclaimed documentaries out there about Oppenheimer. Released in 1981, directed by Jon Else, the documentary uses interviews and archival footage to trace Oppenheimer's life, evolving "from architect of one of the most consequential endeavors of the twentieth century to an outspoken opponent of nuclear proliferation who came to deeply regret his role in ushering in the perils of the atomic age," reads The Criterion Channel page for the movie.
The movie was nominated for Best Documentary at the Oscars.
But The Day After Trinity isn't the only documentary about Oppenheimer and the creation of the atomic bomb available to watch online. Two of them are also available to watch for free on YouTube: an NBC News documentary from 1965 called Oppenheimer: The Decision to Drop the Bomb, where Oppenheimer and others discuss their motivations behind the first atomic bomb, and The Atomic Cafe from 1982, which combines newsreels, training videos, advertisements and military movies to chronicle the time period from the end of World War II through a good portion of the Cold War.
There are other documentaries that are available to rent as well through varying digital on-demand platforms. These include American Experience: The Trials of J. Robert Oppenheimer on Apple TV Plus, as well as a number available on Prime Video, including Trinity and Beyond, Countdown to Zero and Atomic: Living in Dread and Promise.
Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer, meanwhile, is playing exclusively in movie theaters.
