A Brief History of Time
Errol Morris turns Stephen Hawking’s cosmic ideas and personal history into an intimate portrait of intellect, disability, and human resilience.
Overview
Explore the mind of a genius as he navigates the complexities of time and space.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- None
- reflective
- intimate
- inspiring
- educational viewing
- quiet evening
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film as an inventive, moving, and intellectually accessible portrait of Stephen Hawking that balances biography with cosmology.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The film foregrounds interviews with Stephen Hawking’s relatives, friends, and classmates alongside his lectures and scientific work.
Black holes, time, and cosmology are explained through audiovisual material that expands beyond conventional talking-head documentary form.
Hawking’s scientific identity is presented in close relation to motor neuron disease and his changing bodily circumstances.
Lectures and physics are interwoven with testimony from Hawking’s mother, sister, aunt, friends, and classmates.
Films like A Brief History of Time, and why
The Fog of War
biographical documentary portrait combining intimate interviews with intellectually ambitious scientific ideas
The Unknown Known
innovative documentary filmmaking centered on a complex public intellectual and personal history
My Architect
humanistic portrait of a celebrated thinker balancing public achievement with private vulnerability
Movie Details
- Director
- Errol Morris
- Release Date
- 1991-10-01
- Runtime
- 80 min
- Rating
- 7.2 / 10 (133)
Cast
- Stephen Hawking
- Isobel Hawking
- Janet Humphrey
- Mary Hawking
- Basil King
- Derek Powney
- Norman Dix
- Robert Berman
- Gordon Berry
- Roger Penrose
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- HBO Max Amazon Channel, Criterion Channel, HBO Max
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is A Brief History of Time about?
- Errol Morris turns Stephen Hawking’s cosmic ideas and personal history into an intimate portrait of intellect, disability, and human resilience.
- What is A Brief History of Time like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of A Brief History of Time as measured, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as layered.
- Is A Brief History of Time violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in A Brief History of Time.
- What did critics think of A Brief History of Time?
- Critics broadly praised the film as an inventive, moving, and intellectually accessible portrait of Stephen Hawking that balances biography with cosmology.
- Which films are like A Brief History of Time?
- Films with a similar feel include The Fog of War, The Unknown Known, and My Architect.
- How long is A Brief History of Time?
- A Brief History of Time runs 80 minutes.
- Where can I watch A Brief History of Time?
- In United States, A Brief History of Time streams on HBO Max Amazon Channel, Criterion Channel, HBO Max.
