Lost at Sea: The Search for Longitude (1998)

Lost at Sea: The Search for Longitude

1998

Adventure Documentary Drama History TV Movie

Synopsis

It was one of humankind's most epic quests - a technical problem so complex that it challenged the best minds of its time, a problem so important that the nation that solved it would rule the economy of the world. The problem was navigation by sea—how to know where you were when you sailed beyond the sight of land - establishing your longitude. While the gentry of the 18th Century looked to the stars for the answer, an English clockmaker, John Harrison, toiled for decades to solve the problem. His elegant solution made him an unlikely hero and remains the basis for the most modern forms of navigation in the world today. This film will be both a celebration of Harrison's invention and an adventure story. An expedition on a period sailing vessel as it sails the open sea will demonstrate the life and death importance of finding your longitude at sea.

Credits

Director

Peter Jones

Cast

Patrick Malahide as John Harrison

Richard Dreyfuss as Narrator

Crew

Martin Brody (Additional Music)

Mason Daring (Additional Music)

Angela Oakhill (Associate Producer)

Dava Sobel (Book)

Brian McDairmant (Director of Photography)