Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story (2017) Reviews

• Fascinating Documentary

  larrys32018-04-26

  Fascinating documentary on the gorgeous, brilliant, and complicated screen star Hedy Lamarr. Her beauty was known to all, even serving as the inspiration for the face of Disney's Snow White. Yet few, including myself , knew of her inventing genius, and how one of her patents (frequency hopping) would serve in later years as an important part of cell phone, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and military technology. All in all, I thought this was an exceptional documentary filled with surprises.

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• A Straight forward biography we should all see and learn from

  ayoreinf2017-07-18

  No trick photography, no special gimmicks. Nothing out of the ordinary is needed when the life story we're presented with is so unique. The Hedy Lamarr story is way more than a biography of an old timer who used to be a Hollywood star. It's more than the story of "the most beautiful woman in the world" whose talents well exceeded her beauty. It's a story of our failings as a society when faced with whatever defied the conventions we live by. And the tragedy of those that wouldn't fit under the labels we like to stick on whoever crosses our path. To put it in a single sentence it's a story most of us know nothing about but all of us should. If you do get the chance just go see it.

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• Totally underrated and unappreciated during her lifetime

  bettycjung2018-04-25

  4/25/18. This is a really well done biopic about an underrated actress who got her just due with this film. I really liked her in Samson and Delilah although I haven't seen any of her other movies. Over the years I have heard her mentioned as an inventor and thought that was a curious fact to share about an actress. This biopic goes into enough detail for the viewer to understand just how intelligent Lamarr was in electronics and that her inventions are still being used in our time through the technology we use. Sadly, she was never compensated for her patents. If she was she wouldn't have lived such a hardscrabble life in her later years and had all that plastic surgery that really ruined her face. It is somewhat sad to see how such a talented woman had a series of unhappy marriages that emotionally ruined her and how Hollywood never gave her the recognition she wanted and so truly deserved. Worth catching.

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• 88 Keys

  clarkj-565-1613362017-11-25

  Fascinating look at the life and work of Hedy Lamarr. About five years ago, I distinctly remember reading in an electrical engineering journal about the inventions of Hedy in the field of telecommunications. I rushed to the local library and sure enough there were several books about her. It was such a pleasure to see this documentary. It tied it all together for me. We learn a good deal about her early life and upbringing and her start in the European Film business. Like many European artists, Hedy was alarmed at the rise of Fascism and decided for a better life in America. We also learn about the early studio system, both the positive aspects and also about some of the negative ones, which are front and centre with the public these days. Hedy was a multi faceted artist/inventor and we see her forming collaborative relationships with all sorts of people from avant-garde pianists to airplane designers! She was certainly a modern day Ada Lovelace.

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• Touching, moving, edifying

  futuretype2017-11-30

  For some reason I thought it was going to be a bio epic.  I wondered who they would get to play Ms. Lamar.  Using archival footage, stills and a recording of an interview with the star they got Hedy Lamar to play Hedy Lamar.  It was a moving touching history of a woman who had many accomplishments. She helped Howard Hughes design better planes by studying streamlining in birds and fishes.  She invented Frequency Hopping (along with composer George Antheil).  She founded Aspen as a ski resort.  She produced movies (unheard of for a woman at the time).  She came up with techniques on cosmetic surgery to hide the scars.  Unfortunately she also became a poster child for reasons not to undergo the operation.  Her unsuccessful surgeries probably added to her being a recluse. She wanted to be recognized for her mind and not her beauty.  Yet she married a series of men who treated her as a trophy wife.  Her most famous contribution to science was in devising a system for secret transmissions (frequency hopping).  It's greater value was not realized until the advent of GPS, Bluetooth and WiFi. She was recognized/honoured for her invention at a Science Forum which she opted not to attend but left a recording played by her son.  The film showed her phoning halfway through the presentation to ask how it went.  Her son advises that he is in the middle of it and that he loves her. Frequency hopping has multiple inventors. In 1899 Marconi performed an experiment using the technique.  Nikola Tesla received a patent in 1903.  German military used frequency hopping in World War One.  A Polish inventor, Leonard Danilewicz had the idea in 1929.  In 1942 a patent was awarded to Hedy Lamar.  In 1980 a Winnipeg filmmaker originated the idea (called Variable Transmission Broadcast) as a plot device to represent Norway in a symbolic re-enactment of World War Two where rival transportation companies, representing Germany and England, sought to steal the idea symbolic of invading Norway (both sides wanted to).  The film did not get made but it is ironic that frequency hopping technology of Bluetooth has Scandanavian roots.  Ray Zinn gained a patent in 2006 for his version.  Slight improvements justify issuing new patents. Although she had raised $25 million for the War effort her patent was confiscated based on her being a foreign alien (having been born in Austria). The navy had secretly used her technology some ten years later.  She would have been entitled to royalty payments if she had known.  She also didn't know that you can only go back six years from the time one launches a lawsuit.  It is not enough to have a patent; one has to Police it to see if being infringed; Prosecute (take it to court); Prove it was your idea they stole; and Profit* for the effort By the time she found out her patent had long expired. The film covers her being exploited as a movie star and inventor and innovator.  This late tribute values her contributions and recognizes her pioneering roles. * back then you could recover costs - today that provision has been taken away.  So it is profitable to steal patents and only pay royalties once losing in court (happens may be one time in eight that an inventor sues).  See "Flash of Genius".

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