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The Sorcerer's Apprentice

The Sorcerer's Apprentice

  • Overview
  • Cast
  • Crew
  • Recommendations

Status

Released

Release Date

Jan 1, 1996

Runtime

1h 2m

Genres

Documentary, Drama

User Score

100%

Original Title

Les Apprentis Sorciers

Production Companies

TSR

Director

André Gazut

Description

60 years ago, in the Algerian desert, an atomic bomb, equivalent to three or even four times Hiroshima, exploded. Named the “Blue Gerboise”, it was the first atomic bomb tested by France, and of hitherto unrivaled power. This 70 kiloton plutonium bomb was launched in the early morning, in the Reggane region, in southern Algeria, during the French colonial era. If this test allowed France to become the 4th nuclear power in the world, it had catastrophic repercussions. France had, at the time, certified that the radiation was well below the standard safety threshold. However, in 2013, declassified files revealed that the level of radioactivity had been much higher than announced, and had been recorded from West Africa to the south of Spain.