Given that engineers are responsible for many of the most exciting innovations in human history, it's little wonder that they're often featured in Hollywood movies. Whether it's as the obligatory 'brains' in an action/adventure ensemble or as the subject of an Oscar-baiting biopic, engineers are a common sight on celluloid.
The latest addition to the canon of films explicitly focused on engineering is 'Hidden Figures', a forthcoming biopic of the pioneering physicist, space scientist, and mathematician Katherine Johnson who, along with her colleagues Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson, made a crucial but often overlooked contribution to the American 'Space Race' of the 1960s.
The problem with putting engineering on film is that while it can be an exciting job, it isn't always a particularly glamorous one. This means that Hollywood productions often have to take major creative liberties in order to make engineering stories interesting and accessible to the casual viewer - occasionally simplifying or wildly distorting the scientific work that goes behind it.
For this week's discussion, we'd like to hear about some of your favourite - and least favourite - films about or heavily featuring engineers. Which films do you believe do the best job of accurately portraying the profession? And which ones got it painfully wrong?
To kick things off, here are five of the most celebrated films that feature engineering in some form.
A Beautiful Mind (2001)
Russell Crowe was nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of mathematician and Nobel Laureate John Nash in this 2001 biopic from director Ron Howard. The film was widely praised, although drew some criticism for making major divergences from the facts of Nash's life, and watering down the discussions of Nash's pioneering work.
Apollo 13 (1995)
One of the most iconic and oft-quoted movies of all time, Apollo 13 manages the tricky balancing act of depicting the heroism of the real-life engineers who safely brought the crew of the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission back to earth, without sacrificing the technical accuracy behind the story .
October Sky (1999)
An early breakthrough role for actor Jake Gyllenhaal, October Sky is based on the bestselling autobiographical novel of the same name by former NASA engineer Homer Hickam. Although only a modest success on release, it has been praised for its inspiring story and positive depiction of a bright young science student.
Contact (1997)
Based on the 1985 novel by Carl Sagan, Contact presents a more thoughtful and philosophical approach to the science fiction genre, starring Jodie Foster as a SETI scientist who discovers a signal that appears to be a message from an extraterrestrial being.
The Imitation Game (2014)
Although criticised in some quarters for the questionable accuracy of its story, this blockbuster based on the life and work of Alan Turing - who decrypted German intelligence codes for the British government during World War II - was a major critical and commercial success, with star Benedict Cumberbatch particularly praised for his depiction of the tormented cryptanalyst, who tragically took his own life in 1954 after undergoing chemical castration as a result of his homosexuality.
Have we missed your favourite film about engineers? What about the ones that get it spectacularly wrong? Let us know your picks for the best and worst engineering movies in the comments section below.
