Particle Fever

Near Geneva, the Large Hadron Collider is about to be switched on. The documentary follows six physicists, some the engineers building the experiment, some theorists who have waited years for a result. What they are after is the Higgs boson, and the mass they find will decide which of two opposing theories of the universe survives. Mark Levinson directed; he holds a doctorate in particle physics himself. The most important technical name is at the editing bench: Walter Murch, editor of Apocalypse Now and The English Patient, who gives abstract scientific material a dramatic structure. The first attempt to run the machine in 2008 failing after nine days, and the team waiting more than a year, carries the first half. The announcement of 4 July 2012 was recorded directly, reactions in the hall included. The film looks at people rather than formulas; a theorist living with the possibility that the idea he gave his life to is wrong is its emotional centre. Who it is for: viewers who like science documentaries and the human side of large experiments. Who it is not for: anyone wanting technical detail; the film simplifies the physics deliberately.