Relics: Einstein's Brain
| Einstein's Brain | |
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| Directed by | Kevin Hull |
| Produced by | BBC Films |
| Written by | Kevin Hull |
| Starring | Kenji Sugimoto |
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Release date
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Running time
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65 minutes |
| Language | English |
Einstein's Brain is a 1994 documentary by Kevin Hull following Japanese professor Kenji Sugimoto in his search for Albert Einstein's brain. It is produced by BBC Films.
This documentary is introduced by a set of titles informing the viewer that Albert Einstein's brain was extracted after his death in 1955 and that it was donated to the Princeton Medical Center. We then meet Kenji Sugimoto, professor of mathematics and science history at the Kinki University of Osaka. In broken English, he describes what Einstein means to him:
"Einstein teaches me about love as well as science. Passion, love and science. I love Albert Einstein."
Thus, he embarks on a pilgrimage to Princeton to find the legendary cerebrum. Once there, he learns that the brain has been misplaced, and the film documents his subsequent travels across the United States to recover it. The last person known to handle the item is Thomas Stoltz Harvey, a man that proves difficult to find. One lead sends Sugimoto to the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City, where a former associate of Harvey's, Dr. Harry Zimmerman, informs the unlikely pilgrim that the man he is seeking in fact is dead.
Sugimoto next tracks down Einstein's granddaughter by adoption, Evelyn Einstein. She tells him she has reason to believe she actually is biologically related to Einstein, and has been in dialogue with an institute to compare her DNA to that of the late scientist's brain. The brain sample used for this was sent from Harvey's residence in Lawrence, Kansas, giving Sugimoto a possible lead to the brain's current whereabouts.
Once in Kansas, it appears Zimmerman was misinformed; Thomas Harvey is still very much alive. Sugimoto learns Harvey's whereabouts from William S. Burroughs, the famous beat generation author, who at the time lived in Lawrence and owned a television store called "Bill's TV." Sugimoto finally finds the brain (which is stored in three jars in a closet), and even acquires a small sample to bring back to Japan. He celebrates by singing karaoke in a local bar, and closes the documentary with a few more contemplations around his idol:
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