Circle of Genius

There doesn't seem much to dispute in the claim, made by the program's promoters, that "Einstein's Big Idea" will help people understand his famous equation, E = mc(2), as never before. Along the way, this moving, ambitious and marvelously realized "NOVA" film (Tuesday, 8-10 p.m. EDT on PBS; check local listings) manages a great deal more. In the year 2005, this television work comes as a reminder of what Hollywood used to do so well in films like "The Story of Louis Pasteur" (1936), "Edison, the Man" (1940), or "Madame Curie" (1943) -- that is, in the times when...