In 1992, Errol Morris finished "A Brief History of Time," about the life and work of Stephen Hawking, the physicist who is often compared to Einstein and who is paralyzed and has spent much of his life in a wheelchair. In this film adaptation of Hawking's book about the origins of the universe, Morris has woven together graphics, interviews and archival material in a story about both Hawking's life and science. David Ansen in Newsweek has called it, "an elegant, inspirational and mysterious movie. Morris turns abstract ideas into haunting images, and keeps them spinning in the air with the finesse, and playfulness, of a master juggler".

Morris' interviews for the film have been incorporated into a book, A Reader's Companion, published by Bantam Books. The film appeared on many "top ten" lists for 1992, including Time, The Los Angeles Times and The San Francisco Chronicle.

Credited cast overview:

Stephen Hawking .... (Himself)
Isobel Hawking .... (Stephen Hawking's mother)
net Humphrey .... (Hawking's aunt)
Mary Hawking .... (Hawking's sister)
Basil King .... (Hawking family neighbor)
Derek Powney .... (Classmate at Oxford)
Norman Dix .... (Classmate at Oxford)
Robert Berman .... (Oxford tutor)
Gordon Berry .... (Classmate at Oxford)
Roger Penrose .... (Professor at Cambridge)
Dennis Sciama .... (Professor at Cambridge)
John Wheeler .... (Astrophysicist)
Brandon Carter .... (Astrophysicist)
John Taylor .... (Astrophysicist)
Kip Thorne .... (Research scientist at Cambridge)
Don Page .... (Hawking's student)

Credited crew overview:

Director .... Errol Morris
Producers .... David Hickman, Gordon Freedman, Rory Johnston
Executive Producer .... Gordon Freedman
Original Music .... Philip Glass
Directors of Photography .... John Bailey, Stefan Czapsky
Editor .... Brad Fuller
Production Designer .... Ted Bafaloukus

Tokyo Broadcasting Systems, Channel Four Films (aka Film Four International, aka Channel 4 TV), Anglia Television Ltd., National Broadcasting Company (NBC)

Awards:

Filmmaker's Award, 1992
- National Society of Film Critics

Grand Jury Prize, 1992
- Sundance Film Festival

Filmmaker's Prize, 1992
- Sundance Film Festival

Best Documentary, 1992
- Seattle International Film Festival