The Ascent Of Man
In 1973 the BBC released a TV documentary series in 13 episodes by mathematician Jacob Bronowski called The Ascent Of Man. 35 years later I purchased it as a DVD box set on the recommendation of a fellow science documentary aficionado.
It’s extremely good! And I’m not just saying that in the context of the era in which it was produced. Sure, some of the music grates on the nerves and some of the graphics don’t compare to what we are capable of these days but overall it’s got a depth that is often missing from the kind of documentaries found on the Discovery Channel. Actually, I take back my comment about the music; it features music from Meddle - my second-favourite Pink Floyd album - which, for me, redeems a multitude of musical sins.
Bronowski is thoughtful, poetic and very deliberate in every sentence. He gives you the feeling that he is treating you, the viewer, as an equal throughout and he conveys a sense of awe that is impossible to resist.
Most moving for me was a scene where Bronowski is visiting a Nazi concentration camp where many of his relatives were murdered. According to the interview with Attenborough in the bonus material the entire scene was spontaneous and filmed in a single take:
Bronowski died a year later of a heart attack at the age of 66.
Tags: BBC, Bronowski, documentary, dvd, science
July 29th, 2008 at 10:27 pm
Awesome, I’m glad you got a chance to see it
Just last week I found a copy of Bronowski’s book “The Identity of Man” and I am really looking forward to reading it. Apparently it is an anthropology classic, written by a mathematician of all people lol.
July 30th, 2008 at 8:34 am
I appreciate the recommendation. Got any others to make?
July 30th, 2008 at 8:53 am
By the way, your name link when you comment still points to your old blog.
July 30th, 2008 at 9:25 am
So it does lol - fixed I think.
In terms of recomendations, once you have Cosmos and The Ascent of Man, you don’t really need anything else lol.
Having said that My DVD library also consists of lots of David Attenborough DVDs (f which The Amber Time Machine off Attenborough in Paradise is probably my favourite documentary while Life in the Undergrowth or Planet Earth are probably my favourite series.
I have most of Richard Dawkins DVDs. The Root of All Evil and The Enemies of Reason are well worth seeing. Growing Up in the Universe which, while aimed at kids, is enthralling and anything with a cameo by Douglas Adams must be good!
One random one that I have which I highly reccomend is the NatGeo documentary series Gun’s, Germs and Steel presented by the author of the book of the same name, Jared Diamond. It is a very interesting journey through the major drivers of change in human society.
July 30th, 2008 at 9:49 am
Ah yes. The book Guns, Germs and Steel has been on my list for a while now but I didn’t realise that there was a documentary based on it.
I’ve got all of Attenborough’s Life series (except for the final one that has yet to be released; Life in Cold Blood) as well as a couple of others including The Human Body with Robert Winston.
I’ve watched bits and pieces of the various Dawkins DVDs on the Internet and am tempted to get Growing Up In The Universe (I especially like the episode on the development of the eye - speaking of which, there is a series showing in the US on the History Channel called Evolve and the first episode (showing today sometime?) is on the evolution of the eye).
I’d never heard of The Amber Time Machine though. I’ll keep my eyes open for that one too based on your recommendation.
Cheers!
July 30th, 2008 at 10:04 am
Thanks for this. It really does show up Ben Stein and his Expelled film (which is now out on DVD so should be showing in a church basement near you soon). His claim that science leads to killing people is a dangerous message - it just pushes ignorance which is the real cause of these sorts of atrocities.
July 30th, 2008 at 11:14 am
The Amber Time Machine is part of this collection. Probably one of my favourite DVDs and also includes A Blank on the Map which involves Attenborough doing some amazing trekking through the forests of New Guinea in 1971. Man were things different back then in the documentary making business! You see Attenborough trying to communicate with some natives they discover who don’t even speak the same language as his guides - fascinating.
Also (randomly) check out the Wikipedia page for The Ascent of Man - apparently Douglas Adams recorded introductions for each episode in 1990 for rerun purposes - wow I’d love to hear those!