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The Ascent Of Man - Complete BBC Series (DVD)
by cheffrey
Occasionally, within the seemingly endless mire of vapid and pointless programmes that make up most of television's airwaves, a programme will come along that can not only change your view of television, but of the world itself. Jacob Bronowski's 'Ascent of Man' is one of those programmes, and as a piece of TV it demonstrated the ... potential that the medium had to engage with an audience wider than the book or the university lecture. My dad had told me how great this series was, and what a talking-point it had been when it was first shown. As soon as the DVD came out he ordered it, watched it and then bunged it in the post to me. I wasn't disappointed.
In the early 1970s, the not-yet-a-knight David Attenborough commissioned this series, which was one of the boldest ever created. It attempted to tackle a huge subject, that is the questions of how and why humans came to dominate the planet, through its evolutionary progress to the development of science that furthered this domination, but also gave man the intellectual tools with which to examine its own past and analyse this process, as well as re-assess mankind's position in the universe and the struggle for the philsophical dominance of particular sets of ideas. It is a mammoth subject, one that would daunt most people, but in Bronowski the producers found the perfect host to guide us on this quest that would explore and synthesize the numerous facets of human pursuits and achievements into a cohesive whole.
Split over a dozen episodes, it breaks down what Bronowski thinks to be the most significant factors in that chart mankind's progress and the chanes made to the world around us. Starting with evolutionary theory and looking at the different fossil skulls and skeletons of australopithic hominids from Africa, to Neanderthals and early modern humans, the first episode is a very interesting piece not just for the content itself, but also as an historiographical snapshot of where evolutionary research was at the early 70s. One criticism is to be had of this show, and that is much of the material that it presents has been augmented or replaced by further academic research. This is a series that is best complemented by reading around the subjects presented with some more contemporary material (such as the excellent 'The Human Past' ed. by Chris Scarre, which also documents human evolution and the emergence of ancient civilisations). Now the academic world is more or less agreed that the 'Out of Africa' model of modern human development and migration is the most likely, with modern DNA analysis demonstrating this - a technique that was in its infancy in the early 70s. It does however show just how grand the programme was in its scope - the first episode alone covers half a million years of human ancestry.
Episodes two and three take this subject further, looking at the emergence of more sophisticated technologies of stone worked throughout the different Stone Ages, and the branches of other technologies and living methods that this allows, such as hunting, and making clothes. It also invetigtes the dispersal of modern humans, the development of the first agricultural settlements in modern-day Iraq and Iran, and the first civilisations that built bigger urbanised areas around them. Bronwoski takes a slightly melancholic look at human nature, as he argues that human expansionism is almost synonymous with warfare, and he also takes a look at the development of weapons and armies as an extention of this. It's a pretty grim outlook - it reminded me of the opening scenes of 2001: A Space Odyssey, which was released only a few years prior.
Bronowksi focuses the rest of the series almost entirely on the rise of the scientific method, and the ragged route it has taken and curious branches it has accumulated along the way. Metallurgy is covered as an extension of the themes in episodes two and three. Galileo's studies of the heavens, as well as Newton's further work on this are recounted, as are Einstein's mind-bending ideas. Bronowski comes across as a polymath, seemingly capable of turning his focus to any topic and commanding it with ease, whether it be analysing bone structure of hominids, the sociological implications of mass-production, the weird world of Renaissance alchemists, or the work done by Watson and Crick on modelling the DNA molecule. If you have any interest in the world around you, this is an endlessly fascinating piece of TV programming.
In terms of production, this is television that is very much of its time. It is much slower in pace than documentaries made today, and the editing is probably choppier than we are used to. The graphics also date it, as we are now used to the slickest (but also sometimes garish) CGI to animate abstract points - the section chronicling the difference in man's anatomy looks very clunky in comparison, but it's by no means unwatchable and the information is still readily understood by the presentation. And the music is very much of its time, with a soundtrack peppered with the archaic sounding bleeps of the BBC Radio Workshop, and various cuts from Pink Floyd (not that this bothered me since I'm quite partial to a bit of PF).
What really makes this series though is Bronowski himself. Although he was clearly a hugely intelligent individual,seemingly capable of turning his expertise to any number of historical and scientific subjects, his screen presence is arresting. Calm, erudite and articulate, watching 'The Ascent of Man' is like attending the most captivating series of lectures you never had the fortune to receive at university. Bronowski's relaxed and informal manner is similar to David Attenborough's; no doubt he had some influence on the series' commissioner's later zoology documentaries. And what's even more amazing is to learn that Bronowski did nearly all of this series is almost one take and without notes. No wonder he was chosen to write and present on such a topic if his head was filled with so much information. He's also never patronising or too high-brow - he hits the happy medium of being able to speak directly to his audience about complex subjects without dumbing it down or alienating them.
I can't recommend this series highly enough. It has its flaws, mainly due to its vast scope, but this is also to its credit as it serves as an excellent introduction to the numerous challenging and deep questions explored here, albeit in a relatively brief fashion. If the questions of how we came to be where we are today, via the evolutionary, technological, social, scientific and philosophical paths that have been trodden, often blindly, by mankind over the last half a million years or so, then this will be of interest to you. I found it something of a revelation, in that we are perhaps living in a very fortunate era of scientific enlightenment and perhaps at this moment we have just enough tools under our belts to stop for a moment, turn around and marvel at the world and the way in which we have emerged from it.
The DVD box set of 'the Ascent of Man' can be picked up for less than £20 on Amazon - go on, spend your next lot of dooyoo miles on it, and get one of the best series of lectures ever given in front of a TV camera.
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David Attenborough's Life Of Birds (DVD)
by askmeanything
Classification: Exempt
Languages: English
Subtitles: English
Duration: 530 Minutes
BBC, 1998
Ornithologists will be delighted with this but the rest of you - please don't turn away. If you have just the smallest appreciation for our natural world this will satisfy you. The documentary ... series is not about in-depth science but the psychology of birds and tweet this - it's incredible we get to see things never caught on camera before.
The filming took three whole years by an expert camera crew, and with them on their quest to find these amazing birds, is the wonderful David Attenborough They travelled far and wide to capture on camera the life of some of the rarest of birds in their natural environment.
Armchair Viewing is better than a bird hide or a bush:
We can travel all over the world in comfort. The angles of filming take you right there but we escape the weather elements and creepy crawlies. The BBC series which was broadcast on television some years ago comes in a box set of three DVDs. That comes to around eight hours of viewing time. I love to put on just one chapter to dip in rather like a meditative escape to parts of the world I will probably never venture too. This is education without any of it going over your head. You will learn by watching the fantastic and spectacular bird behaviour and great commentary. There are six different stories within each episode so you don't need to sit through the whole lot in one go. I love that I can have bite-sized segments with the narrator, David Attenborough, clearly explaining the bird behaviour. He can be humorous but the real stars of the show are the birds. They are clever at using tools and can be amusing in their exploits. Besides, it takes a certain sort of person to lie in wait under bushes for a sighting of a special bird. It's much easier to watch from the comfort of home and still have all the super colour, beautiful sounds and fine detail. We even see birds in flight in slow motion - just watch those wings - amazing. It would suit fans of other series presented by David Attenborough. Indeed, there are highlights, in this set, for me that are possibly more memorable above almost all over bird footage that Attenborough or anyone else has been associated with previously.
This beautiful series provides a deeper insight into the avian world than we have ever been privilege to before. The secrets of bird behaviours are caught as never before on camera. This is testimony to the hours and sacrifices that the BBC team made in their devotion to the natural world, science and education. The work they do on natural history teaches us how we can support wildlife protection and preservation whilst providing us with awe inspiring footage. Some of the birds were completely new to me and I am enthralled by them. I am deliberately not going to ist all the words and places involved because I enjoyed this flight of discovery without having any previews and I think this is the way to watch.
Off to a Flying Start with Disc 1:
Episode 1: To Fly or not to Fly - flightless land birds.
Episode 2: The Mastery of Flight - a camera films birds from a glider.
Episode 3: The Insatiable Appetite - how the beak is a tool for food. There is wonderful footage of hummingbirds.
Disc 2
Episode 4: Meat-Eaters - it's not just seeds that birds consume and how many of you knew about the meat-eating parrots?
Episode 5: Fishing for a Living - nature is incredible, here we learn of birds that can travel up to two hundred miles per hour!
Episode 6: Signals and Songs - learn about the songs of the birds and their meanings. Who would have thought that the fieldfare sounds like an air-raid siren!
Disc 3
Episode 7: Finding Partners - Wooing and courting.
Here I'll interrupt our flight through the documentary episodes to tell you that this has to be my wonder of wonder moments. I don't want to give the details away but check out the bowerbird and his nest of love!
Episode 8: The Demands of the Egg - protection of new life against predators.
Episode 9: The Problems of Parenthood - Parenting techniques with a difference - would you eat your weakest child for the sake of the others?
Episode 10: The Limits of Endurance - coming to a close in this final chapter you'll discover that birds adapt to the strangest of environments even to manmade structures such as skyscrapers.
Problem:
There's one sting in the tail. Now don't migrate to a newer documentary because of this niggle of a problem. The filming is beautiful but technical advancements mean the footage doesn't do so well in an HD player and it is a little rough around the edges, in any machine, due to the advancement in years since being made. Sadly, it is a little grainy and the birds in flight are a little bit blurred but please don't let you put you off buying. This camera and production team have made history by recording certain bird behaviour for the first time. Some of the secrets are out and it makes us love and respect birds even more. Maybe I should take one star off for the film quality but I can't because this is an amazing series and you must take it in context of historical filmography. Therefore,' The Life of Birds' has five solid stars from me even though it cost more than a few packet of bird seeds at around fifteen pounds as it is a keeper.
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March of the Penguins - Luc Jacquet (DVD)
by Seven17
@ The Documentary, narration, filming @
I have watched this film three times now because its such an interesting and different DVD to watch. This isn't some film whipped up from nowhere with some shots borrowed from zoos with trained penguins, this has real penguins behaving naturally and its just stunning to see how the ... penguins behave and what their lives are like. The documentary follows thousands of penguins on their journey to the central breeding ground in Antarctica - they have no choice but to do this because of the iceberg changes during the summer which considerably reduce the land size.
In my opinion, this is the best nature focused film i have ever seen. The film has emotionally harrowing parts like baby penguins dying from cold and eggs being abandoned and then straight on the contrary you see penguins mating and finding partners.
There are some excellent shots of thousands of penguins huddling together for warmth and swimming at high speed through a dark and dangerous ocean. I think its the narration and story telling that ruins it for me though, there is a non stop constant stream of information and facts about the penguins and there is not just a break to sit back and enjoy whats going on. You are constantly learning about them but even during the sad and upsetting scenes the narrator has to tell you a few facts about what is going on and it ruins the moment for me.
Because there are no effects or faked scenes, you just get a natural shot of everything which means sometimes the snow gets in the way and the camera is a little shaky on top of hills where blizzards are blasting it about but i think all this just reinforces the fact that its real, and this to me, is a very good thing. I hate it when effects are faked or despite a large close by explosion the camera does not wobble a bit..
I think the documentary covers most of the important parts of the penguins journey bit it would have been nice to know a little more about what happens when the babies get back, there is only a little bit of info at the end of the film about this but i would like more info.
@ Overall @
This is a harrowing, interesting, and intriguing and i think this certainly makes a change from all those faked nature documentaries out there, or just trained penguins. It really opens your eyes to life in the antarctic and just what the penguins go through every day.
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