The Ascent Of Man : Complete BBC Series

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Customer reviews

review by: The Speechwriter date: 2008-10-31 rating:
Idiosyncratic and unusual TV
In the extra programme at the end of this DVD, David Attenborough says that Bruno (Dr Bronowski) was a great actor. In these documentaries he plays the eccentric professor to perfection. It's a don speaking to camera, expanding on his own ruminations.

You can't quite believe they ever made TV like this. It's beguiling, complex, simple, grandiose, quirky, intelligent and at times gloriously self-indulgent. I can't say it was always fun, but I did feel as if I learned something.

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review by: date: 2008-05-26 rating:
Good but not great
In his autobiography, Solly Zuckerman described Bronowski as "a great talker and a great waster of time. He never did anything original... But there was no denying that he knew how to write". The Ascent of Man scores highly if only because it's not ruined by gimmicks. And Bronowski had a real story teller's skill of making one want to know what happens next. But his delivery lapses into pretentiousness at times. He plays the great man but wasn't a major scientist.

Sometimes I would like more in the visual line. If talking about John von Neumann or Leo Szilard, why not show us photos or films of them?

One thing I particularly enjoy is the music. A description of Galileo's work in Venice around 1610 has Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610 playing in the background. Technology developed in the early 19th century has music from that era. Simple but I can't remember any other documentary managing this (unless it was about the music).

There are some strange errors and ommissions. Bronowski tells us that the Inca civilisation collapsed because the Spanish captured the (chief) Inca and their social structure was too rigid to cope with this. It's a pretty crazy notion: there must have been plenty of occasions when the Inca died unexpectedly. He doesn't mention the fact that the Incas had no immunity to common infectious diseases, such as smallpox, brought by the Spanish and so died in their hundreds of thousands or that the Spanish arrived at the time of a major civil war.

Often beguiling, these DVDs are far better than anything you're likely to find on television this month. But don't fret that nothing so good will ever be made again. Simon Schaffer's four programmes for BBC Four about the history of ideas about light, called "Light Fantastic", made in 2006, is better than The Ascent of Man. Where the two series' overlap, as with Newton's work on the prism, Schaffer is more engaging, interesting, authoritative. But Schaffer's programmes cover a far narrower field and haven't been released on DVD, so far as I know. Sometimes the Beeb gets bored with making rubbish and something good slips through.

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review by: date: 2008-03-15 rating:
Humbling Experience
If you're reading this and see the reviews the choice is clear. I can't actually think of a series I've ever watched as profoundly memorable as this (Cosmos perhaps). Bronowski takes time, effort and his spontaneously lyrical skills to explain the great questions that have faced man throughout history. Removing special effects (what effects there are are charming and inspired) and allowing the subject matter to breathe takes away the unnecessary clutter that you find in many modern productions. What you're left with are wonderfully crafted exercises in the art of communication which is ultimately the great triumph of this classic series. And it gets better as you progress, and you're hooked. He's a showman, he wonders around scenes as he pleases in progressively wild looking suits, you're held gripped in his pauses as he ponders then draws out an appropriate phrase to convey the wonderment he feels and wants to share. There is a 10 minute uncut section where he conveys the beauty of symmetry and tesselation in the walled tiles of a harem bath which is both off the cuff and infused with clarity, warmth and humanity. I sat back from that and thought to myself...that was clearly unscripted, it was astonishing. His study on the wavelength of light and how it's used to probe into the sub-atomic involves wonderful huge papier-mache heads, it's a surreal oddball setup. The late episode where he brings us to a concentration camp is deeply moving and eventually jaw dropping as he makes his own personal tribute to lost souls - you sit back and realise that you've just experienced something unique and mourn the fact that, like a great song, the 1st time you experience it is a thing of genuine beauty that can't quite be repeated.

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review by: date: 2008-01-25 rating:
Brilliant
I have often felt a lump in my throat when moved by powerful music or noble sentiments but never before by science and history. A must-watch for every enquiring mind. Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant!


review by: date: 2008-01-02 rating:
Simply Wonderful
In this astonishing series Jacob Bronowski delivers a spellbinding sequence of lectures that are as full of passion and humanity as they are of knowledge and science.
In the process of discussing the Ascent of Man from the beginning of life to his present step in the evolutionary process, Prof Bronowski gives us not only physics, biology, history and genetics but also poetry, philosophy and art. His enthusiasm and passion is inspiring and his presentation almost beguiling. It is also very, very moving.
I cannot think of any other series I could recommend as highly.

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