Ascent of Man, The (13 Parts)

Synopsis
A classic13-part series in which Jacob Bronowski examines the intellectual, cultural, and scientific breakthroughs in man’s four-million-year evolution. He discusses the importance of new ideas and how they transcend other historical events in their cumulative, irreversible effects. DVD extras include an interview with Sir David Attenborough.
Language
English
Country
Great Britain
Medium
Video
Year of production
1973
Notes
Released on DVD April 2005
Subjects
Anthropology; Biology; History; Philosophy
Keywords
cultural evolution

Distribution Formats

Type
DVD
Format
Region 2 PAL
Price
£36.99
Availability
Sale
Duration/Size
650 minutes
Year
2013

Sections

Title
Lower than the Angels
Synopsis
A multitude of evolutionary changes gave rise to man’s superiority among animals. Computer techniques illustrate man’s evolution, while x-ray and slow-motion photography of an athlete in action show the complex interweaving of mind and body.
Duration
50 mins

Title
Harvest of the Seasons, The
Synopsis
Man domesticated plant and animal life, but with the Neolithic cultivators came the nomads and the roots of warfare. The programme captures the unique lifestyle of the Bakhtiari tribe of central Iran and re-creates the war games of Genghis Khan.
Duration
50 mins

Title
Grain in the Stone, The
Synopsis
Man splits a stone and reassembles the pieces to build a wall, a cathedral, a city. With scenes from the Greek temples of Paestum to the cathedrals of medieval France to the modern city of Los Angeles, the film expresses man’s faith and fancy as architect and builder.
Duration
50 mins

Title
Hidden Structure, The
Synopsis
The Shang bronze craftsmen of China and the samurai swordsmiths of Japan are the starting point of a journey from the beginnings of chemistry to Dalton’s atomic theory and our knowledge of the elements.
Duration
50 mins

Title
Music of the Spheres
Synopsis
Traces the evolution of mathematics and explores the relationship of numbers to musical harmony, early astronomy, and perspective in painting. Follows the spread of Greek ideas through the courts and bazaars of the Islamic empire to Moorish Spain and Renaissance Europe.
Duration
50 mins

Title
Starry Messenger, The
Synopsis
The story of man’s early attempts to map the forces that move the planets. Scientist / humanist Jacob Bronowski traces the origins of the scientific revolution through the conflict between fact and religious dogma, culminating in the trial of Galileo.
Duration
50 mins

Title
Majestic Clockwork, The
Synopsis
In the evolution of physics, the contributions of Newton and Einstein occupy center stage. The programme explores the revolution that ensued when Einstein’s theory of relativity upset Newton’s elegant description of the universe.
Duration
50 mins

Title
Drive for Power, The
Synopsis
Industrial and political revolutions altered man’s conception of power during the 18th century. Jacob Bronowski shows why these developments were as significant as the Renaissance in man’s progress
Duration
50 mins

Title
Ladder of Creation, The
Synopsis
Journeys from the valleys and waterfalls of Wales to the jungles of the Amazon, exploring the controversy that swirled around the theory of evolution developed simultaneously by Alfred Wallace and Charles Darwin.
Duration
50 mins

Title
World within World
Synopsis
Commencing with a visit to an ancient Polish salt mine, Jacob Bronowski looks at the world inside the atom. He traces the history of the men and ideas that have made 20th-century physics "the greatest achievement of the human imagination."
Duration
50 mins

Title
Knowledge or Certainty
Synopsis
Considers the moral dilemma that confronts today’s scientists, contrasting humanist traditions with Nazi atrocities and nuclear energy with the atomic bomb.
Duration
50 mins

Title
Generation upon Generation
Synopsis
Examines research into the complex code of human genetics, from the experiments of Gregor Mendel to the discoveries in today’s sophisticated laboratories
Duration
50 mins

Title
Long Childhood, The
Synopsis
Writer / narrator Jacob Bronowski draws together the series’ many threads as he surveys the complex role of science in the cultural evolution of humankind.

Production Company

Name

BBC Television

Distributor

Name

2 Entertain Video

Email
DVDenquiryline@bbc.com
Web
http://www.2entertainvideo.co.uk/ External site opens in new window
Phone
020 7612 3000
Fax
020 7612 3003
Address
BBC Worldwide
33 Foley Street
London
W1W 7TL
Notes
Specialises in distributing archival film and television titles, predominantly licensed from the BBC (the principal shareholder is BBC Worldwide). Sale on DVD through retail outlets. As of 2016 2Entertain is being gradually wound down and its output reduced. If something is not available via them it is advisable to try the BBC Store at https://store.bbc.com/
Name

BBC Worldwide Publishing

Web
http://www.bbcworldwide.com External site opens in new window
Phone
020 8576 3560
Fax
020 8576 3570
Address
80 Wood Lane
London
W12 0TT
Notes
Since Spring 2005, for home video releases see BBC, 2 Entertain Video
 

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