The Ascent Of Man.
 

A personal view - Jacob Bronowski

I had not thought to see this again without having to spend money on a dvd set (though this is not as expensive as I thought on amazon).

I have two transcripts of the series, hardback and a paperback edition (with some editing).
There are few documentaries that come close to having the sincerity and gravitas and sheer dignity contained within this series. As a child I was spellbound by the program.

There are no flashy graphics or cgi, no banal platitudes so common in some of the discovery/national geographic/history channel programming today.

There are only two others who hold such a place of respect for me: David Attenborough (who incidentally had a hand in commissioning The Ascent Of Man as the then controller of bbc2) and Carl Sagan.

Bronowski has a clear and engaging charisma that guides the watcher, without ever leaving you feeling like a mere passenger throughout.

Serialised in its entirety. (all 13 episodes)
If you're old enough to remember it, indulge yourself once again with a masterful study of humanity.
And if you're still a young'un; settle down and forget about your playstation or nintendo ds for a moment and consider something so much more worthwhile -

The Ascent of Man: A Personal View - Jacob Bronowski

Thanks!:up:

Much appreciated. :salute:

Bit before my time, so didn't know it yet. Always glad to see a good documentary. :yep:

Thanks Jumpy. Haven't seen that one. I recognized the title from Henry Drummond's book "The Ascent of Man" from late nineteenth century though. A Scottish man of science and a religious evangelist who wrote a few books on evolution and Christianity. His Natural Law in the Spiritual World is a fascinating read if one wants to study a case of how religion and nineteenth century science might get mixed up.:yep:

cheers porphy

^^
funnily enough, the title of the series/book is somewhat derived from Darwin's 'Descent of Man' and commissioned as a compliment to 'Civilisation' by Kenneth Clark (1969).