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''The Ascent of Man'' is a 13-part British documentary television series produced by the BBC and
Time-Life Films Time Life Television was a division of Time Life Films and was the television production and distribution arm of Time Inc. With CBS, they led a partnership to export their shows overseas. Broadcasting Time Life also owned several radio and TV st ...
first broadcast in 1973. It was written and presented by British mathematician and historian of science
Jacob Bronowski Jacob Bronowski (18 January 1908 – 22 August 1974) was a Polish-British mathematician and philosopher. He was known to friends and professional colleagues alike by the nickname Bruno. He is best known for developing a humanistic approach to sc ...
, who also authored a book adaptation. Intended as a series of "personal view" documentaries in the manner of Kenneth Clark's 1969 series ''
Civilisation A civilization (or civilisation) is any complex society characterized by the development of State (polity), a state, social stratification, urban area, urbanization, and Symbol, symbolic systems of communication beyond natural language, natur ...
'', the series received acclaim for Bronowski's highly informed but eloquently simple analysis, his long, elegant monologues, and its extensive location shoots. The programme began broadcasting on
BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
at 9pm on Saturday, 5 May 1973 and was released in the US 7 January 1975.


Overview

The title alludes to '' The Descent of Man'' (1871), Charles Darwin's second book on evolution. Over the series' 13 episodes,
Jacob Bronowski Jacob Bronowski (18 January 1908 – 22 August 1974) was a Polish-British mathematician and philosopher. He was known to friends and professional colleagues alike by the nickname Bruno. He is best known for developing a humanistic approach to sc ...
travels around the world in order to trace the development of human society through its understanding of science. It was commissioned specifically to complement Kenneth Clark's ''
Civilisation A civilization (or civilisation) is any complex society characterized by the development of State (polity), a state, social stratification, urban area, urbanization, and Symbol, symbolic systems of communication beyond natural language, natur ...
'' (1969), in which Clark argued that art reflected and was informed by the major driving forces in cultural evolution. Bronowski wrote in his 1951 book ''The Commonsense of Science'': "It has been one of the most destructive modern prejudices that art and science are different and somehow incompatible interests". Both series were commissioned by
David Attenborough Sir David Frederick Attenborough (; born 8 May 1926) is an English broadcaster, biologist, natural historian and author. He is best known for writing and presenting, in conjunction with the BBC Natural History Unit, the nine natural histor ...
, then controller of
BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
, whose colleague Aubrey Singer had been astonished by Attenborough prioritising an arts series given his science background. Bronowski's book adaptation of the series, ''The Ascent of Man'' (1973), is an almost word-for-word transcript from the television episodes, diverging from the original narration only where the lack of images might make its meaning unclear. A few details of the film version were omitted from the book, notably from episode 11, "Knowledge or Certainty".


Production

The 13-part series was shot on
16 mm film 16 mm film is a historically popular and economical gauge of film. 16 mm refers to the width of the film (about inch); other common film gauges include 8 and 35 mm. It is generally used for non-theatrical (e.g., industrial, educ ...
. Executive producer was
Adrian Malone Hugh Adrian Malone (3 February 1937 – 13 March 2015) was a British documentary filmmaker who produced and directed a number of documentaries, including ''The Ascent of Man'' (1973), '' The Age of Uncertainty'' (1977), and '' Cosmos: A Personal ...
; film directors were Dick Gilling, Mick Jackson, David Kennard and David Paterson. Quotations were read by actors Roy Dotrice and
Joss Ackland Sidney Edmond Jocelyn Ackland CBE (born 29 February 1928) is an English retired actor who has appeared in more than 130 film and television roles. He was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for portraying Jock Del ...
. Series music was by Dudley Simpson with Brian Hodgson and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Additional music includes work by
Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...
and the Moody Blues, among others. Apart from Bronowski, the only other named people appearing are the sculptor
Henry Moore Henry Spencer Moore (30 July 1898 – 31 August 1986) was an English artist. He is best known for his semi- abstract monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art. As well as sculpture, Moore produced ...
and
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
Auschwitz Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...
survivor Stefan Borgrajewicz.


Distribution

The complete series was
digitally remastered Remaster refers to changing the quality of the sound or of the image, or both, of previously created recordings, either audiophonic, cinematic, or videographic. The terms digital remastering and digitally remastered are also used. Mastering A ...
and released on DVD in 2007 by Ambrose Video Publishing, Inc.


Episodes

# ''Lower than the Angels'' – Evolution of humans from proto-ape to the modern form 400,000 years ago. # ''The Harvest of the Seasons'' – Early human migration, agriculture and the first settlements, and war. # ''The Grain in the Stone'' – Tools, and the development of architecture and sculpture. # ''The Hidden Structure'' – Fire, metals and alchemy. # ''Music of the Spheres'' – The language of numbers and mathematics. # ''The Starry Messenger'' – Galileo's universe—and the implications of his trial on the shift to "northern" science. # ''The Majestic Clockwork'' – Explores Newton and Einstein's laws. # ''The Drive for Power'' – The Industrial Revolution and the effect on everyday life. # ''The Ladder of Creation'' – Darwin and Wallace's ideas on the origin of species. # ''World within World'' – The story of the periodic table—and of the atom. # ''Knowledge or Certainty'' – Physics and the clash of the pursuit of absolute vs. imperfect knowledge, and the misgivings of the scientists realising the terrible outcome of the conflict.
Auschwitz Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...
.
Hiroshima and Nagasaki The United States detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August 1945, respectively. The two bombings killed between 129,000 and 226,000 people, most of whom were civilians, and remain the onl ...
. # ''Generation upon Generation'' – The joys of life, sex and genetics—and the dark side of cloning. # ''The Long Childhood'' – Bronowski's treatise on the commitment of humanity.


Legacy

*Adrian Malone and David Kennard later emigrated to Hollywood, where they produced
Carl Sagan Carl Edward Sagan (; ; November 9, 1934December 20, 1996) was an American astronomer, planetary scientist, cosmologist, astrophysicist, astrobiologist, author, and science communicator. His best known scientific contribution is research on ext ...
's '' Cosmos'' (1980). *Mick Jackson went on to direct the TV series ''
Connections Connections may refer to: Television * '' Connections: An Investigation into Organized Crime in Canada'', a documentary television series * ''Connections'' (British documentary), a documentary television series and book by science historian Jam ...
'' and, later, feature films including ''
The Bodyguard A bodyguard is an individual who protects another from harm or threats. Bodyguard may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * The Bodyguard (1944 film), ''The Bodyguard'' (1944 film), a Tom and Jerry short * Bodyguard (1948 film), ...
''. *''The Ascent of Man'' was placed 65th on a list of the 100 Greatest World Television Programmes voted for by industry professionals and drawn up by the British Film Institute in 2000. * Charlie Brooker praises Bronowski and ''The Ascent of Man'' in his
BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002
programme ''
Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe ''Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe'' is a British television review comedy programme created and presented by Charlie Brooker and broadcast on BBC Four. The programme contains reviews of current shows, as well as stories and commentary on how tele ...
''.


See also

*''
The Shock of the New ''The Shock of the New'' is an eight-part documentary television series about the development of modern art written and presented in 1980 by Robert Hughes for the BBC, in association with Time-Life Films. It was produced by Lorna Pegram, who als ...
''


References


External links


Encyclopedia of Television
* * The ascent of man book at the Internet Archive
Book review of ''Ascent of Man''''The Ascent of Man'' by Jacob Bronowski – review (15 April 2011)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ascent of Man, The BBC television documentaries about history Human evolution British documentary television series 1973 British television series debuts 1973 British television series endings 1970s British documentary television series English-language television shows 1970s British television miniseries BBC television miniseries