The living planet : a portrait of the earth: the building of the earth
David Attenborough reveals how huge forces formed the earth, how continents move and how the planet has become so amazingly varied. He visits an erupting volcano in Iceland, finds giant plants on Mount Kenya and investigates the re-colonization of w...
The living planet : a portrait of the earth: sweet fresh water
The world's largest river system - the Amazon - is followed by David Attenborough from its source in the Peruvian Andes to its huge coastal delta in Brazil. Great waterfalls such as the Angel Falls in Venezuela and Iguassu in Brazil demonstrate the ...
The living planet : a portrait of the earth: seas of grass
Grass grows all over the world, sustaining a host of creatures, particularly the African grasslands, which are home to the greatest collections of Savannah animals. Here, antelope, zebra and wildebeest reside with their predators, lions and cheetahs.
The shock of the new: the powers that be
Some of post-World War I's best art was produced in opposition to all systems, all authorities, with a rancor and ingenuity scarcely imagined before. The political implications of Dada (Ernst, Schwitters, Hoch, Baader) and of German Expressionism we...
The shock of the new: the future that was
The old tension between the Academy and the new has vanished. Modernism is our institutional culture today. The consequences: neutralization of art by high market prices; the incestuous interlocking structures of museum and dealer; the attempts at a...
The shock of the new: the mechanical paradise
The period 1870-1914 was one of the hinge points in Western cultural history. The emblem of the new age was the Eiffel Tower, symbolizing the reign of the engineer, the inventor. Art followed a similar process. It adapted to a radically changing wo...
The shock of the new: the landscape of pleasure
We are lulled and delighted by the greatest Impressionist, Monet's monumental paintings of his lily pond at Giverny. Then to Provence to look at Cézanne's sublime late paintings. The liberation of color as the great trigger of free feeling was star...
Connections: death in the morning
How did a test of gold's purity revolutionize the world 2,500 years ago and lead to the atomic bomb? Standardizing precious metal in coins stimulated trade from Greece to Persia, causing the construction of a huge commercial center and library at Al...
The ascent of man: the grain in the stone
This is part three of a history of the cultural evolution of man, from primitive times to the present, presented by the late Dr. Jacob Bronowski. Beginning with the shaping of the earth by nature, this program discusses man the architect and builder...
The ascent of man: the drive for power
This is part eight of a history of the cultural evolution of man, from primitive times to the present, presented by the late Dr. Jacob Bronowski. Dealing with revolutions and power, it shows how, in the 18th century, the forces of nature were harnes...