Human Evolution Mediagraphy

Human Evolution Filmography
updated (10/00)

Beyond Africa [videorecording] / BBC-TV production in association with Time Life Films Incorporated. [New York, N.Y.] : Ambrose Video, c1981. The making of mankind ; 4. 1 videocassette (55 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in. Richard Leakey tells the story of Peking Man, who used fire for heat and light and possibly for cooking. He also explores the increasing intelligence of our ancestors, and launches into a discussion on how and why humans began to speak. VHS 1487

Darwin's revolution in thought [videorecording] : an illustrated lecture for the classroom / ICV ; producer/director, Robert DiNozzi. Northampton, MA . c1995. 2 videocassettes (125 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in. + 1 teacher's guide (9 leaves ; 28 cm.). Stephen Jay Gould's lecture is structured in the form of a paradox and three riddles about Darwin's life. Each is designed to shed light on one of the key features of the theory of natural selection, its philosophical radicalism, and why it has been so poorly understood. VHS 3114

Darwin's revolution [videorecording] / written and presented by James Burke ; a BBC-TV production in association with RKO pictures, inc. ; Canale 5, Italy ; FR3, France ; YLE, Finland. Los Angeles, CA : Churchill Films, 1986. Day the universe changed ; pt. 8. 1 videocassette (52 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in. + 1 guide (inside box cover). Reveals how Darwin's writings undermined the concept of an orderly, unchanging universe and with it the belief in the biblical theory of creation. Also considers how aspects of Darwinism were used to political and economic advantage to justify Nazism, robber baron style capitalism, and communism. VHS 2898

Fooling with nature [videorecording] / produced by Doug Hamilton ; directed by Michael Chandler ; written by Michael Chandler and Doug Hamilton ; WGBH Educational Foundation ; The Center for Investigative Reporting, Inc. Boston : WGBH Educational Foundation ; Alexandria, VA. : distributed by PBS Video ; 1998. 1 videocassette (60 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in. This program examines new evidence in the controversy over the danger of manmade chemicals to human health and the environment, 35 years after Rachel Carson first raised concerns of an impending ecological crisis. This program takes viewers inside the world of scientists, politicians, activists, and business officials embroiled in this high-stakes debate. VHS 5187

The Gods of our fathers [videorecording] / produced by Green Lion ProductionsInc. in association with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, with the participation of Telefilm Canada, Société gén´ erale des industries culturelles (SOGIC), and the National Film Board of Canada, with the financial assistance of Rogers Telefund. [Montréal] : NFB, 1994. The Human race ; pt. 3. 1 videocassette (51 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in. Human nature is not fixed, nor is there anything natural or innate about male domination. Explores the evolution of patriarchy as one effective way of organizing mass societies, from evidence in ancient Egyptian villages along the Nile. As the world changes, it needs to find alternatives to patriarchy. VHS 3454

The human animal [videorecording] : a natural history of the human species / by Desmond Morris ; a BBC production in association with the Discovery Channel ; series producer, Mike Beynon. Princeton, N.J. c1999. 6 videocassettes (50 min. each) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in. In this series, Desmond Morris examines human behavior and the human condition. Issues such as body language, human evolution, modern culture, love and sex, human genetics and human creativity are discussed. On order

A Human way of life [videorecording] / BBC-TV production in association with Time Life Films Incorporated. [New York, N.Y.] : Ambrose Video, c1981. The Making of mankind ; 3. 1 videocassette (55 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in. From bones and stones discovered on one of the oldest campsites in the world, archeologists have begun to piece together a picture of life one-and-a-half million years ago. Richard Leakey visits one of the few remaining hunter-gatherer groups left on earth. VHS 1486

In search of human origins [videorecording] / WGBH/Boston. Boston, Mass. 1994. 3 videocassettes (180 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in. In this three part series, anthropologist Donald Johanson and his team demonstrate how to collect and analyze fossil evidence. He tells of his discovery of "Lucy," which sparked a controversial change in our view of human origins. Evidence is presented that indicates the first hunter may have been Homo erectus, a later hominid. Finally, Johanson and his colleagues gather new evidence that may begin to explain the demise of the neanderthals and the origins of modern humans. Features a re-creation of ancient man's appearance by special effects artists aided by computer technology.. VHS 2471-2473

In the beginning [videorecording] / BBC-TV production in association with Time Life Films Incorporated. [New York, N.Y.] : Ambrose Video, c1981. The making of mankind ; 1. 1 videocassette (55 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in. Explains how mankind's superbly adaptable nature has contributed to our transformation from tree-dwelling, four-footed, vegetarian primates to upright, omnivorous toolmakers. VHS 1484

In the beginning [videorecording] : the creationist controversy / a production of WTTW Chicago ; Cutting Edge productions ; Isis Productions. [Alexandria, VA] . 1994. 2 videocassettes (112 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in. Two-part program presents both sides of the debate between those who advocate creationist theory and those who support evolution. Program one looks at the Institute for Creation Research, which maintains that the Biblical account of the origins of life is literal and accurate. Also includes an interview with Stephen Jay Gould, a leading Darwinist and science historian who argues that "creation science" is not science at all, but religion. Finally, Balmer talks with parents, teachers and school board members in Vista, California where the school board mandated the teaching of creationism in the schools. Program two looks further into the issue of scientific creationism in school curricula. Balmer goes to a school where evolution is taught only so students are able to refute it and looks at the influence of the conservative Christian community in public school systems. Balmer interviews two leading scholars on opposite sides of the evolution versus creationism debate: Philip Johnson and Dr. Leonard Kishtalka. VHS 3528

Is evolution progressive? [videorecording] / Richard Dawkins ; Royal Society, London ; British Institute of Biology. Los Angeles, Calif. c1997. 1 videocassette (ca. 50 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in. + instructor's package (35 p. : ill. ; 23 cm.). Richard Dawkins lectures on the theory of progressive evolution, which proposes the steady long-term improvement of evolutionary grade. The biological theory originated in Victorian England and developed analogous sociological, political and cultural counterparts. VHS 4735

Lower than the angels [videorecording] / BBC-TV and Time-Life Films. New York : Time-Life Video, 1980. Ascent of man ; no. 1. 1 videocassette (52 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in. Looks at the evolutionary changes which gave rise to man's superiority among the animals. VHS. Malone, Adrian. Bronowski, Jacob, 1908-1974. British Broadcasting VHS 1273

The Making of mankind [videorecording] / BBC-TV production in association with Time Life Films Incorporated. New York . 1981. 7 videocassettes (55 min. each) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in. In this seven-part documentary, noted anthropologist Richard Leakey traces the origin and development of man from tree-dwelling, four-footed, vegetarian primates to upright, omnivorous toolmakers. VHS 1484 1490

The nature of human nature [videorecording] / with Roger Bingham ; a production of KCET/Los Angeles in association with Science and Society Television, Inc. Princeton, NJ : Films for the Humanities & Sciences, c1995. The Human quest. 1 videocassette (57 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in. Introduces the "second Darwinian revolution," a new understanding of the evolution of the human brain. Discusses the concept of a universal human nature that is the product of natural selection.. VHS 5311

A New era [videorecording] / BBC-TV production in association with Time Life Films Incorporated. [New York, N.Y.] : Ambrose Video, 1981. The Making of mankind ; 5. 1 videocassette (55 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in. Richard Leakey details the emergence of our species, Homo sapiens, and explores some of the astonishing art our ancestors left behind, including the beautiful cave of Lascaux. VHS 1488

One small step-- [videorecording] / BBC-TV production in association with Time Life Films Incorporated. [New York, N.Y.] : Ambrose Video, c1981. The making of mankind ; 2. 1 videocassette (55 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in. The oldest human footprints in the world were unearthed near Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania. Also discussed are the famous "Lucy" skeleton, Ethiopian fossils and the controversy over the nature of ancient upright creatures. VHS 1485

Seeking the first Americans [videorecording] / Public Broadcasting Associates. Boston, Mass. : Public Broadcasting Associates, c1980. Odyssey series. 1 videocassette (60 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in. Who were the first Americans and when did they arrive? Archaeologists from Texas to Alaska share their search for answers to one of the most controversial questions in North American history. The earliest Americans may have arrived 20-30,000 years ago. A significant controversy has developed over the origin of Clovis Man, the one-age culture of New Mexico dated at 11,000 B.C. VHS 4952

Settling down [videorecording] / BBC-TV production in association with Time Life Films Incorporated. [New York, N.Y.] : Ambrose Video, c1981. The Making of mankind ; 6. 1 videocassette (55 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in. Richard Leakey traces one of the most fundamental changes our species has experienced: the shift from a nomadic hunter-gatherer way of life to the settled villager and farmer. VHS 1489

Signs of the apes, songs of the whales [videorecording] / WGBH. Stamford, CT. 1988, c1983. 1 videocassette (60 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in. Revisits Washoe, a chimpanzee that communicates using American Sign Language, and examines some of the most recent language experiments being done with apes, dolphins, sea lions, gorillas, and whales. Features a sea-lion that responds to more than 100 three-word commands, Koko the gorilla, who tells jokes, a group of chimpanzees using a computer to communicate with a trainer, and the communication methods of humpbacked whales. VHS 1808

The Story of Lucy [videorecording] / WGBH/Boston ; written and produced by Michael Gunton. Boston, Mass. : WGBH Educational Foundation, 1994. In search of human origins ; 1. 1 videocassette (55 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in. In 1974 Don Johanson unearthed Lucy, at almost 3 million years of age, our oldest human ancestor. Lucy's tiny three-and-a-half-foot skeleton set the world of paleoanthropology on its ear. Lucy walked upright and provided evidence that a larger brain was the key difference between early man and the ape. In this film Johanson recounts his discovery of Lucy as he returns to the site of his find in Ethiopia and expounds upon the important information it still continues to generate. VHS 2471

The survival of the species [videorecording] / BBC-TV production in association with Time Life Films Incorporated. [New York, N.Y.] : Ambrose Video, c1981. The making of mankind ; 7. 1 videocassette (55 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in. Richard Leakey examines the crucial behavior patterns that, over millions of years, made us what we are. He also looks at new evidence that suggests the human animal will survive.. VHS 1490

Surviving in Africa [videorecording] / WGBH/Boston ; written and produced by Lenora Carey Johanson. Boston, Mass. : WGBH Educational Foundation, 1994. In search of human origins ; 2. 1 videocassette (55 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in. Paleoanthropologist Don Johanson sets out to disprove that early man's larger brain and reliance on technology are the by-products of the ability to hunt. He embarks on a journey across the Serengeti savanna of East Africa to attempt to reconstruct early man's survival behaviors. He finds food not by hunting but by scavenging off the leftovers of lions and leopards. VHS 2472

Tales of the human dawn [videorecording] / a co-production of WETA-TV and the Smithsonian Institution ; in association with Wentworth Films, Inc. New York, N.Y. : Unapix Consumer Products, [1996]. 1 videocassette (58 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in. Explores the on-going search for knowledge of our evolutionary beginning including cultural factors that have influenced theories of evolution as well as the role of storytelling in evolutionary interpretations. Presents humankind's various interpretations of its origin, origin myths and their implications, evidence in the fossil record of early humans and the theories that have been developed to explain those findings, and uniquely human characteristics. VHS 4703

The timeless issue of life [videorecording] : evolution or creation / a Thompson-Quisenberry film.. Eugene, Ore. : T.Q. Productions, Inc., c1982. 1 videocassette (60 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in. A balanced and unbiased view of evolution and creation featuring eleven of the participants in the controversy: Donald Johnson, R.L. Wysong, Steven A. Austin, Wayne Moyer, Richard Bliss, Kenneth Miller, Gary Parker, David Milne, Harold Slusher, John Moore, and Duane Gish. VHS 972

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