Product Details

• Actors: Herbie, Hannelorre, Beatrice, Phillippa, Robert Winston (III)
• Directors: Christopher Spencer (II)
• Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 4
• Studio: 20th Century Fox
• VHS Release Date: April 20, 1999
• Run Time: 400 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00000AOAZ
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #16,650 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
What an amazing amalgamation of chemicals we humans are! Dr. Robert Winston's visceral exploration of the physical processes of the body is an enlightening, exciting, and sometimes startling testimonial to just how complicated an organism the human animal is. From the graceful opening shot of naked people ages 1 to 100 standing in a row in a forest, to the painful last days of a man dying of cancer, this video will make you regard the human body with an awesome new respect.

Often using himself as a subject, Dr. Winston examines how the physiology of our bodies works. Tiny, fiber-optic cameras make a journey down an intestinal track look like a ride on a candy-pink roller coaster. Advanced medical imaging techniques used by the filmmakers make it possible to see and understand the body in a whole new way, such as when a 3-D image of Dr. Winston's head is sliced open to reveal the miniscule bones of the inner ear.

Yet for all its advanced technology, the series does not neglect the "human" side of our bodies. Dr. Winston pours buckets of salt water into the ocean as he marvels that we are the only animals that cry. The series, shot over a period of two years, is loosely framed around the lives of a group of people who narrate their emotional responses to the physical changes their bodies are undergoing. In one episode, a young girl goes through puberty, in another an elderly couple reflects on their aging bodies. Perhaps the most moving scene is that of the birth of a baby, shown from inside the mother. It is almost like you are taking this most difficult journey with the infant as he travels toward the beginning of his life.

Intimate Universe gives us a glimpse at what our bodies are doing at any given moment, whether at work or at play. You will come away from this video with a new appreciation for how much is happening right inside you, and how effortless the efficient machinery of our bodies makes it seem. --Michelle Riggen

Product Description
Four-volume set which explores all phases of human development from conception to old age.

Volume 1: Life Story, Everyday Miracle ("Miracle of Birth" as an individual release);

Volume 2:First Steps, Raging Teens;

Volume 3: Brainpower, As Times Go By;

Volume 4: The End of Life, The Making of the Human Body.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Science with Humanity, September 28, 2000

By	Mr. Paul Perano (Wellington, New Zealand) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Intimate Universe - The Human Body [VHS] (VHS Tape)

You are constantly entangled in a leading edge scientific examination of the human body from pre-birth to death. At the same time the explanations are aimed at an easy level for the general population. With all this going on the series never looses sight of the fact that there is a personal side to the human body, a persons feeling are never neglected.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not so bad, December 26, 2001

By	Dickens "nula1" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Intimate Universe - The Human Body [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Worth watching, although I expected more computer graphics tour- of-the-human-body stuff. Too much emphasis on babies and birth for me - it's not new coverage and you get the feeling here we go again. The final video of the set is sadly compelling as we follow the last moments of the patient dying with cancer.

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent teaching tool!, May 7, 2009

By	Cheryl Jones-large "cherjola" (Fort Ware, BC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Intimate Universe - The Human Body [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I first found this video in VCD format while in Malaysia on vacation and promptly bought it to use in my Health Education classes back in Canada. I have been using this video for almost 10 years now and the kids always find it totally interesting and full of easy to understand information. I was disappointed that it was not available in DVD, but have since purchased the VHS version as it is easier to navigate through than the VCD. I highly recommend this video, especially the section on the teen years.