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The Human Face (2001)

John Cleese (Actor), David Attenborough (Actor), David Stewart (Director), James Erskine (Director) | Rated: NR | Format: DVD
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)

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The Human Face
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Product Details

  • Actors: John Cleese, David Attenborough, Candice Bergen, Pierce Brosnan, Mali Finn
  • Directors: David Stewart, James Erskine
  • Writers: John Cleese
  • Producers: David Stewart, James Erskine, Michael J. Mosley, Nancy Lavin, Nicholas Rossiter
  • Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
  • Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
  • Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
  • Number of discs: 2
  • Rated: NR (Not Rated)
  • Studio: BBC Warner
  • DVD Release Date: August 28, 2001
  • Run Time: 200 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B00005LC1B
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #57,960 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

  • For more information about "The Human Face" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Special Features

  • Photo gallery
  • Deleted scenes
  • Fact file

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Anthropology, psychology, cultural history, and biology provide key filters in this breezy but substantial exploration of the focal impact of the face. Produced by the BBC as a four-hour series and broadcast in the U.S. on the Learning Channel, The Human Face benefits from host, narrator, and cowriter John Cleese's signature blend of erudition, enthusiasm, and wit. Along the way, Cleese presents information on the evolution of human facial features, the face's role in sexuality (including the biological significance of "bedroom eyes"), communication through facial expressions, and the face's essential role in defining identity. Ideals of physical beauty, the reasons why visual development and artistic expression focus on the face, and the nature of celebrity are examined, as are medical anomalies such as Mobius syndrome, a condition that eliminates the ability to smile. The presenter gets strategic help from guest Elizabeth Hurley, who gamely lampoons her own celebrated beauty in various sketches, and Cleese's fellow Monty Python alumnus Michael Palin, who pops up in Python-esque skits during the program's fourth segment on fame. Comments from scientific sources are augmented by thoughtful interviews with Pierce Brosnan and Candice Bergen, who convincingly address the downside of being drop-dead gorgeous. --Sam Sutherland

Product Description

This 4 part bbc series examines the science behind facial beauty expression and fame in an entertaining fashion. Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 02/22/2005 Starring: John Cleese (host) Pierce Brosnan Run time: 200 minutes Rating: Nr Director: James Erskine/david Stewart

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Customer Reviews

22 Reviews
5 star:
 (6)
4 star:
 (12)
3 star:
 (4)
2 star:    (0)
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Average Customer Review
4.1 out of 5 stars (22 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Quirky Romp, October 19, 2001
This review is from: The Human Face (DVD)
The Human Face is a fascinating but scattershot approach to the topic. John Cleese's approach is sure to delight his fans and annoy his detractors. He manages in his own unique way (while ripping Elizabeth Hurley's face off and shooting fellow Monty Python alum Michael Palin not once, but twice! Pythons always were excessive!) to convey many interesting and pertinent facts concerning the human face and our reactions to it.

Several sections were absolutely fascinating. The discussion on the evolution of the face claims that humankind's move toward an upright posture created an emphasis toward the eyes and visual stimuli and away from the nose and the sense of smell. Our profound reactions to facial expressivity are demonstrated in MRI brain scans that reveal activity deep in the amygdala as a reaction to faces showing fear although no conscious reaction was felt. Several curiosities reminiscent of "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat" are explored, including a man who, following an automobile accident, wholeheartedly believed that his parents had been replaced by other people who looked exactly like them--he was able to recognize their physical appearance but had lost the emotional attachment that allowed him to recognize their relationship. Most heartening was a young woman with an exceptionally large jaw who had not only come to accept her looks but further to find her unique appearance a source of pride.

The series closes with an examination of fame, and here it seems to go astray--so much so that Cleese resorts to acts of gratuitous violence against Palin. The focus shifted rather unsettlingly away from the face to the idea of fame. The linking premise, of course, is that in the modern day it is our faces which make us famous (or not), while in the past it was our actions, and before the days of photography and portraiture particular faces were unknown. This departure is not enough to spoil an otherwise excellent and wildly quirky series, though.

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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A great documentary with a nice touch of Python nonsense., September 2, 2001
By A. Gaston "Gadget Monkey" (San Antonio, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Human Face (DVD)
John Cleese takes a different style in teaching us about the power of the human face. The documentary does contain tons of interesting facts about the human face and its role through history. What makes it stand out as a documentary is the twisted humor John Cleese, Michael Palin, and Liz Hurley (to name a few) inject into it. Subjects of Beauty, Expressions, Identity, etc are explained not only verbally, but with great skits and sketchs. Everything from skits with Michael Palin trying to get his face on a coin to Cleese and Hurley posing for the 18th Century French paparazzi painters, help make this as entertaining as it is educational.

Great for the whole family.

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A light documentary that was both humorous and informative, August 28, 2001
By "wneils" (Wappingers Falls, NY United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Human Face (DVD)
I enjoyed this series and learned some new and amazing aspects of human physiology. I would especially recommend this` for young teenagers who might be caught up in the "am I beautiful / handsome" worries of adolescence. Interviews with individuals who have rare facial disorders, gave me a special appreciation of the "inner beauty" hidden in all of us.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Portions are somewhat cheesy, but overall entertaining and informative
I enjoyed The Human Face - it's an interesting examination of how facial features have evolved, how one's face is interpreted by others, and tackles some elusive topics such as... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Comdet

3.0 out of 5 stars No show
This DVD did not make it to me. It got lost in the mail. The seller ended up having to reimburse me for it. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Lucyss

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth EveryPenny!
This documentary interweaves science, psychology, sociology, and humor to create a very accessible, informative, and entertaining program. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Mrs. Entity

4.0 out of 5 stars John Cleese introduces the human face
A great series of hour-long episodes with host John Cleese introducing the human expression. It has some humor, but it is also factual with interviews with professionals and sad... Read more
Published 21 months ago by Sara F. Thomason

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good, but before choose...
The product, this dvd, claims some type of "decode" software, if you want to see this in your PC, or a kind of domestic dvd machine capable of to read it format, from Englad, I... Read more
Published 23 months ago by Antonio Ney C. Braga

3.0 out of 5 stars Fun at first - last episode boring
The first 3 episodes are pretty interesting and use a combination of animation and strange setups to make the points vivid and entertaining. Read more
Published on September 10, 2007 by VoteForTheLeastWorst

4.0 out of 5 stars entertaining and educational
I love good documentaries, and I really enjoyed this series. There was so much good and interesting information about the expression of emotions, beauty, fame, and a variety of... Read more
Published on August 28, 2007 by Dream's Raven

3.0 out of 5 stars it had me until... ZARA
ive watched this program before and ignored the one big part that can enable one to totally disregard the findings of that "beauty scientist": the fact that he agreed with the... Read more
Published on July 23, 2007 by blah

5.0 out of 5 stars Educational
Anyone looking to learn more about non verbal communication, this video is wonderful and keeps your attention.
Published on June 26, 2007 by R. M. Sulfridge

4.0 out of 5 stars It's as plain as the nose on your face
John Cleese is not an academic but a comedian, so his approach to a serious subject has to be a little frivolous, but that is part of John's charm. Read more
Published on June 1, 2007 by N. Skelton

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