The Human Face

Starring:John Cleese, Elizabeth Hurley, Mali Finn, Katie Lohmann, Pierce Brosnan, David Attenborough, Joan Rivers, William Goldman, Charles Fleming, Prunella Scales, Candice Bergen, Michael Rix, Michael Palin, Kevyn Major Howard
Director: David Stewart (XI), James Erskine
Studio: BBC Warner
Product Type: DVD

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

Customer Reviews:

Educational.......2007-06-27

Anyone looking to learn more about non verbal communication, this video is wonderful and keeps your attention.

It's as plain as the nose on your face.......2007-06-02

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. None the less, Cleese is no fool. He approaches the subject from a number of directions, and comes up with quite a few surprises on why we recognize caricatures more easily than portraits, and just what is it that makes Elizabeth Hurley beautiful.
i enjoyed it on quite a few levels, for its intelligence, insight and humour.

Some very strange stuff mixed with some good stuff.......2007-05-30

This documentary is entertaining and sometimes informative, but parts of it focus on half-baked pseudo science that is one step above phrenology...

One section concentrates on the "Duchenne" or "felt" smile-- a theory states that we can recognize a genuinely happy smile when the muscles around the eyes are compressed (or crinkled) by the upward action of the cheeks. While there may be truth to this in some cases, psychologists in this documentary make extraordinary claims-- at one point they set out to prove that they can predict a person's entire life based on one snapshot! They search through old yearbook pictures of girls for felt/Duchenne smiles, track some of them down and-- lo and behold-- the Duchenne girls are happily married while the non-Duchenne girls are single and miserable. Amazing!! But if you want to follow that experiment up, try going on some of the major dating websites and look through the pictures of people in their 30's and 40's... you'll find hundreds of the most brilliant, exuberant, eye-crinkling grins you'd ever want to see on those desperate, lonely faces! Yegads--how is it possible that all those people with such gorgeous smiles are still single???

Another section focuses on female beauty. We meet a scientist who claims to have discovered the mathematical formula for the perfect female face. Eureka! He has designed a transparent mask which he compares to women's faces to determine whether or not they are beautiful. We see a few pretty faces that do, indeed, correspond to ze formula. Herr doktor says it is all based on a ratio discovered by the ancient Greeks-- one point something or other. Unfortunately, the formula, if it works at all, only seems to work with caucasian faces. I tried comparing the proportions to some of the most gorgeous black models I could find and their noses were all too wide. I'm sure Mediterranean and Semitic longer-faced beauties would also have a hard time fitting his mask. What I want to know is, who on earth funds such hogwash????!! This guy has a laboratory and everything! Please, give me a laboratory, I'll come up with all kinds of wacky stuff to do...

Anyway, if you like kitschy stuff, you will enjoy this show. John Cleese is fun.

Very Interesting and funny.......2007-05-05

Very interesting approach to understand the human expression, John Cleese is a master comedian and a highly appreciated artist. As a photographer and as a medical branding professional I enjoy very much this set of DVD.
Worth.

Such an Interesting Documentary!.......2007-01-20

John Cleese brings his signature brand of humor together with interesting and thought-provoking interviews to create such an interesting mini-series about the face - why is it beautiful (or not)? What do expressions mean? Do they mean the same thing to everyone? Who is the BEST at knowing if people tell the truth - or if they lie? What would life be like if you couldn't recognize the faces of friends? Why are facial deformities so "problematic" for societies - is it because of their elevated importance of beauty, or is there a different reason? This fascinating video will answer all these and more, leave you laughing... and actually make you SMARTER by the time its over. Support given by the undeniably beautiful and witty Elizabeth Hurley, funny man Michael Palin, and others round out the experience. I couldn't recommend this movie more.

Average customer rating:

yes, a great film
Unappreciated Film Noir With A Difference
"The richest guy in America presents the coolest guy in America"
A face only a stepmother could hate (recommended)
A great film noir classic

Angel Face
Starring: Robert Mitchum , Jean Simmons , Mona Freeman , Herbert Marshall , and Leon Ames
Director: Otto Preminger
Manufacturer: Turner Home Ent
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000JLTREK
Release Date: 2007-01-23

Amazon.com

Robert Mitchum was already a dab hand at film noir when he stepped into the delicious trap of Angel Face, Otto Preminger's 1952 addition to the genre. Here Mitchum plays an amazingly seducible guy who falls under the spell of spoiled rich girl Jean Simmons; a former race-car driver, he'd like to open his own sports-car garage, and her money would come in awfully handy. But she's got a few quirks to work out first, including her hostility for her stepmother, who doesn't stand a chance against this poker-faced vixen. True to its title, the film has an absolutely deadpan approach to this material, as Preminger's calm style recalls more the clinical courtroom proceedings of Anatomy of a Murder than the perverse lushness of Laura. Mitchum's in absolutely top form, and Jean Simmons has just right amount of intensity behind her porcelain beauty. The supporting cast is led by Herbert Marshall, as Simmons' father, a writer who's been sponging off his wife for years, and Leon Ames does a skillful turn as a crafty lawyer. The ending is as pre-ordained as can be, and the film moves toward its sinister conclusion without turning its head to explore other options. But that's why we love film noir. --Robert Horton

Description

Otto Preminger, who showed how to mix a beautiful woman with murder in the landmark Laura, directs this tale of a passion gone haywire. Frank's a regular guy with a steady girl and a dream of owning his own garage when he crosses paths with Diane. She wants him. Or does she want a fall guy to blame when Diane's stepmother plunges off a high cliff and leaves her fortune to Diane? Alibis, betrayals, courtroom thrills and the fire of a woman too dangerous to trust and too alluring to resist make Angel Face a film-noir classic.

Customer Reviews:

yes, a great film.......2007-05-16

After reading the comments by those here, I placed the film in my "Wish List" here on Amazon. Last night on Turner Classic Movies they showed this movie. It was really wonderful. I enjoyed the whole cast and I agree that Robert Mitchum and Jean Simmons were perfect in these roles. While her deadly deed plays out, she sits there emotionless with cold eyes and porcelain beauty. It was somewhat chilly. Simmons usually played the sweet wife or love roles in movies. I loved seeing her in a completely different role. I definitely recommend this movie. And what a surprise ending! OMG!

Unappreciated Film Noir With A Difference.......2007-04-09

Angel Face was directed in 1952 by: Otto Preminger (Laura, 1944; Anatomy Of A Murder, 1959). Otto Preminger's `Laura' is now rightly regarded as one of great film noir masterpieces, however he made some less appreciated noirs like Fallen Angel (1945); Whirlpool (1949); Where The Sidewalk Ends (1950) and this film Angel Face. Upon it's release critics and public alike had seen perhaps far too many of this type of film hence the negative reviews. However I feel that this film is deserving of some rehabilitation. The theme is a familiar one of the Femme Fatale attempting to get some chump to assist in a murder. Angel Face is slightly different in that the Femme Fatale's (performed by Jean Simmons (Great Expectations, 1946; Hamlet, 1948; The Black Narcissus, 1947)) motivation is not the standard killing for money but for love. This makes it similar to the Ellen Berent character played by Gene Tierney in `Leave Her To Heaven' (1946, John M. Stahl). Generally in noir's guys kill for the girl and girls for the money. Robert Mitchum (Out Of The Past, 1947; Crossfire, 1947; Night Of The Hunter, 1955) gives a wonderful performance of a guy who is not so stupid as to get suck into her trap. He also has some great dialogue that one wish's they could always have at hand to deliver in those situations. Along with Humphrey Bogart and Burt Lancaster, Mitchum has to rank as one of the great noir actors. Cinematography was by Harry Stradling (A Streetcar Named Desire, 1951; Johnny Guitar, 1954; A Face In The Crowd, 1957)

This DVD comes with a wonderful audio commentary by Eddie Muller and is well worth a listen. In 1964 Jean-Luc Godard placed this film at no. 8 in his list of the greatest American films of the sound era. That alone should be good enough reason to investigate this film. It also has one of the great endings.

"The richest guy in America presents the coolest guy in America".......2007-04-03

The title of this piece is a paraphrase of an observation offered by the man on the commentary track. This is an RKO picture, a Howard Hughes production--there are details about that statement that make the commentary track well worth hearing. It stars Robert Mitchum. I had never quite formulated that particular thought, but having heard it, I immediately realized it was perfectly true: Robert Mitchum WAS the coolest guy in America.

He was so cool that on screen he could act like a perfect chump from first frame to last and still seem cool. He was so cool that in an America where Lucy and Ricky could not share a bed, he could get busted for possession of marijuana, take all the heat and all the publicity without whimper or complaint, then go right on being as big a movie star as ever, and still the coolest guy in sight.

The previous Amazon reviews have been impressively sound in describing this picture. I have nothing to add beyond endorsing their high ratings. This is an unpretentious little noirish film. It boasts a fine cast from Jean Simmons in an uncharacteristic role, to Herbert Marshall in a characteristic one, to Kenneth Tobey and Mona Freeman in fine supporting performances. Otto Preminger was a wonderfully skilled (if wholly obnoxious) director. This movie works, satisfying in ways that some more famous films do not.

This DVD of "Angel Face" offers a good film, a good print and not much in the way of bells and whistles beyond a useful (for once) commentary. You won't go wrong with it.

Five appropriately cool stars.

A face only a stepmother could hate (recommended).......2007-02-25

Ambulance driver Frank Jessup (Robert Mitchum) who aspires to own a high-performance car garage meets beautiful antisocial femme fatale Diane Tremayne (Jean Simons) in the house of questionable suicide-attempt victim Catherine Tremayne (Barbara O'Neil). Diane's relentless pursuit of Frank leads to spellbinding danger for anyone coming between her and her obsessive emotional attachments.

Mitchum is great in every film I've seen. In ANGEL FACE he plays the level-headed voice of reason battling an emotional vortex of compulsive admiration. Baring a strong resemblance to Audrey Hepburn, Jene Simmons has a slight stature and attractive girl-next-door appearance. This made me quite unprepared for the diabolical plotting and tormented conscience she so artfully portrayed. She crys; she lies; she is cold, calculated, and dangerous. With so many facets of her personality, you don't know what to expect when coming face to face with her. I first saw Simmons in ELMER GANTRY (1960) as a Bible thumping revivalist. Based on the title, her 1952 role is perhaps an appropriate prelude to that later role. You will think twice before trusting another beauty after ANGEL FACE -- highly recommended!

Movie quote: "You don't hate me, really. You couldn't hate anybody that loves you as much as I do."

A great film noir classic.......2007-02-13

An excellent film. Very little known until now but, I would say, is one of the best films in its genre. Simmons is a perfect femme fatale here. It is also a film full of misogynist quips: "The only bad thing about America is that women get spoiled"; or "...even a woman can do it". Yeah, it's gonna be a lot of fun for your feminist friends.

It's a fine movie to watch, easy to follow plot, no complications, it's fast. goes to the point and it's a thriller; in only 90 minutes approx; it goes in a blink of an eye. I wish they made all like this one.

The end is one of a kind, don't miss it.

Average customer rating:

WHITE FACE

Manufacturer: CustomFlix
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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