| The Human Face | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | James Erskine David Stewart |
| Produced by | Nick Rossiter |
| Written by | John Cleese |
| Starring | John Cleese Elizabeth Hurley David Attenborough Candice Bergen Pierce Brosnan Mali Finn Charles Fleming William Goldman Kevyn Major Howard Michael Palin Joan Rivers Michael Rix |
| Release date(s) | 2001 |
| Running time | 50 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom United States |
| Language | English |
The Human Face is a 4 part BBC series that examines the science behind facial beauty, expression, and fame in an entertaining fashion. John Cleese, actor, comedian, visiting professor, and best-selling author on psychology, sets out on an odyssey to discover the mysteries of identity, perception, creativity and sexuality hidden behind the mask of life itself. This four-part series combines art, technology and deeply moving human interest stories to uncover the secrets of the human face. Paul Ekman served as scientific adviser.
Contents |
The series opens with an epic journey to uncover the secrets of the human face. In a world of six billion other faces, your face is unique. It reveals your personality, your genetic and cultural identity and it can be read like a book. Family resemblances, facial recognition and the purpose of the face and its features are all part of a story that begins in the oceans five hundred million years ago. We conclude with the multi-racial face of the future and the pioneering work of surgeons in Kentucky who are preparing for the world’s first facial transplant.
Famous faces are everywhere. They stare out at us from billboards, magazines, and movie screens, beaming out messages.These faces sell sex, politics, glamour and power. Diana, Jackie O, Marilyn Monroe, their faces are sometimes more familiar to us than those of our nearest and dearest. Fame and infamy tells the story of the face as icon, from Egyptian mummies to Hollywood stars.
What is beauty? Is it just a matter of personal taste? Apparently not; we discover that the same things attract lovers all round the world. A pretty face is a fertile face and ugliness suggests poor health. Big eyes, smooth skin and symmetrical features will win you fans everywhere. They’re also the ticket to a better job, more money, and better sex!
Every face contains a million secrets. And whether we like it or not, the face reveals our feelings and what’s really going on deep down inside. Secrets and Lies is about how the face communicates without saying a word; it’s about expressions, disguise and the mysterious art of face-reading.