A
Matter Of Life & Death – Magic Moments & Dark Hours In The History Of
Medicine
Picture: C+
Sound: C+ Extras: D Episodes: B
Not to be confused with the Powell/Pressburger film of the
same name, A Matter Of Life & Death – Magic Moments & Dark Hours In
The History Of Medicine is a four-part TV mini-series produced in Germany
that does a good job of covering the first 500 years of science with
breakthrough after breakthrough. The
four episodes are:
The First Breath (pregnancy/premature birth/Pasteur/Smallpox/TB/X-Rays)
The Wild Years (The
Pill/Syphilis/AIDS/anesthetics/surgery/reproduction cells)
Mid-Life (Heart/blood/kidney &
dialysis/diabetes/stomach ulcers/drugs/Penicillin)
Aging & Death (heart
transplants/cancer/radiation therapy/blindness/the brain/DNA/Alzheimer’s)
It is in English, but that is dubbing in some cases. However, that is as well done as the actual
material. It never takes for granted
basic science or its history, which is now more important than ever as some
extremist forces these days talk about science and medical health being a fraud
and want to ignore progress in exchange for oppression of the federate,
religion and state. In that, the set
lives up to its name in profound ways it may not have considered, but is just
about the facts without any politics whatsoever. A pleasant surprise, it is a real winner.
The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image originated on
digital High Definition video and is not bad, but as a documentary,
demonstrates varying picture quality throughout. The newer footage has some detail limits, but this is still good
enough for the purpose, while the Dolby Digital 2.0 sound is stereo that has
plenty of monophonic sound to offer.
There are no extras.
- Nicholas Sheffo
