The Human Face
Encyclopedia
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.
surgeons in Kentucky
who are preparing for the world’s first facial transplant.
, 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.
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
series that examines the science behind facial beauty, expression, and fame in an entertaining fashion. John Cleese
John Cleese
John Marwood Cleese is an English actor, comedian, writer, and film producer. He achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report...
, 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
Paul Ekman
Paul Ekman is a psychologist who has been a pioneer in the study of emotions and their relation to facial expressions. He has been considered one of the 100 most eminent psychologists of the twentieth century...
served as scientific adviser.
Part One: Here’s Looking at You
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 ofsurgeons in Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
who are preparing for the world’s first facial transplant.
Part Two: Fame and Infamy
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. DianaDiana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...
, Jackie O, Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
, 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
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
mummies to Hollywood stars.
Part Three: Survival of the Prettiest
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!Part Four: Secrets and Lies
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.Cast
- John CleeseJohn CleeseJohn Marwood Cleese is an English actor, comedian, writer, and film producer. He achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report...
as Himself (Host) - Elizabeth HurleyElizabeth HurleyElizabeth Jane Hurley is an English model and actress who became known as a girlfriend of Hugh Grant in the 1990s. In 1994, as Grant became the focus of worldwide media attention due to the global box office success of his film Four Weddings and a Funeral, Hurley accompanied him to the film's Los...
as Various roles - David AttenboroughDavid AttenboroughSir David Frederick Attenborough OM, CH, CVO, CBE, FRS, FZS, FSA is a British broadcaster and naturalist. His career as the face and voice of natural history programmes has endured for more than 50 years...
as Himself - Candice BergenCandice BergenCandice Patricia Bergen is an American actress and former fashion model.She is known for starring in two TV series, as the title character on the situation comedy Murphy Brown , for which she won five Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards; and as Shirley Schmidt on the comedy-drama Boston Legal...
as Herself - Pierce BrosnanPierce BrosnanPierce Brendan Brosnan, OBE is an Irish actor, film producer and environmentalist. After leaving school at 16, Brosnan began training in commercial illustration, but trained at the Drama Centre in London for three years...
as Himself - Mali FinnMali FinnMali Finn , born Mary Alice Mann, also known as Mally Finn, was an American Hollywood casting director and a former English and drama teacher...
as Herself - Charles Fleming as Himself
- William GoldmanWilliam GoldmanWilliam Goldman is an American novelist, playwright, and Academy Award-winning screenwriter.-Early life and education:...
as Himself - Kevyn Major HowardKevyn Major HowardKevyn Major Howard is a Canadian actor best known for his role in Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket.After acting in high school, Howard moved to Los Angeles and Hollywood in the late 1970s....
as Himself - Michael PalinMichael PalinMichael Edward Palin, CBE FRGS is an English comedian, actor, writer and television presenter best known for being one of the members of the comedy group Monty Python and for his travel documentaries....
as Applicant/peasant - Dr. Vilayanur RamachandranVilayanur S. RamachandranVilayanur Subramanian "Rama" Ramachandran, born 1951, is a neuroscientist known for his work in the fields of behavioral neurology and visual psychophysics...
as Himself - Joan RiversJoan RiversJoan Rivers is an American comedian, television personality and actress. She is known for her brash manner; her loud, raspy voice with a heavy New York accent; and her numerous cosmetic surgeries...
as Herself - Michael Rix as Himself
- Prunella ScalesPrunella ScalesPrunella Scales CBE is an English actress, known for her role as Basil Fawlty's long-suffering wife in the British comedy Fawlty Towers and her award-nominated role as Queen Elizabeth II in the British film A Question of Attribution.-Career:Throughout her long career, Scales has usually been cast...
as Pet shop owner/wife