ARTE France.
Publisher
ARTE France
Pub. Date
[2014]
Language
English
Description
Can the phenomenon of today's allergy explosion be rationally explained? This film highlights environmental causes and the protection strategies we have at our disposal. It debunks the classical theory that attributes allergies to a natural flaw in our immune system and sheds light on industry's role in the spread of this modern scourge. Calling to attention the lack of testing on the effects of pesticides and antibiotics before putting them on the...
Series
Publisher
ARTE France
Pub. Date
[1989]
Language
English
Description
Franciscan monks commissioned Sassetta to create a polyptych to fit over the high alter. In 1578, the polyptych is disassembled and then sold in 1810. Today 26 fragments of the altarpiece are dispersed throughout ten museums worldwide, but many pieces have been lost. Learn the history of the polyptych, why historians believe these panels are linked, and how they were created.
Publisher
ARTE France
Pub. Date
[1999]
Language
English
Description
The Leica is unique in the history of twentieth-century design - in terms of longevity, if nothing else. Designed in 1914 by an engineer named Bernack, it went into mass production in 1925. The ten-year interval between design and production reflects the uncertainty of a period in which war was followed by a series of political and economic crises. As the first camera that allowed the photographer to take snapshots, the Leica ushered in the photo-journalism...
Series
Publisher
ARTE France
Pub. Date
[2015]
Language
English
Description
Bellerophon, the grandson of Sisyphus, one of the Greek world's worst criminals, dreamt of becoming a hero, of being equal to the Gods. But his plans got off to a bad start with the accidental murder of his brother. Forced into exile, he took refuge in Tyrins. But there too, nothing went according to plan: accused of rape by Queen Stheneboea, he left to visit the King of Lycia, who in a bid to get rid of him, imposed fearsome challenges on him. Bellerephon...
Series
Publisher
ARTE France
Pub. Date
[2015]
Language
English
Description
Having become organizer of the world, Zeus entrusted the world of the sea to his brother Poseidon, and the underworld, or the kingdom of the dead, to Hades. Alone, in a place he had not chosen himself, Hades reigned over the people of the shadows and over the grimacing creatures that surrounded him. One day, having left his kingdom to breathe a little air on the surface, he crossed paths with the beautiful Persephone, with whom he fell in love - and...
Series
Publisher
ARTE France
Pub. Date
[2015]
Language
English
Description
The Qur'an makes numerous references to the Hebrew Bible and Christian texts, especially the apocryphal gospels. Where did Muhammad glean this knowledge? Did he have one or several informers, as the Qur'an suggests? While the Islamic tradition insists that Islam came to be within a pagan context, is Jesus' presence in the Qur'an the trace of Judeo-Christian influences?
Publisher
ARTE France
Pub. Date
[2009]
Language
English
Description
From the Danish "Leg godt" meaning "play well," the name Lego has become synonymous with facility, imagination, functional design, longevity, success, and limitless creativity. In 2009, Lego will celebrate its 50th anniversary and the 320 billions of blocks sold since the toy first debuted in1949. The Danish creator, Ole Kirk Christiansen, set forth a revolutionary concept that would make his invention last for generations to come: plastic modular...
Publisher
ARTE France
Pub. Date
[2011]
Language
English
Description
Austrian architect Margarete Schütte Lihotzky's 6.5 square meter kitchen rationalized domestic space. Designed in 1926 for the New Frankfurt social housing project and inspired by American and German efficiency studies, this layout pioneered new standards, promoted hygiene, and championed Viennese modernist aesthetics. 10, 000 units were installed, which makes the Frankfurter Kitchen the first industrially produced "fitted kitchen".
Series
Publisher
ARTE France
Pub. Date
[1992]
Language
English
Description
Raphael's Portrait of Baldassare Castiglione inspired many painters including: Rembrandt, Rubens, and Matisse. The portrait reveals the friendship between the artist and model, but also philosophy of the Renaissance and proclivities of Castiglione. Learn about the artist's technique, inspirations, influences, and legacy.
Series
Publisher
ARTE France
Pub. Date
[2013]
Language
English
Description
Bernard Fontanille travels to Okinawa, a Japanese island that cultivates the art of ageing via social bonds, physical activity, and personal fulfilment. He talks with 91-year-old Mrs. Toyama to understand the secrets of her longevity. For her, it is very important to have Ikigai: "the belief that life is worth living.
Series
Publisher
ARTE France
Pub. Date
[2015]
Language
English
Description
The war has ended, and the streets erupt in celebration. Montparnasse swings to the rhythms of jazz and hops to the buzz of lively cafés. Paris is a movable feast. Conceived as reactions against the absurdity of war, the Dadaist and Surrealist revolutions are underway. Leading the charge are "the three musketeers": Breton, Aragon, and Soupault, backed by Man Ray, Desnos, Tzara, and many others. In 1919, one of the major works of the Surrealist movement...
Publisher
ARTE France
Pub. Date
[2012]
Language
English
Description
Two large padded-leather cushions rest on an elegant frame in the shape of an "X". The Barcelona Chair, which was designed in 1929 by architect Mies Van Der Rohe for the Barcelona International Exhibition to furnish the pavilion representing Germany, is immediately identifiable as a classic design.
Series
Publisher
ARTE France
Pub. Date
[2015]
Language
English
Description
At the gates of Dakar, the blue and white buildings of the Keur Massar Hospital of Traditional Medicine stretch out peacefully. When it was founded in 1980, the hospital was built in an isolated zone to treat people with leprosy. Today, patients come from all over the capital and the surrounding regions to consult the hospital's healers and to visit the pharmacy. Traditional practitioner Alio Ngom welcomes Bernad Fontanille to Keur Massar and explains...
Publisher
ARTE France
Pub. Date
[2014]
Language
English
Description
When is a new global epidemic going to strike? This in-depth investigation examines the invisible threat of new viruses emerging in the animal kingdom at an unprecedented rate. In the space of 60 years, over 350 new infectious diseases have appeared, including SARS, H1N1, H5N1 and Ebola. This film traces three threatening viruses that have been transmitted from animals to humans: the H7N9 flu virus in Asia; the Mers-CoV virus, related to SARS, active...
Publisher
ARTE France
Pub. Date
[2008]
Language
English
Description
The Maisons-Laffitte chateau overlooks the Seine and has a French- style garden on a gentle slope. It is made up of a central block, flanked by two wings. The Hotel de Ville in Paris and the town halls of each of the twenty Paris arrondissements were built on the same model. The chateau is so famous that its image is commonplace. Yet the Château de Maisons was revolutionary in French chateau architecture. It was the masterpiece of a brilliant architect,...
Publisher
ARTE France
Pub. Date
[2015]
Language
English
Description
16th century Antwerp was rather like 1950s New York. The city of craftsmen and fishermen at the entrance to the North Sea became a leading finance hub, facilitated by European exploration and new trade routes. This work by Quentin Metsys is a subtle criticism of that world and its era, warning about the flow of money when it is detached from all forms of religious and moral considerations. This film examines the influences of Jan Van Eyck and Leonardo...
Publisher
ARTE France
Pub. Date
[2015]
Language
English
Description
Brazil is said to be a sleeping giant waking up to become one of the world leaders. Our film will tell the country's history through the eyes of two families over several generations. In one of the families, the slaves of before became domestic workers, and the former domestics are now employees, with fixed hours and living in their own homes, where they raise their own children rather than those of their bosses. They have reached the middle class....
18) Mind in Motion
Publisher
ARTE France
Pub. Date
[2008]
Language
English
Description
Our exploration leads us into the depths of the brain for a fascinating glimpse into the process of thought. How can a blind person see with the tongue? Can sight be used to alleviate pain in an amputated limb? What do we have in common with the fruit fly? Scientific answers to these questions and others are now within our reach, thanks to stunning new research in the neurosciences. Amazing experiments on perception, learning, and attention reveal...
Publisher
ARTE France
Pub. Date
[2011]
Language
English
Description
After the First World War ended, the parish priest at Le Raincy decided to build a new church to honor fallen soldiers. But the country was ruined and the clergy's coffers were empty. Architect Auguste Perret took up the double challenge of urgency and budget. Building quickly and cheaply at that period meant building with reinforced concrete-a material considered shameful and only fit for industrial use. Thirteen months of work on site was enough...
Series
Publisher
ARTE France
Pub. Date
[2015]
Language
English
Description
Daedalus, a prominent Greek inventor, settled in Crete among King Minos' court. Queen Pasiphaë, who had an all-consuming passion for a white bull, called upon his services. The Sea God Poseidon had given the bull to her husband King Minos as a present, and King Minos had refused to sacrifice it for him. To take his revenge, Poseidon cast a spell on the poor Pasiphaë. Following orders, Daedalus found a solution to enable the queen to mate with the...